Oil tycoon John Deuss was yesterday arrested in the Netherlands for alleged irregularities in the running of his Caribbean-based First Curaao International Bank (FCIB).

The 64-year-old multi-millionaire banker arrived in his home country after flying voluntarily from Bermuda, where he has lived for more than 30 years, on Thursday night escorted by two Dutch Policemen.

Valentine Hoen, a spokeswoman for the national financial prosecutor's office in Holland, confirmed his arrest and said he would appear at a closed hearing before a judge in The Hague within three days.

A warrant issued for Mr. Deuss' arrest last month listed allegations against him of money laundering, handling stolen property and being in charge of a criminal investigation.

He was captured by Police following a two-week search but released on $10 million bail on Monday by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner.

On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Deuss, who denies any wrongdoing, waived his rights to a full extradition hearing in order to leave the Island for questioning in Holland.

FCIB has had its assets frozen last month as part of a Dutch/British investigation into so-called carousel fraud, a scam which costs governments in Europe billions of dollars in lost tax each year.

The bank is the largest shareholder in Bermuda Commercial Bank (BCB). Mr. Deuss resigned as BCB chairman earlier this month.