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Ajit Jain in Toronto
Rakesh Saxena, who allegedly hatched a conspiracy in 1995 to defraud the Bangkok Bank of Commerce and is currently fighting a court battle in Vancouver, British Columbia, to extradite him to Thailand, continues to create waves in Canada.
A report says that Canadian Alliance Member of Parliament John Reynolds owes Cdn$500,000 to Vancouver-based brokerage firm Global Securities on shares that he bought of a once fast-rising dotcom company called Wavetech Network, which is owned by Saxena.
A statement of claim filed by Global Securities in a Vancouver court alleges that Reynolds entered into a business transaction with Rakesh Saxena under the terms of which the former became a director of Wavetech Networks.
Reynolds has denied having had any business dealings with Saxena: "I have never heard that allegation before; it is amazing to me that it's in that (statement of claim)," he is quoted as saying in the National Post.
He even denies having had any connections with Saxena and Wavetech.
Saxena disagrees with Reynolds assertion: "Reynolds is not my friend or anything. It's purely a business relationship," he is quoted as saying
Global Securities Corp is reportedly suing Reynolds for payment of about $500,000, a debt that the Canadian Alliance House of Commons leader allegedly rung up through the purchase of Wavetech shares on behalf of a company owned by his wife.
Saxena had been in the international media during 1995-96 when he was accused of defrauding the Bangkok Bank of Commerce to the tune of several million dollars and then escaping to British Columbia.
He reportedly had several high profile accomplices in this conspiracy, including members of the Thai royal family, the Russian mob and well-known arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
The Thai police finally caught up to him in Whistler, a ski resort near Vancouver, when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested him as he was preparing to leave the country on a false identity.
The Thai police then formally sought his extradition.
In June 1996, B C Supreme Court Justice Wally Oppal, himself an Indo-Canadian, released him after he posted a $2-million bail.
Saxena has been under house arrest since then in his luxury condominium in Vancouver.
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