OTTAWA - Karlheinz Schreiber has lost yet another legal round in his lengthy battle to stave off extradition to Germany on fraud, bribery and tax-evasion charges.

In a decision released without comment, the Supreme Court of Canada has refused to review Schreiber's latest bid to block his removal from Canada.

The German-Canadian arms dealer has been fighting extradition for nine years.

This was the third time he has submitted new legal reasons to reverse a 2004 decision by then-Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler to surrender him to Germany.

Schreiber was in no immediate danger of removal from Canada no matter what the outcome in court Thursday.

Rob Nicholson, the current Conservative justice minister, announced in March that he would be allowed to stay long enough to participate in a public inquiry into his business dealings with former Tory prime minister Brian Mulroney.

The inquiry, under Justice Jeffrey Oliphant, is expected to begin hearing witnesses in February. Oliphant is scheduled