AN international fraud suspect wanted by police in County Durham may never be extradited to the UK, it has emerged.

Michael Smith is being held in a Thailand prison, but is also being sought by the authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He is alleged to have been the mastermind of a £96m fraud in Dubai where he siphoned off workers’ salaries into his bank account.

Mr Smith was working at a property company, and it is claimed he set up a recruitment firm to harbour the money.

In the North-East, he is said to have run three bank accounts and moved nonexistent cash between them in 1997 and 1998.

The charges relate to transferring amounts he did not have and withdrawing it before officials realised cheques had bounced.

Documents seen by The Northern Echo show that banks in Darlington and Bishop Auckland were said to have been hit.

At the time, Mr Smith gave addresses in the Richmond area of North Yorkshire when he opened the accounts, papers show.

He was committed for trial by Darlington magistrates on six charges of obtaining £17,450 by deception and the theft of £18,965.

After failing to show up at Teesside Crown Court for his first hearing in 1999, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

It is believed the businessman had been in Vietnam, Hong Kong and the Philippines before being traced to Thailand.

He was arrested at the behest of officials in the UAE, but Mr Smith, 44, is appealing against his extradition.

It was thought the former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, could have been at the centre of the legal wrangle.

The extradition delay might have been caused by the UAE’s reluctance to hand over Mr Thaksin to the authorities in Thailand.

The ex-leader has been in self-imposed exile in the Gulf since being ousted in 2006, accused of corruption and abuse of power.

Mr Thaksin, 61, is facing a two-year prison sentence if he returns to his homeland after being convicted on a conflict of interest charge.

The charges from the North-East have been allowed to lie on file as the worldwide bid to have Mr Smith returned looks doomed.

Prosecutor Paul Abrahams told judge Peter Fox: “This will be the end of it at this stage.

“We would wish to proceed once the defendant is back in the jurisdiction, but the likelihood of that happening is negligible.”