Ross lawyers lodge bail application

Lawyers for the Cork-born financier Mr Finbarr Ross have lodged a bail application and are to initiate an appeals process which could take up to a year or longer.

A court in Muskogee, Oklahoma, ruled on Tuesday that Mr Ross should be extradited to Northern Ireland to face up to 41 charges relating to the collapse of International Investments Ltd in 1984.

An application for "reasonable bail" was lodged on Tuesday evening by Mr Ross's lawyers. The application cites supporting legal precedents and claims Mr Ross is not a "flight risk".

Judge James Payne, who ruled on Tuesday that Mr Ross should be extradited, will rule on the application, probably some time in the next two or three weeks, according to Ms Paula Butcher, of the Muskogee federal court office.

Meanwhile Mr Ross's lawyers will commence the appeal process by filing a habeas corpus motion with the Muskogee District Court as soon as the papers are ready, according to Mr Tom Patton, one of the three lawyers retained by Mr Ross. "It is our hope that Mr Ross can be freed on bail pending the appeal."

The district court will rule on the correctness or otherwise of the rulings on law made by Judge Payne. If the district court ruling is not in Mr Ross's favour, then an appeal of that decision can be lodged to the Circuit Court of Appeal, in Denver, Colorado.

"The appeals process could take some time, depending on the court of appeal. There are too many factors involved to estimate how long. If Mr Ross is still being held in custody then that could get it expedited," said Mr Patton.

He said he did not agree with a number of Judge Payne's findings and in particular with the magistrate's decision that Mr Ross left Ireland to avoid prosecution. "He left Ireland two years before the Northern Ireland police began their investigation."

Mr Joe Wilson, the assistant US attorney involved in the extradition hearing, said the treaty between the US and Britain provides for expediting any judicial review.

Nevertheless the whole process could take "one to two years, potentially. Maybe less, but not longer".

If the Denver court rules against Mr Ross then that decision can be appealed to the US Supreme Court. However the Supreme Court could decide not to review the decision. In that case the appeals process would then be complete and the final decision on whether Mr Ross should be extradited would be made by the Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright. Judge Payne, in his ruling, said the offences with which Mr Ross has been charged "are not political offences".

In recent years Mr Ross has been active with the Light of Christ Community Church, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and last year he was ordained a minister. Friends from the church and former business associates raised the money to pay for Mr Ross's legal expenses. However the Rev Carol Parrish-Harra, the leading member of the Light of Christ congregation, said the resources of his church friends were now exhausted.

"The money to continue this will have to come from business associates, from people beyond the perimeters of this small area," Rev Parrish said. Another member of the congregation, Ms Julie Tierney, who has been involved in raising funds to pay Mr Ross's legal expenses, said she did not know where the money for an appeal will come from.

"The trial cost $20,000 and the appeal will probably cost the same again," she said. "It's extremely hard to collect that sort of money. We are still in a state of shock after the judge's decision on Tuesday."

Mr John Fleck, who represents a number of the 1,200 investors who lost money in the collapse, said he was "very happy" with the Muskogee ruling. He called for the appointment of a High Court inspector by the Government, to investigate the IIL collapse.