Bradford-born Asaf Darr is facing the daunting prospect of having to return to the foreign country where he was wrongly imprisoned for 18 months.

Precious-metal trader Mr Darr, 46, and two Dutch colleagues were arrested in the Dominican Republic in November 1999 during a business trip to buy gold in neighbouring Haiti.

They were detained on suspicion of money laundering and were found to be carrying more than $750,000 US dollars (£535,000) when they drove back to the Dominican Republic after the deal in Haiti collapsed.

Mr Darr was released without charge in July. When he flew into Heathrow Airport he had an emotional reunion with his daughters Sophie and Sarah.

But the confiscated money, $500,000 of which belongs to him, was not returned.

His lawyer is refusing to release the remaining money until he is paid a further $15,000 to offset his tax liability on his original fee of $150,000. Now Mr Darr is facing a return trip to the Dominican Republic to claim his cash. "He's holding me to ransom," said Mr Darr, who is now working part-time at Kings Arm Garage in Manningham Lane, Bradford,

Without having a representative in the Dominican Republic, Mr Darr has no way of getting his money back, and has even been refused help by the Foreign Office.

"The Foreign Office told its representative in the Domin-ican Republic not to pick up the cheque because if there were any discrepancies I could hold them responsible under the law," he said. "But I told them I was prepared to sign a document to say I would not hold them responsible."

The Foreign Office is trying to establish the options available for Mr Darr to retrieve his money.