Singapore court orders extradition of Ge Zhi to face US insider-trading charges

In a written decision dated Oct 1, District Judge Cheng Yuxi found that Singapore’s Extradition Act requirements were met and committed Ge Zhi to custody while awaiting a surrender order from the Law Minister. The ruling concludes a prolonged legal battle during which Ge repeatedly sought delays, including claims of mental health issues that were later dismissed by the Institute of Mental Health. US prosecutors, represented by an FBI affidavit, say Ge was recruited in Paris in 2016 and helped run an insider-trading operation that supplied non-public corporate data to traders in the United States and elsewhere.

The network relied on disposable phones, coded language such as “socks” and “greens,” and encrypted messaging to evade detection, moving profits through intermediaries and even disguising large transfers as payments to an antique-watch dealer in Hong Kong. Ge now faces six charges of securities fraud and money laundering in the United States.