“Before the decision to prosecute was made, it was necessary to gather relevant evidence that [the appellant] had committed the offences alleged . . . Delay resulted from the need to gather both personal and documentary evidence to corroborate the offences alleged against Mr Oniszk and from a waiting time before expert witnesses prepared their reports. The case had multiple threads and involved multiple persons and a few dozen people were prosecuted as part of it. The evidence was contained in more than 100 case folders . . . After the issue of the decision to prosecute him Mr Oniszk was sought by the police in Poland, including by a decision of the Circuit Prosecutor to issue a domestic arrest warrant. His whereabouts could not be established in the search.”
“In light of my findings set out at 23 above, I can set out my conclusions on this issue relatively succinctly: (i) Mr Oniszk can rely on the bar of the passage of time as he is not a fugitive. (ii) I must focus on the changes in his life rather than conducting an inquiry into responsibility for delay in his case. (iii) The entire period to be considered runs from the commission of the offences from 2003 to the date of the extradition hearing in 2022. (iv) Since 2008 Mr Oniszk has lived openly in the UK and has worked and paid tax. He has established a life in this jurisdiction with his ex-partner and his daughter, who is now seven years old. His time in the UK has not been free from criminality including a number of convictions for driving offences and for failing to comply with court orders between 2008 to 2012 and a gap of eight years before his most recent conviction for driving with excess alcohol in 2020. (v) Whilst it took some time for the Polish authorities to make a decision to prosecute Mr Oniszk and further time to issue an EAW, I am unable to find that that delay is culpable. It is apparent that the case was not limited to an investigation of Mr Oniszk, there were a number of other defendants and at least two other trials have been completed in this matter. It is apparent from the nature of the allegations themselves that they are charges of some complexity and it does take a substantial period of time for that investigation to progress and for Mr Oniszk to be identified as a suspect rather than as a witness which was his original status. The Polish Authorities did not act with great expedition since 2016 to 2017 once they were aware that he had left Poland. (vi) Mr Oniszk, Ms Borawska and N are in good health. (vii) In the event of his extradition to Poland, Ms Borawska would lose the financial support that Mr Oniszk provided before his imprisonment. N would lose that financial support and would suffer from separation from her father. She would remain living with Ms Borawska. Ms Borawska would have to continue to make alternative arrangements for N's care at the weekend when she is working. They would each have the emotional and physical of the other if this happened. I accept that they would suffer hardship in those circumstances. (viii) However, bearing in mind the high level of seriousness of the offences alleged against Mr Oniszk being involved in four separate offences of dishonesty, including substantial fraud on the Polish Tax Authority, I do not find that his extradition would be oppressive taking into account the gravity of the offences alleged against him in Poland and without minimising the life that he has established here his extradition would not be oppressive. (ix) Nor would Mr Oniszk's extradition be unjust. He is not able to point to any particular evidence or defence that has been lost as a result of the passage of time. There is nothing to show any lack of protection against an unfair or unjust trial in Poland which would give rise to injustice under this bar. Accordingly, I do not find the bar of the passage of time made out in this case.” (i) Mr Oniszk can rely on the bar of the passage of time as he is not a fugitive. (ii) I must focus on the changes in his life rather than conducting an inquiry into responsibility for delay in his case. (iii) The entire period to be considered runs from the commission of the offences from 2003 to the date of the extradition hearing in 2022. (iv) Since 2008 Mr Oniszk has lived openly in the UK and has worked and paid tax. He has established a life in this jurisdiction with his ex-partner and his daughter, who is now seven years old. His time in the UK has not been free from criminality including a number of convictions for driving offences and for failing to comply with court orders between 2008 to 2012 and a gap of eight years before his most recent conviction for driving with excess alcohol in 2020. (v) Whilst it took some time for the Polish authorities to make a decision to prosecute Mr Oniszk and further time to issue an EAW, I am unable to find that that delay is culpable. It is apparent that the case was not limited to an investigation of Mr Oniszk, there were a number of other defendants and at least two other trials have been completed in this matter. It is apparent from the nature of the allegations themselves that they are charges of some complexity and it does take a substantial period of time for that investigation to progress and for Mr Oniszk to be identified as a suspect rather than as a witness which was his original status. The Polish Authorities did not act with great expedition since 2016 to 2017 once they were aware that he had left Poland. (vi) Mr Oniszk, Ms Borawska and N are in good health. (vii) In the event of his extradition to Poland, Ms Borawska would lose the financial support that Mr Oniszk provided before his imprisonment. N would lose that financial support and would suffer from separation from her father. She would remain living with Ms Borawska. Ms Borawska would have to continue to make alternative arrangements for N's care at the weekend when she is working. They would each have the emotional and physical of the other if this happened. I accept that they would suffer hardship in those circumstances. (viii) However, bearing in mind the high level of seriousness of the offences alleged against Mr Oniszk being involved in four separate offences of dishonesty, including substantial fraud on the Polish Tax Authority, I do not find that his extradition would be oppressive taking into account the gravity of the offences alleged against him in Poland and without minimising the life that he has established here his extradition would not be oppressive. (ix) Nor would Mr Oniszk's extradition be unjust. He is not able to point to any particular evidence or defence that has been lost as a result of the passage of time. There is nothing to show any lack of protection against an unfair or unjust trial in Poland which would give rise to injustice under this bar. Accordingly, I do not find the bar of the passage of time made out in this case.”
“36. So far as the Article 8 balancing exercise is concerned, I find that the following factors weigh in favour of extradition: (i) The constant and weighty public interest in extradition that those accused of crimes should be brought to trial and that the UK should honour its international obligations. The public interest in ensuring that extradition arrangements are honoured is very high. (ii) The offences for which Mr Oniszk is sought are undoubtedly serious. The total value of the frauds exceeds£600,000 . (iii) The likely sentence for a person convicted of such an offence is a custodial term of several years. A person convicted of such an offence in this jurisdiction would expect to receive a custodial term of many years, even if they performed a lesser role. Given the value involved exceeds£500,000 in this jurisdiction the person convicted of such an offence would expect to receive at least 18 months' imprisonment. In this case, the frauds were carried out over a long period of time, and therefore it is likely that a person convicted of such offences here would face imprisonment measured as a term of years, for although there has been delay in pursuing the matters contained in the warrant in Poland, an explanation for the delay is provided by the further information of8 April 2022 . It is clear that this case concerns a complex series of frauds which took quite some time to investigate and prosecute. 37. The key factors against extradition are as follows: (i) Mr Oniszk is not a fugitive from justice. (ii) Extradition will undoubtedly have an impact on his ex-partner. She will lose his financial support and the care he provides at weekends to their daughter N. (iii) Extradition will have an impact on N. She relies on him for emotional and practical support and although I do not accept his extradition will be devastating for her, it is likely that she will suffer as a result of his return to Poland. (iv) He has offered to be interviewed in the UK by the Polish Authorities. (v) There has been delay in the prosecution of this case and in any efforts to locate and arrest him on the EAW.” (i) The constant and weighty public interest in extradition that those accused of crimes should be brought to trial and that the UK should honour its international obligations. The public interest in ensuring that extradition arrangements are honoured is very high. (ii) The offences for which Mr Oniszk is sought are undoubtedly serious. The total value of the frauds exceeds£600,000 . (iii) The likely sentence for a person convicted of such an offence is a custodial term of several years. A person convicted of such an offence in this jurisdiction would expect to receive a custodial term of many years, even if they performed a lesser role. Given the value involved exceeds£500,000 in this jurisdiction the person convicted of such an offence would expect to receive at least 18 months' imprisonment. In this case, the frauds were carried out over a long period of time, and therefore it is likely that a person convicted of such offences here would face imprisonment measured as a term of years, for although there has been delay in pursuing the matters contained in the warrant in Poland, an explanation for the delay is provided by the further information of8 April 2022 . It is clear that this case concerns a complex series of frauds which took quite some time to investigate and prosecute. (i) Mr Oniszk is not a fugitive from justice. (ii) Extradition will undoubtedly have an impact on his ex-partner. She will lose his financial support and the care he provides at weekends to their daughter N. (iii) Extradition will have an impact on N. She relies on him for emotional and practical support and although I do not accept his extradition will be devastating for her, it is likely that she will suffer as a result of his return to Poland. (iv) He has offered to be interviewed in the UK by the Polish Authorities. (v) There has been delay in the prosecution of this case and in any efforts to locate and arrest him on the EAW.”
“A person's extradition to a category 1 territory is barred by reason of the passage of time if (and only if) it appears that it would be unjust or oppressive to extradite him by reason of the passage of time [F1 since he is alleged to have— (a) committed the extradition offence (where he is accused of its commission), or (b) become unlawfully at large (where he is alleged to have been convicted of it)]” (a) committed the extradition offence (where he is accused of its commission), or (b) become unlawfully at large (where he is alleged to have been convicted of it)]”