Frankfurt, Wednesday
NICK LEESON was tonight on a plane bound for Singapore to stand trial on charges relating to the #860m collapse of Barings Bank.
The former trader and his wife Lisa had an hour-long meeting this morning at the Frankfurt jail where he has been held for nearly nine months.
Afterwards he spent about two hours talking to his British and Singapore lawyers Stephen Pollard and John Koh.
``He's pretty positive and he's ready to get on with it,'' Mr Koh said before the meeting. He added that his client was prepared to tell the truth.
Hoechst prison governor Hadmut Jung-Silberreis said 28-year-old Leeson had left the jail alone and unhandcuffed after saying ``friendly'' goodbyes to a number of prison staff.
The 12-hour flight was due to arrive in Singapore tomorrow afternoon.
A reporter on board the aircraft said Mr Leeson, wearing a Manchester City shirt under a grey-green track suit, was flying on the upper deck of the jumbo jet, in business class.
He was accompanied by his wife, Mr Pollard, and Mr Koh.
Mr Leeson is being extradited to stand trial on 11 charges of fraud and forgery in a trial expected to start before Christmas.
German police took him to the airport, where he was arrested on March 2 in the wake of the bank's crash, and handed him over to the custody of Singaporean officials in the offices of the border police.
Rumours of his extradition had been fuelled by an announcement by airport officials that the visitors' terrace would be closed shortly before the take-off of a non-stop Singapore Airlines flight.
Police armed with machine-guns surrounded the aircraft more than an hour before departure on the flight and passengers checking in for flight SQ325 were put through intensive luggage checks.
Hordes of foreign journalists have converged on Singapore for his return.
Mr Leeson dropped his fight against extradition to Singapore last month and apologised for doubting that he would receive a fair trial.
His dramatic U-turn followed publication of the island's official report into the crash, which blamed the management of Barings for the bank's collapse, allaying fears that he would be made a scapegoat.
The charges he faces carry a maximum 14-year sentence, but lawyers suggest he could expect to receive three to six years if he pleads guilty.
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