A British court has ruled that a former executive of Credit Suisse can be extradited to the United States to face fraud charges.

Officials at Westminster Magistrates Court said the extradition order was approved Monday, and now goes to Home Secretary Theresa May for final approval.

Kareem Serageldin, a 39-year-old U.S. citizen who lives in London, is accused of distorting the value of mortgage securities in 2007. U.S. authorities say actions by Serageldin and two others contributed to a $2.7 billion writedown in Credit Suisse's results for 2007.

In February, a grand jury in New York indicted Serageldin on three charges of conspiracy, false record-keeping and wire fraud. Former colleagues David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui each pleaded guilty to a single conspiracy count and agreed to cooperate with investigators.