A 34 year old man from Skopje was arrested in Italy for a nine year old a daring, high stakes fraud when he used counterfeit money to purchase diamonds worth 1.4 million EUR.

In 2010, the man identified only as S.D. defrauded a German jeweler when he offered to purchase diamonds and a necklace from 1850 for 1.4 million EUR. The two met in Milan where the German was shown 70 packs of bills worth 20.000 EUR each. The exchange was made, and only later did the German realize that the money is counterfeit.

The man from Skopje continued to look for other victims, and went after another German, presenting himself as a luxury villas agent from France. This time, he managed to purchase family jewelry worth 30.000 EUR, again offering counterfeit money.

Following these two reports, an arrest warrant was issued, but the man was not identified for nearly a decade, until he was finally found last week, again in Milan, trying to board a plane for Skopje. He was immediately detained by the Italian police and faces trial.