BREAKING: Main suspect in embezzlement case arrested in South Africa

Britta Nielsen arrested early this morning in an apartment in Johannesburg

The main suspect in the 111 million kroner embezzlement case, Anna Britta Troelsgaard Nielsen, has been arrested in an apartment in South Africa.

According to the Danish financial crimes unit SØIK, the 64-year-old Nielsen was arrested early this morning in an apartment in Johannesburg.

“The escape is over. The prime suspect is arrested. It’s the result of a targeted international co-operation between SØIK and a number of international authorities,” said SØIK police inspector Thomas Anderskov Riis.

“We can now hope that we can finally get to the bottom of where the remainder of the missing millions are.”

READ MORE: Man tied to huge public money fraud case arrested in South Africa

Extradition requested
Three people have already been charged in the extraordinary fraud case in which Nielsen swindled the state out of 111 million kroner over a 16-year period.

She is also being investigated for suspicious transactions going back as far as 1997. She worked at the Socialstyrelsen social authority for 40 years.

An official request for her extradition to Denmark has been lodged with the South African authorities.

Nielsen is the second person arrested in the case following the detainment of a man at the main airport in Johannesburg last week.

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