Alleged ‘Hollywood Con Queen' loses fight against extradition from UK to US
Hargobind Tahilramani is wanted in California on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for allegedly defrauding around 300 people out of a total of approximately US$1 million (RM4.23 million) between 2013 and 2020.
The 45-year-old is accused of tricking people into travelling to Indonesia and paying exorbitant fees for non-existent film work, before he was arrested in a hotel in Manchester, England, in November 2020.
Tahilramani's extradition was approved by a judge and then British ministers in 2023, but he challenged the decision to send him to the US to stand trial, arguing prison conditions would breach his human rights due to his mental health.
His lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told London's High Court in April that Tahilramani, who has applied for asylum in Britain, was also at risk of being attacked in prison as a gay man.
Fitzgerald said this meant Tahilramani was likely to be held in isolation while in pre-trial detention, which put him at high risk of suicide given his underlying mental health issues.
But Tahilramani's appeal was dismissed by Judge Derek Sweeting, who said in a written ruling that the lower court was not wrong when it ordered his extradition to stand trial. — Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
10 hours ago
- Malay Mail
By order of MI6: ‘Peaky Blinders' creator Steven Knight to write new Bond script
LONDON, Aug 2 — Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight will write the script for the next James Bond film, Amazon MGM Studios has announced, reported PA Media/dpa news. It marks the latest step in a major overhaul of the iconic British spy franchise, following Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson handing over creative control to Amazon as part of a lucrative deal. Knight told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast: 'It has always been on my bucket list and it's fantastic to be invited to do it, and I can't wait to get started.' He added: 'I'm hoping that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will be imbued into me and I will be able to produce something that's the same but different, and better, stronger and bolder.' In June it was announced that Dune's Denis Villeneuve will direct the film, which will be produced by Amy Pascal and David Heyman via Pascal Pictures and Heyday Films respectively. The pair consistently maintained that they would secure a director and develop a screenplay before casting the next super spy. There has been speculation about who will take up the mantle of Bond after Daniel Craig's final portrayal in 2021's No Time to Die. In 2022, Amazon acquired MGM, including the rights to distribute James Bond films. The official Bond film franchise had been controlled by members of the Broccoli family, either single-handedly or in partnership with others, since the first 007 movie Dr No in 1962. Knight, 65, is the creator of historical drama series A Thousand Blows, BBC's This Town and Netflix mini-series All The Light We Cannot See. He is also executive producer on the new series, Built In Birmingham: Brady And The Blues, which follows Birmingham City football club and key ownership figures, including former NFL quarterback Tom Brady and US businessman Tom Wagner. His upcoming projects include Netflix's Peaky Blinders film and historical drama series House Of Guinness. — Bernama-PA Media/dpa
The Star
11 hours ago
- The Star
Singapore: Jail and fine for Myanmar man linked to case involving three bank accounts that received over US$531mil in total
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A man linked to a case involving three bank accounts that received more than US$531 million (over S$680 million) in total was sentenced to two years' jail and a fine of S$109,000 on July 30. Myanmar national Nyan Win, 61, who had pleaded guilty to two counts of carrying on a business of providing a payment service in Singapore without a licence, will have to spend an additional six months behind bars should he fail to pay the fine. His Singaporean accomplice Zin Nwe Nyunt, 58, was sentenced to a year and six months' jail on July 14. Court documents stated that Nyan Win, a Singapore permanent resident, and Zin Nwe Nyunt's husband were childhood friends. At the time of the offences, Nyan Win was a director at Piyar International, a company that dealt with motor vehicles. In 2019, another Myanmar national known as Ko Phillip, who operated a commodities trading business, told Nyan Win he was looking for someone to incorporate a company in Singapore to assist in the operations of Ko Phillip's business. This company would then create corporate bank accounts that would be used to receive and transfer funds under Ko Phillip's instructions. He offered Nyan Win a commission of 0.5 Myanmar kyat (S$0.0003) per US dollar received under this arrangement. Nyan Win, who was interested in this opportunity, was uncertain whether he could set up a corporate bank account through Piyar International. Without revealing details, Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim said this was because banks had previously closed the company's corporate bank accounts. Nyan Win approached Zin Nwe Nyunt's husband and told him about this potential business opportunity with Ko Phillip. As the husband was holding a full-time job, details of which were not disclosed in court documents, he suggested that his wife could assist in the firm's incorporation. It was later agreed between Zin Nwe Nyunt and Nyan Win that the corporate bank accounts would be controlled by Nyan Win. Commissions would then be split between the pair. Zin Nwe Nyunt incorporated wholesale trading company Unione, and from July 2019 to May 2021, she opened accounts with three different banks through the firm. She then handed the banking details to Nyan Win, the court heard. DPP Lim said: 'Across 2020 and 2021, Nyan Win would liaise with Phillip to make arrangements for money to be received into Unione's corporate bank accounts. 'Nyan Win would also receive instructions from Phillip on where to transfer the money once it had been received into the bank accounts. Nyan Win would provide Zin with information regarding the incoming transactions for her to compute the commission amount.' Between January and July 2020, Nyan Win used one of Unione's bank accounts to receive more than US$150 million before the money was transferred out. Following these transactions, Zin Nwe Nyunt made more than $56,000 in commissions while Nyan Win received more than $34,000. On July 21, 2020, the bank closed the account because of the large number of suspicious transactions. The DPP told the court: 'Zin, Nyan Win and Unione did not have in force a valid licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and were not an exempt payment service provider.' Following the closure of this account, Zin Nwe Nyunt took instructions from Nyan Win and opened a corporate account with another bank. Between late July 2020 and April 2021, Nyan Win used this account to receive more than US$250 million before the money was transferred out. Zin Nwe Nyunt received nearly $76,000 in commissions, while Nyan Win pocketed more than $50,000. DPP Lim said that between August 2020 and March 2021, a third bank account was used to receive more than US$127 million. Over $119 million was then transferred out. In August 2021, the police received information that an Australian scam victim had transferred US$1.8 million to several bank accounts maintained by companies in Singapore. Investigations revealed three of these firms had transferred more than $480,000 to the third bank account. Investigators then uncovered links between Zin Nwe Nyunt, Unione and Nyan Win. The pair were charged in court in 2023. On July 30, Nyan Win's bail was set at $20,000, and he was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on Aug 7 to begin serving his sentence. - The Straits Times/Asian News Network
The Star
12 hours ago
- The Star
Tesla loses lawsuit over fatal and deadly self-driving crash in 2019; company hit with US$243mil in damages
SACRAMENTO, United States (Xinhua): A Miami jury on Friday found Tesla's Autopilot system liable in a deadly 2019 crash. This first-of-its-kind ruling highlighted mounting safety worries about self-driving tech and could unleash a surge of similar lawsuits against automakers globally. Court documents showed Tesla owed US$242.6 million in damages: US$42.6 million for victims' pain and suffering, and US$200 million as punitive damages. The tragedy unfolded in Florida when George McGee's Tesla struck a car, killing 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and severely injuring her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo. McGee confessed to cellphone distraction, yet jurors found Tesla 33 percent at fault. They deemed Autopilot defective for permitting use on unfit roads without sufficient safeguards or alerts. Tesla said in a statement, "Today's verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla's and the entire industry's efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology." Tesla said it will appeal. Since launching Autopilot in 2015, Tesla has faced growing scrutiny over the driving feature. U.S. regulators have investigated multiple crashes, including a probe opened by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in October 2024 into Tesla's Full Self-Driving system after four crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one pedestrian fatality, according to agency documents. In another inquiry in April 2024, the administration analyzed 467 Autopilot crashes with 54 injuries, leading to a recall of over 2 million vehicles for enhanced driver alerts, per agency records. In January 2025, it launched a probe into 2.6 million Tesla cars over remote driving features after four reported crashes. Meanwhile, the California Department of Motor Vehicles recently accused Tesla of misleading advertising by using terms like "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving." It is seeking to suspend Tesla's license to sell vehicles in the state, its biggest U.S. market, for at least 30 days and may also push for consumer warnings and restitution. According to local media, legal analysts viewed Friday's verdict as a watershed, marking the first major jury verdict against Tesla for a third-party death. - Xinhua
