Mogens Amdi Petersen, 63, who has lived in seclusion for more than 20 years, was declared to be a "serious flight risk" after a lengthy hearing before U.S. Magistrate Stephen J. Hillman in Los Angeles.
Petersen was arrested last weekend during a stopover at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight from Britain to Mexico. Danish prosecutors have accused him of tax fraud and embezzling about $10 million from a branch of the Tvind organization, which he established during the 1970s to educate troubled youths in Denmark. Since then, the organization has expanded to Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States, combining philanthropic work with business ventures that include plantations, factories and used-clothing stores.
Petersen attracted hordes of idealistic volunteers who surrendered their
Danish government-subsidized salaries to Tvind for the privilege of
participating in the movement.
Accused by some critics of operating a cult-like organization, Peterson left
his native Denmark about 1980 and went into seclusion, according to Danish
authorities.
Until recently, he had been living in secret in a $10-million condominium on
Fisher Island, a private retreat off the South Florida coast.
Poul Gade, a Danish prosecutor dispatched to Los Angeles this week, said some
of the money Petersen allegedly extorted went to pay for the condo as well as
other personal luxuries.
In court, Petersen's lawyer, Robert L. Shapiro, argued that his client was a
"philanthropist not a fugitive."
Shapiro offered to produce testimonials from an assortment of African leaders
attesting to the work of Petersen's volunteers in running schools and
combating AIDS and in public works projects.
He said American friends of Petersen were prepared to post a $1-million bond
to secure his release.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Matthew E. Sloan countered that a $1-million bond would
not suffice to ensure Petersen's stay in the U.S. His organization, Sloan told
the judge, has assets worth more than $100 million and generates millions of
dollars in revenue a year.
Moreover, Sloan said, Danish investigators uncovered evidence that Petersen
recently applied for citizenship in Zimbabwe and Brazil, which do not have
extradition treaties with Denmark.
Hillman set a March 19 date for a status conference on the case. Afterward,
the matter will be assigned to a U.S. District Court judge, who will hold an
extradition hearing.
Petersen's arrest has drawn more than a dozen Danish journalists to Los
Angeles.
"This is our Enron," one television reporter said outside the
courtroom Friday. "This guy has been a raging controversy for years. He's
front-page news everywhere in Denmark."