A US court has refused bail to the Cork-born financier Mr Finbarr Ross. A judge in Muskogee, Oklahoma, issued the order earlier this week. There was no bail hearing.

Mr Ross (52) is awaiting extradition to Northern Ireland to face 41 fraud charges relating to the collapse of his company, International Investments Ltd, in 1984.

Judge James Payne of the Muskogee Federal Court said that at the initial appearance of Mr Ross before the court on March 5th, he had determined that bail was not appropriate. On April 14th he decided Mr Ross was extraditable.

"There are no `special circumstances' warranting a change in this court's previous determination that bail was inappropriate," he said. "To the contrary, in light of this court's finding that there is probable cause to believe extraditable crimes have been committed, and that Ross is a `fugitive fleeing from justice,' the court's previous order denying bail is only reinforced."

Lawyers for Mr Ross filed an application for bail after the judge's decision on April 14th. They also lodged a writ of habeas corpus. A hearing in that matter is likely to take place in about two weeks. If the court finds against Mr Ross, then that ruling is likely to be appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado. The whole process could take up to a year.

Mr Mark Green, one of Mr Ross's lawyers, said they may renew the bail application "when the time is right".

Ms Julie Tierney, an acquaintance of Mr Ross since he became involved in the Light of Christ Community Church, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, said Mr Ross is bearing up well. She had spoken to him yesterday, and he had not at that time been told he had been refused bail.

"He spends his time meditating and saying the rosary," said Ms Tierney, who speaks on the telephone with Mr Ross daily. Mr Ross was appointed a minister of the Light of Christ church late last year.