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A Tauranga man wanted by British police in relation to an alleged 150 million pound ($400 million) fraud conspiracy has been arrested by New Zealand police.
The 59-year-old is being held for extradition back to the United Kingdom to face charges relating to a conspiracy to defraud the Bank of England, Detective Sergeant Darryl Brazier said.
The man will appear in Tauranga District Court this afternoon.
Police earlier said they had been contacted by Interpol for assistance in finding the man.
Six other people, including an Australian, are currently on trial in London's Southwark Crown Court over the alleged fraud.
Prosecutors say the scam began when Australian lawyer Ross Cowie, 62, emailed the Bank of England claiming he acted for six former Chinese nationalist officials aged between 109 and 116 who had hoarded riches from early last century.
They wanted to exchange the money for modern notes.
The old notes, all forgeries, included rare 1000 pound notes and non-existent 500,000 pound notes.
Bank officials called in the City of London police when Cowie and three others visited the Bank of England's London premises in February.
Cowie, Chin Lim, 50, Kim Ming Teo, 41, Ping Shuen Mak, 56, Kwok Kwong Chan, 55, and Chi Kuen Chung, 53, were all arrested.
The six have all pleaded not guilty to one charge of conspiring to defraud the bank.
- NZPA
