The Home Office has rejected a fresh claim against its decision to deport former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli to Ghana in a final appeal bid.
Adoboli’s lawyer Jacqueline McKenzie told HuffPost UK his claim was not accepted on the basis that there is “no realistic prospect of success”.
Barristers involved in the case have now been briefed on a judicial review currently being prepared for submission.
Adoboli had been at Dungaval detention centre in Scotland since 3 September. Yesterday, he was moved to a Heathrow detention centre as the Home Office push ahead with deportation plans.
The 38-year-old was convicted of fraud in 2012 after losing more than £1bn for the Swiss bank.
Although born in Ghana, Adoboli has not lived there since the age of four and describes himself as British, having lived in the UK since the age of 12.
He spent four years in prison after making by making “off book trades” which led to 10,000 job cuts and the axing of UBS’s chief executive. He was charged with two counts of fraud by abuse of position, a case that was described by police as the biggest case of fraud in UK history.
Since his release, Adoboli has become a whistleblower, educating audiences, from students to business executives, on banking reform.
His supporters have argued that his efforts to prevent similar crimes, in addition to the fact that he is non-violent and at low-risk of reoffending, mean he should be granted permission to stay.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Adoboli said that the Home Office intended to carry out the deportation “on or soon after September 10”.
Under British law, any foreign national sentenced to more than 12 months or over is subject to automatic deportation.
In addition to this, it is always in the public interest for the Home Office to consider deportation where someone is sentenced to 4 years and over, unless there are compelling circumstances.
Right of Appeal exist in both circumstances.