A Czech native, Mr Viktor Kozeny, who was given an Irish passport in 1995, has been charged with fraud by the Czech authorities and has been declared a fugitive.

Mr Kozeny was given his passport under the "passports for investments" scheme.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said that no passport issued under the scheme has since been revoked.

Mr Kozeny was at the centre of one of the largest of the privatisation scandals that hit eastern Europe in the wake of the collapse of Communism.

Czech police said yesterday that Mr Kozeny and his former business associate, Mr Boris Vostry, had avoided all attempts to deliver the fraud charges to them over the past two years. As a result, they are to be treated as fugitives.

Mr Kozeny lives in the Bahamas and Mr Vostry in Belize. Mr Kozeny is a former director of Harvard Investment Funds.

During the early 1990s, Czech citizens were given vouchers to invest in shares in privatised Czech industries. In a highly publicised campaign, Mr Kozeny invited people to give their vouchers to Harvard, promising an impressive return.

The scheme did not work to the advantage of the 80,000 people who gave their vouchers to Mr Kozeny but, prior to its collapse, he is believed to have pocketed hundreds of millions of euro.

The two men have objected to their being classified as fugitives and have threatened to contest the move legally.

Mr Kozeny was given an Irish passport in 1995 during the Rainbow Coalition in return for a €1 million-plus investment.