Viktor Kozeny released from Bahamas prison

Kozeny, once considered the Czech Republic's richest man, was freed after US lawyers missed the date of a hearing that would have completed the extradition process, his attorney said.

Bahamas Supreme Court Judge Stephen Isaacs released him on $300,000 bail.

Kozeny's Bahamian lawyer, Paul Moss, said the hearing was set for Monday, but the US attorneys were not prepared for that date, so the hearing had been rescheduled for June 23.

"He's ready and willing to go on, but the requesting state, the US government, was not ready to proceed, so bail was granted," he said.

Moss said his client was "extremely pleased" to be out of Nassau's Fox Hill Prison, where he was remanded in 2005 to await extradition.

"He is just happy to see his family and is looking forward to picking up the pieces of his life."

Kozeny was arrested in October 2005 at his home at Lyford Cay, an exclusive enclave near the Bahamaian capital, Nassau, just hours before being indicted on bribery and money-laundering charges in US District Court in Manhattan.

He is accused of being the driving force behind a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme that sought to corrupt Azerbaijan officials to gain a controlling interest in the state-owned oil company SOCAR in the 1990s.

Kozeny is charged with conspiracy to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and could face a 25-year prison term if convicted. Reuters