Fake-death Briton arrested

A British man accused of faking his own death as part of a life insurance scam has been arrested in Australia after a six-year hunt by authorities.

Hugo Sanchez, who also went by the first name Alfredo, was arrested in Sydney yesterday.

Sanchez and his wife Sophie were living in Surrey when they found themselves deeply in debt, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Sanchez is accused of convincing his wife to tell authorities and his employer that he died while overseas so she could collect his life insurance.

Mrs Sanchez began claiming on the life insurance policies, but suspicions were roused when Sanchez's own fingerprints were found on his death certificate, the prosecution service said.

Mrs Sanchez, 43, was arrested and admitted her husband was still alive. She pleaded guilty to six fraud offences and was sentenced to two years in jail last December.

Sanchez appeared briefly in a Sydney court today.

His lawyer, Jim Nicopoulos, told the court that Sanchez would not contest extradition to the UK.