By Ben Butler
A CENTRAL figure in the Operation Wickenby investigations into offshore tax schemes, Philip de Figueiredo, has lost a key court battle in his attempt to stop Tax Office authorities extraditing him to Australia to face fraud charges.
The Royal Court in Jersey has thrown out one leg of Mr de Figueiredo's appeal against extradition, ruling a magistrate was correct to find there was nothing barring him being surrendered to Australia.
But the court is still considering Mr de Figueiredo's bid to overturn a separate decision by the Jersey Attorney-General allowing extradition. Mr de Figueiredo is a director of Strachans, the Swiss accounting firm at the centre of Wickenby investigations. He has been fighting against extradition since his arrest in Jersey on December 30, 2008.
''Mr de Figueiredo is wanted to face prosecution for fraud and money-laundering offences arising from his alleged involvement in a number of tax evasion schemes,'' a spokeswoman for the Australian Attorney-General said.
''On August 9, the Royal Court of Jersey dismissed Mr de Figueiredo's appeal against the decision of the Jersey magistrate.
''There may be further avenues to appeal the magistrate's decision.
''As this matter is currently before the courts in Jersey it is not appropriate to comment further.''
Strachans is at the centre of the Wickenby investigation, which has so far netted more than $500 million in extra tax.
The firm's clients include Wickenby's highest profile scalp so far, convicted tax cheat Glenn Wheatley, and Australian actor Paul Hogan. Weekend reports suggested Mr Hogan had been landed with a fresh tax bill, accusing the movie star of evading tax on $37.6 million of undeclared income.
BusinessDay was unable to obtain a copy of the de Figueiredo judgment from Jersey's courts. Most judgments in the Jersey court system are not published because of their ''sensitivity'', although Jersey's Judicial Greffe plans to increase access this year.
Despite its reputation, Jersey is no longer regarded as a tax haven by the Tax Office because the Channel Islands crown dependency last year signed an information-sharing agreement with Australia.