AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (AP) ? A French court ruled last week that the former head of a bank tied to the collapse of US commodities brokerage Refco Inc. can be extradited to Austria.

Helmut Elsner, 71, can be extradited immediately, despite his lawyer?s claim that he has heart problems, said the president of the court in Aix-en-Provence in southern France, Yves Le Bourdon. Elsner?s lawyer, Gerard Baudoux, said they would seek to delay the extradition by appealing to higher court, which would have 40 days to rule.