U.S. Said to Push for Return of Fugitive Executive
American diplomats are hoping to persuade Yemen to deport a fugitive property executive back to the U.S. rather than returning him to the United Arab Emirates to face fraud charges, Yemeni state security officials said Friday.
Zack Shahin, an American citizen who grew up in Ohio, was detained in Yemen more than two weeks ago after fleeing fraud charges in Dubai. He is currently in a high-security prison in San'a, the Yemeni capital, and has been visited by U.S. embassy officials several times in recent weeks, according to Yemeni officials familiar with the matter. All the Yemeni officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
A U.S. State Department official said they are aware of reports of his pending deportation and "we have been providing appropriate consular support."
While the U.S. is a staunch ally of the U.A.E., the embassy is pushing hard for Yemen to deport him home instead of sending him back to Dubai to face the charges, the people said. It isn't clear whether the U.A.E. has submitted an extradition request for Mr. Shahin.
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