ZURICH (Bloomberg) - Germany denied that it is dragging its feet over a request for help by Liechtenstein police in an international manhunt for Heinrich Kieber, who may have taken data from a Liechtenstein bank and sold it to Germany's intelligence service.

Police in the principality yesterday issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Kieber, 42, and demanded his immediate extradition if apprehended abroad. Germany has said it was asked three weeks ago for help yet said yesterday it still needs time to consider whether it can assist in the search for Mr. Kieber.

German justice authorities are weighing separate requests from Liechtenstein for help in the manhunt and investigating the theft of data, said Ulrich Staudigl, a spokesman for the Federal Justice Ministry, in an interview yesterday. Staudigl declined to comment when asked if Germany faced a conflict of interest.

"Both requests are under judicial review," said the Berlin-based spokesman. Asked if Germany's response to Liechtenstein's request was tardy, he said: "The reviews take time to process, they take their course - I can't say more than that."

Liechtenstein initially requested help from prosecutors in the German cities of Hamm and Munich in its bid to apprehend Mr. Kieber, he said. Munich prosecutor Anton Winkler said yesterday in an interview that he had no knowledge of a request from Liechtenstein to track down Kieber.

The Liechtenstein national is suspected of "having searched out client data, procuring it and divulging it to foreign authorities," Liechtenstein police said on their website yesterday.

Germany last month said it paid an "unsolicited" informant as much as 5 million euros ($7.7 million) for data on account holders in the principality. Vaduz-based LGT Group has said that Mr. Kieber, a former employee of its LGT Treuhand bank, may have taken the data.

The bank data sparked a probe into tax evasion in Germany that has since widened to other countries. The Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Finland, the US, the UK and Australia are carrying out their own investigations into possible tax avoiders with Liechtenstein bank accounts.

"According to media reports, Mr. Kieber was provided with a new identity and new travel documents by the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND)," Liechtenstein police said.

Mr. Kieber is not listed in the Swiss phone directory.