US court gives go-ahead to Pakistani banker’s re-trial
NEW YORK, Jan 12: A US judge declined to throw out an insider-trading case against a former Credit Suisse investment banker, paving the way for his retrial next week.
US District Judge Richard Berman, who had declared a mistrial in December in the case against Hafiz Naseem, ruled that he did not find that “either the government or the defendant suffered any prejudice” because of the decision, according to a written ruling made public on Friday.
Mr Naseem’s lawyer, Michael Bachner, had asked the court to dismiss the case on grounds of double jeopardy, which forbids a defendant from being tried twice for the same crime. “We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision,” Mr Bachner said.
“And if the need arises we intend to appeal it.” Mr Berman had declared a mistrial on the second day of the trial after finding that two jurors had failed to follow instructions. A new trial is scheduled to begin on Monday before US District Judge Robert Patterson.
Mr Naseem, a Pakistani national who worked for Credit Suisse’s
Global Energy Group in New York, is accused of leaking inside tips about a string of pending merger deals to a co-defendant, Ajaz Rahim, who has an arrest warrant pending against him.
Mr Rahim is a former head of the investment banking group at Faysal Bank in Pakistan.
