Italy's highest court has ruled that fugitive Brazilian banker Henrique Pizzolato should be extradited to Brazil.
Pizzolato, who has dual Brazilian and Italian citizenship, had fled to Italy to avoid a 12-year jail sentence.
The Court of Cassation in Rome ruled that Henrique Pizzolato should be extradited to Brazil
He was sentenced for corruption and money-laundering as part
of the Mensalao trial, one of Brazil's biggest political corruption
scandals.
Brazilian media said Interpol had issued an arrest warrant for Pizzolato.
Brazilian Victory
Pizzolato was arrested in the small northern Italian town of Maranello in February 2014 for carrying a false passport.
The extent of the Mensalao scandal shocked Brazilians and triggered marches against corruption
He was released in October after a court in Bologna decided he should not be extradited to Brazil because his safety could not be guaranteed in a Brazilian prison.
The appeals court in Rome overturned that decision on Thursday, in a decision seen as a victory for the Brazilian government.
Both the Brazilian Justice Minister and the country's prosecutor general had pushed for Pizzolato's extradition.
The Italian Justice Minister now has 20 days to decide whether to act on the judicial advice.
Escape
Pizzolato was convicted in Brazil in 2012, but was allowed to remain free while he appealed against the verdict.
Brazilian police believe he left the country while the appeal
was under way, as he could not be located when officers came to arrest
him after his sentence was confirmed and his arrest warrant issued.
His lawyer later released a letter from his client saying he
had fled to Italy "in the hope of getting another trial there, free of
media pressure".
Pizzolato also said his trial was politically motivated and denied the charges.
Pizzolato was one of more than two dozen politicians,
businessmen and bankers convicted in the Brazilian political corruption
trial known as Mensalao, which means big monthly allowance in
Portuguese.
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