Authorities in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates have been seeking the arrest of kidnapped Irish tycoon Kevin Michael McGeever for over 20 months, The Irish Star revealed yesterday.

The Star has reportedly obtained a copy of an arrest warrant issued for McGeever, 68, in Dubai, which allegedly shows prosecutors in the UAE began a national and international hunt for him over his suspect property dealings in Dubai in May 2011.

The warrant — which is signed by Dubai’s Assistant Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Ali Saeed Kahalaf — assigns the director of the Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest McGeever.

Kahalaf reportedly authorized McGeever's immediate arrest and presentation before the Dubai Public Prosecutor in case he 'refuses to appear immediately.' He also authorized the CID officers 'to pursue the accused locally and internationally.'

This order meant that after officers failed to locate McGeever in Dubai, they had authorization to contact Interpol’s bureau in Abu Dhabi.

In June 2011, following a request from the Dubai authorities, the Star revealed that Interpol issued a global alert seeking McGeever’s arrest.

Meanwhile one Irish investor is now claiming he lost over $800,000 after investing with McGeever’s KMM International Properties in Dubai, and has confined he made a criminal complaint about the tycoon, who mysteriously turned up in rural Ireland after months of being a missing person, to Dubai police.

'All I want now is for the Dubai and Irish authorities to co-operate and ensure he is brought back to be tried on the allegations I made to police here,' the investor told the Star.

Meanwhile McGeever, who was found in County Leitrim last week claiming he had been kidnapped, is continuing his recovery in hospital.

As part of the ongoing investigation Irish police have reportedly visited people around Mullingar, County Westmeath, this week who had invested money with McGeever through KMM.

One former investor told The Star: 'They’re obviously trawling his property dealing to see if there’s anyone who may have had some kind of grudge against him.'

McGeever has reportedly insisted to police that 'he owes no-one a penny.'