Christopher Tappin, UK businessman extradited to US, granted bail by Texas judge

July 31, 2016

By Luke Browne

Retired British businessman Christopher Tappin talked to the press in London on Aug. 17, 2010, as his extradition hearings began.
BEN STANSALL

LONDON, UK – Christopher Tappin, the British millionaire businessman extradited to the US over an alleged plot to sell weapons parts to Iran, has been granted bail by a Texas court.

Tappin, 65, from southeast London, will be released from Otero Prison in the New Mexico desert later this week after District Judge David Briones overturned Monday an earlier decision denying him bail due to flight risk, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The retired businessman was ordered to submit a $1 million bond to secure his release, including $50,000 in a cash deposit which his family paid. He will be forced to wear an electronic tag at all times, surrender his UK passport, and limit his travel to two Texas counties and the border city of El Paso for court appearances.

Tappin is accused of conspiring to sell batteries for use in Iranian missiles and was extradited to the US in February following a lengthy battle at the UK High Court.

He denies the charges levelled against him, saying he was the victim of a sting operation executed by the FBI, according to the BBC.

His wife, Elaine, broke down in tears before a parliamentary committee in February following his extradition, telling lawmakers that British courts were not interested in establishing “innocence or guilt” and asserting that her husband was being held in solitary confinement, The Guardian reports.