Justice Minister Carlo Nordio expressed satisfaction for the decision made by the judicial and government authorities of the United Arab Emirates.
“I would like to express my gratitude to Minister Al Nuaimi,” said Nordio.
“This positive development in the judicial cooperation with the United Arab Emirates shows that there can be no impunity for those committing crimes in Italy and seeking shelter abroad.”
The decision, the justice ministry said, was made after intense judicial and diplomatic activities over the past few months following Nordio’s visit to Abu Dhabi last February.
During talks with his Emirati counterpart, Mohammed Al Nuaimi, the Italian minister raised several Italian extradition requests that were still pending, including one regarding Coppola’s judicial case.
Meanwhile, Coppola’s defence attorneys Francesco Caroleo Grimaldi and Pietro Pomanti said on Sunday that they will request house detention over health concerns for their client.
“We are extremely concerned by our client’s health problems,” they said, explaining that he “has suffered of serious cardiovascular conditions for some time”.
“Given this situation, we will apply to the surveillance court for a suspension of the sentence with a request for house arrest due to health,” they said.
Real-estate magnate Coppola was arrested in Rome in May 2016 on suspicion of fraudulent bankruptcy.
In April that year, Coppola was sentenced to nine years for a string of bankruptcies totalling 300 million euros.
A Milan appeals court in 2020 sentenced him to a seven-year-term for fraudulent bankruptcy - a verdict upheld by Italy’s supreme Cassation Court in 2022.
ANSA
