A Bermuda-based oil tycoon caught up in an international fraud probe was released from custody in the Netherlands yesterday on 2.5 million Euro bail.

John Deuss, 64, was voluntarily extradited there in October after a Dutch warrant for his arrest sparked an Island-wide manhunt.

Deuss, who is originally from Holland, has since been quizzed by the authorities in connection with an alleged international tax scam.

Fraudulent traders are suspected of having stashed hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal tax gains in accounts at his Caribbean-based First Cura?ao International Bank (FCIB), which is the largest shareholder in Bermuda Commercial Bank (BCB).

Deuss stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer of BCB in September after news of the investigation became public.

The Dutch warrant sought his extradition for questioning about alleged handling of stolen property, money laundering and belonging to a criminal organisation.

Deuss, who has an office in Flatts and has lived on the Island for about 30 years, has maintained his innocence.

As reported yesterday, the public prosecutor in the Netherlands told a judge on Thursday that Deuss's detention was no longer necessary for the investigation.

According to the Dutch media, Deuss surrendered his passport and cannot leave the country.

The tycoon 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.