The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday pressed for the extradition of Bofors accused Ottavio Quattrocchi to India in a court in El Dorado, Argentina.
CBI's lawyer Miguel Almeyra presented arguments in support of the request for extradition of Quattrocchi before First Court Judge Harichi Doi. Thereafter, Quattrocchi's lawyer Alejandro Freeland presented his defence. The hearing was continuing and a verdict may be pronounced after that.
The extradition trial began four months after the Italian businessman was detained in Misiones province on February six while he was on his way to Brazil.
Quattrocchi, who is out on conditional bail, has been maintaining that there was no veracity in the claims against him by the CBI.
A two-member CBI team led by Director (Prosecution) S K Sharma is in Argentina to assist the lawyers during the trial.
The CBI team, also comprising Superintendent of Police Keshav Mishra, had briefed Argentina's Attorney General in Buenos Aires on June five ahead of the extradition trial.
Thursday's hearing was fixed by the court in El Dorado after consulting the lawyers of both the CBI and Quattrocchi. The court had earlier fixed May 23 as the date for the hearing but CBI's lawyer Almeyra sought a change in view of his pre-occupation in courts in Buenos Aires.
Quattrocchi's passport has been impounded and he has been barred from leaving Argentina till a decision on India's plea for his extradition is made by the court.
Besides Freeland, the Italian businessman is being represented by Luis Taimini.
The hearing of the plea for Quattrocchi's extradition to India began in the Argentinian court on March 23. The businessman had opposed the move, saying it was a politically-motivated case.
The CBI submitted a 250-page extradition request to the Argentinian government after Quattrocchi's arrest in Misiones province.
Freeland submitted his defence papers to the court, including previous rulings by Indian and Malaysian courts that are relevant to the case and judicial opinions and affidavits in support of his client's 'innocence.'
More from rediff