Serial conman Peter Foster will be extradited to Queensland to face fraud charges.
The 59-year-old Foster failed to appear in a Sydney court in May accused of a multi-million-dollar Bitcoin scam, and was on the run from police until his arrest on Tuesday near the Macedon Ranges town of Gisborne.
During his extradition hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Foster did not oppose the extradition bid.
He faced court via videolink from a room at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, wearing a pale blue hospital gown and a tag around his wrist, and asked magistrate Jason Ong if he could make a "couple of observations or comments".
Foster then claimed his arrest in Port Douglas was "brutal" and that he had spent seven months in unlawful custody.
"As a proud Queenslander I want to go home," Foster said, but told Mr Ong he had no confidence in the state's police force.
"These charges are fatally flawed, they should never have been brought," Foster said.
His lawyer Chris Hannay told him it was "not the time or the place to vent those issues", and when Foster continued, he sighed and said "well I can't stop you, but it's not appropriate".
"I am not sure whether this is assisting me in this matter today," the magistrate replied.
The court made an order for Foster to remain in custody until he is extradited to Queensland to face court on December 13.
Foster remains in hospital being treated for an unknown medical condition he disclosed to police.
Foster was initially arrested in Port Douglas in August 2020 on fraud-related charges filed in NSW.
The 15 charges were related to allegations he posed as a man called Bill Dawson and extricated 120 Bitcoin from a Hong Kong man in 2019 and 2020.
Granted strict bail in March, Foster failed to appear in May for a scheduled plea hearing in Sydney, despite being cited earlier that day by his lawyer.
As Foster started life on the run, NSW prosecutors dropped the charges and Queensland police subsequently issued a fresh warrant over the same allegations.
