Violin dealer Dietmar Machold has been arrested in Switzerland. Swiss police acted on behalf of Austrian investigators, who want to extradite the German-born owner of Machold Rare Violins to Austria to face charges of fraud and misappropriation. Machold is now in custody in a Swiss jail as authorities in the two countries work out extradition procedures.

A spokesperson for the Vienna public prosecutor's office said that Machold had been under investigation for several months. In late 2010 the Austrian division of Machold Rare Violins filed for insolvency and went into self-administration. Machold told The Strad at the time that a bank had forced him to initiate the US Chapter 11-style bankruptcy when a major instrument transaction ran into delays.

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