Bow Street Magistrates Court has discharged extradition proceedings against Senthil Kumar, CEO of the Dutch subsidiary of Indian software company i-flex Solutions who was arrested following an investigation into alleged visa irregularities among employees working at the vendor's Amsterdam office
Kumar was arrested in the UK in March following a raid on the company's premises in Holland. He was accused by Dutch investigators of involvement in providing false references for 14 i-flex employees who were deported from Holland for working without proper permits.
After spending a week in Brixton prison, Kumar was released on £20,000 bail in early April and had his passport confiscated by the court.
Yesterday's discharge came after British Home Secretary David Blunkett declined to issue a formal 'Authority to Proceed' with extradition hearings.
Rajesh Hukku, chairman and managing director, i-flex solutions says: "I-flex and Senthil Kumar today stand vindicated. During the course of this ordeal we have truly been overwhelmed by the support we have received from all our well-wishers."
He thanked the Indian Government, the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Information Technology, and NASSCOM which had lobbied on behalf of i-flex with the Dutch and UK authorities.
I-flex claims that all the employees in Amsterdam were on legitimate short-term business visas while their work permits were being processed.
The company has not indicated whether it intends to maintain its international office in Holland or move to another European location.