Dutch investigators have applied to a US court for its help in seeking more information in their investigation of the business dealings of Bermuda-based businessman John Deuss.

An application to collect evidence, filed in a Florida district court, shows how the Dutch authorities are still investigating the oil tycoon two-and-a-half years after they held him for questioning on suspicion of money laundering and fraud. Mr. Deuss was never charged.

In particular, the Dutch want to find out more about nearly $138 million transferred from Mr. Deuss' First Curacao International Bank (FCIB) in September 2006.

"The aim of the criminal investigation is to determine the extent of the suspects' proceeds of crime for the purpose of confiscating these assets," states the Dutch investigators' request for assistance from the US under the two countries' Treaty of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.

Mr. Deuss told The Royal Gazette that the Dutch had used "partial pieces of fact, innuendo, hearsay evidence, and in some cases have intentionally misstated important facts for the sole purpose of portraying members of the Deuss family Transworld Oil and FCIB in an unflattering manner and deliberately damaging their reputations."

He added that transactions mentioned in the court documents "all appear to have been conducted in the ordinary course of business of the named parties" in an appropriate and legally binding manner.

The 66-year-old, who has a home in Tucker's Town, made a fortune busting international sanctions to sell oil to South Africa during its apartheid era and owns several energy industry companies, including Bermuda-based Transworld Oil Ltd.

In September 2006, Dutch authorities raided the offices of FCIB where they believed fraudsters had stashed gains from an international tax fraud scam.

Days later, Mr. Deuss stepped down as chairman and chief executive of Bermuda Commercial Bank, of which FCIB was the biggest shareholder.

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