Dutch hold Bermuda-based tycoon longer in money laundering probe
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters): A court has allowed Dutch authorities to hold a Dutch businessman and oil tycoon for 14 days for questioning about money laundering and other illicit activities, a prosecution spokeswoman said on Tuesday.John Deuss, 64, once considered one of the world's most important independent oil traders, arrived in the Netherlands on Friday and was arrested by Dutch police. Last week Bermudan authorities arrested Deuss and then released him on $10 million bail. A source close to Deuss said he would leave Bermuda voluntarily to hand himself over to Dutch authorities, who had issued a warrant for his arrest.
The warrant sought his extradition for questioning about alleged handling of stolen property, money laundering, and belonging to a criminal organisation.Deuss supplied the South African apartheid government with oil in the 1980s. He has also traded in Russian oil, before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Deuss stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer of Bermuda Commercial Bank last month after it became public that the bank's leading shareholder, First Curacao International Bank, was being investigated for money laundering by regulators in the Netherlands and on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.
First Curacao International is wholly owned by Deuss, who has had a home in Bermuda for about 30 years.
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