Washington, October 24: The United States has lodged an extradition request for an Australian man accused of accepting bribes for a US-funded building project in Afghanistan.
US officials are seeking the extradition of Australian construction manager Neil Campbell, but the approval process is expected to take several weeks.
The 61-year-old is facing US federal bribery charges for allegedly accepting payments from undercover agents in Afghanistan.
Campbell was arrested at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport earlier this month.
The Queenslander has reappeared in court and received letters of support from family and friends on the Sunshine Coast.
Campbell asked for permission to access his bank account to support his son and daughter.
He says he is ready and willing to go to the United States to defend himself.
But the family of Campbell says the extradition process is taking too long.
“He was arrested on October 13th. It’s now some 11, 12 days past that and finally the US has lodged extradition papers which, quite frankly, aren’t needed,” spokesman Bill Hoffman said.
“Neil’s said from very early on in the piece that he was willing to go the United States to voluntarily face the charges.”
The case is scheduled to reappear in court on November 1.
——–Agencies