An arrest warrant has been issued for Bermuda millionaire oil tycoon John Deuss. A court hearing was held yesterday after authorities in the Netherlands launched a warrant in order to start extradition proceedings to question the Dutch businessman, who has offices in Flatts.

The arrest warrant was given the green light by a Bermuda magistrate on Friday afternoon ? but that decision was challenged in the same court by Mr. Deuss? lawyer, Mark Pettingill yesterday. The hearing came after it was reported last week how suspected fraudsters are believed to have stashed hundreds of millions of dollars into a bank owned by Mr. Deuss after deploying elaborate scams to defraud European governments.

The warrant was issued by Dutch prosecutors who want to question him about the bank.

However, Mr. Deuss64has remained adamant his bank in Curacao, as well as a number of his other companies raided by authorities in Europe ?have at all times conducted their business in full compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and rules?.

Mr. Pettingill called for the warrant to be put on hold. He claimed that because there was no legal treaty between the Netherlands and the overseas territory of Bermuda through the UK in relation to the extradition process, the provisional arrest attempt was an abuse of court process.

Senior Crown counsel Paula Tyndale argued the court did not have the power to put the warrant on hold, and had no power to review its own actions. Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo rejected Mr. Pettingill?s application, and said he was not ?persuaded? by the defence lawyer?s argument that he had the power to ?stay? the warrant, or put it on hold.

After the hearing, Mr. Pettingill said his client denied ?any type of wrongdoing? and stressed he had not been charged with any offences. The court hearing was attended by a string of senior legal figures, including Attorney General Larry Mussenden, Solicitor General Wilhelm Bourne and Police Commissioner George Jackson.

Mr. Deuss? First Curacao International Bank in Curacao, which has had hundreds of millions of dollars in assets frozen by European authorities, is the largest shareholder of Bermuda Commercial Bank.

The bank has said it did not believe its business would be affected by the investigations in Curacao.

His Curacao-based bank is thought to have been used by suspected fraudsters seeking a place to hide hundreds of millions of dollars used in an alleged international ?carousel fraud? ? an elaborate tax scam ? affecting a number of European countries including the UK, Germany and Holland.