Canada's top court said Thursday it is delaying its decision on whether to hear an extradition appeal from Karlheinz Schreiber to give the German-Canadian businessman more time to provide information.

The longtime Canadian citizen is wanted in Germany on charges of bribery, tax evasion, fraud and breach of trust.

Karlheinz Schreiber became a Canadian citizen in 1981.
(Canadian Press file photo)

Schreiber lost an extradition challenge in the Ontario Court of Appeal earlier this year and appealed to Canada's top court, which had announced it would render judgment on Thursday.

An appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada is Schreiber's last hope to avoid deportation to Germany, which asked Canadian authorities to arrest him in 1999.

The German charges stem from a deal for the sale of German army tanks from arms manufacturer Thyssen AG to Saudi Arabia. German authorities allege Schreiber and others at Thyssen defrauded Saudi Arabia in the course of the deal.

Schreiber denies the charges.

Arrested in 1999

RCMP arrested him in Toronto on Sept. 2, 1999, at the request of German authorities. He was released on bail several days later after former Tory cabinet minister Elmer MacKay and former Liberal cabinet minister Marc Lalonde each offered $100,000 sureties.

Schreiber has argued his arrest in Canada was illegal because Germany's extradition treaty with Canada does not include allegations of tax crimes.

He has since lost a series of bids to remain in Canada.

In 2004, the Ontario Superior Court ruled Schreiber could be extradited to Germany.

He appealed to the federal Justice Department, but in October 2004, then Liberal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler ordered Schreiber deported.

The Ontario Court of Appeal in March 2006 rejected Schreiber's appeal, ordering him deported. He sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Schreiber linked to Mulroney

Schreiber made headlines earlier this year when he told CBC's The Fifth Estate that former prime minister Brian Mulroney received $300,000 from a secret Swiss bank account controlled by Schreiber after he left office.

Mulroney was strapped for cash at the time, Schreiber told The Fifth Estate's Linden MacIntyre.

In 1999, a spokesman for Mulroney denied any money was exchanged. But in 2003, Mulroney indirectly acknowledged he did receive money from Schreiber but as payment for his help in promoting Schreiber's pasta business.

Schreiber was also linked with the so-called Airbus affair, involving allegations in the mid-1990s of secret commissions paid to members of the Mulroney government in exchange for Air Canada's purchase of a large order of Airbus jets.

Mulroney subsequently sued for libel and, under oath, testified that he "never had any dealings" with Schreiber. Mulroney received a government apology and a $2-million settlement.