Thursday, May 21, 2009
BANGKOK (AFP)--Thai police arrested a U.K. national in a Bangkok red light district, after he spent eight months on the run, for allegedly embezzling $150 million from a company in Dubai, police said Thursday.
Michael Bryan Smith, 43, was caught in the capital's Nana area Wednesday night after authorities in the United Arab Emirates sought Thailand's assistance, police said at a news conference.
Smith allegedly siphoned off other workers' salaries into his own bank account while working as a personnel manager at a Dubai property company, Thai police said, citing the warrant from the UAE.
Police said Smith, who is married to a Thai woman, had traveled extensively through Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand after fleeing Dubai.
They said Smith had denied all charges and his case would be handed to the attorney-general's Office for extradition to face charges in the UAE.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
21-05-09 0905GMT
