UK fugitive in Dubai prosecution’s custody

Dubai: The 38-year-old Richard Ardolino, one of the most wanted criminals in the UK, was arrested in Dubai on Wednesday and transferred to the Public Prosecution, a security source in the UAE confirmed on Thursday.

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) also reported on its website that Ardolino was arrested in Dubai on Wednesday.

The agency stated that between April 13, 2005 and December 20, 2007, “Ardolino allegedly conspired with others to fraudulently obtain mortgages in order to purchase houses across the UK.” They added that he also faces a money laundering charge relating to the concealment and transfer of criminal property.

Ardolino was one of the individuals added to the second ‘Operation Zygos campaign’, launched by the NCA and UK’s crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers, to hunt for some of UK’s most wanted fugitives who are believed to be hiding in Cyprus.

The first campaign was launched in 2012 and the second campaign, was launched in April 2014.

The second Operation Zygos campaign features six new appeals for fugitives and the five remaining suspected criminals from the first campaign in 2012.

A European arrest warrant was issued for Ardolino at the request of England’s West Midlands Police in November 2011.

Reuters had also reported on May 21, that the Dubai Police told them by text message, that he was arrested, but did not give away any further details.

England’s Warwickshire Police had released on their website an appeal to trace Ardolino made by England’s West Midlands, which stated that Ardolino, who is originally from the Leeds area, “has been linked to 14 offences of mortgage fraud and money laundering.”

The Yorkshire Post, a UK-based paper, published in 2011 that the West Midlands Police believe that Ardolino travelled outside the United Kingdom in February 2011.