UAE sends Albanian to Belgium to face murder charge

Franc Gergely was handed over to authorities to stand trial

The UAE said on Friday it had extradited murder suspect Gergely Franc to Belgium. Alamy

The UAE on Friday extradited an Albanian citizen to Belgium, where he is to stand trial for murder.

Franc Gergely has been handed over to Belgian authorities with the approval of the Ministry of Justice, state news agency Wam said.

No further details of the charge of premeditated murder were disclosed.

The Emirates signed an extradition agreement with Belgium in December 2021, which took effect the following November.

It is one of more than 40 such agreements between the UAE and other countries.

“These agreements firmly demonstrate the keenness of the UAE to enhance co-operation on legal and judicial matters with all countries according to best international practices,” Wam reported.

This month, the UAE said it had extradited British hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah to Denmark in connection with an alleged $1.7 billion tax fraud.

Mr Shah, who lived on The Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, is accused of being the central player in a scheme in which foreign businesses pretended to own shares in Danish companies and claimed tax refunds for which they were not eligible.

He has denied the charges and said he was operating within Danish law.