Court denies extradition of Chilean tech guru charged with fraud

Alberto Chang Rajii, a millionaire accused of fraud has won a battle in court, and will not be extradited to Chile.

Magistrate Aaron Bugeja yesterday turned down the request by the Chilean authorities, after finding that the prosecution failed to provide enough admissible evidence to support the extradition claim.

“In terms of Article 8 of the Extradition Act this Court concludes that the prosecution failed to sufficiently prove that the offences with which Chang is accused in Chile are extraditable offences in accordance with the Palermo Convention.”

Alberto Chang-Rajii is the tech guru who allegedly wowed Miami with an elaborate backstory that turned out to be totally made up. Maltese authorities previously said that Mr Chang-Raji tried to buy citizenship on the island through a programme that encourages investors to pour money into the island, but reports read that the authorities denied his efforts.

Chang-Rajii allegedly raised millions from Miami investors with a tale of leaving Chile for Stanford University in the mid1990s, where he said he met Larry Page and Sergey Brin and became an early Google investor. He became a board member at Endeavor Miami and regularly spoke at tech conferences and universities.

But later, the Miami New Times reported that his Stanford tale was bogus, as journalists back in Chile raised questions about whether his business was legit. As Chilean investigators closed in, ChangRajii abruptly fled to Malta and essentially disappeared.

Chilean prosecutors later charged him with running a huge Ponzi scheme. In an SEC complaint filed, the feds say he stole at least $7.4 million in the US as well by misrepresenting his credentials and failing to invest money in tech companies as promised. When he fled to Malta, he hid millions in overseas accounts, they say.