"High-profile" fugitive from Ukraine who faked death held in France:
By RFE/RL
A "high-profile fugitive" from Ukraine who faked his death and lived a "lavish lifestyle" in France has been arrested, Europol says.
The EU's law enforcement agency said on October 16 that the man, whose name was not released, was held near the eastern city of Dijon earlier this month, together with three alleged accomplices.
More than 4.6 million euros ($5.3 million) in assets, including "a castle, a vintage Rolls Royce Phantom, and 3 works of art by Salvador Dali," were seized in the October 5 raid, a press release said.
It said the man was thought to be behind "a complex case of international fraud and money laundering."
Europol said that the French authorities launched in January an investigation into alleged suspicious transactions surrounding the purchase of a 3 million-euro ($3.5 million) castle in the Burgundy region by a Luxembourgish company.
It was later established that the ultimate beneficial owner was wanted in Ukraine for alleged "corruption at a large scale" who managed to evade justice by producing "forged death certificates," Europol said.
Officials in Ukraine have so far not commented on the case.