Poland accuses US man of Nazi war crimes and seeks extradition

Prosecutors have applied to a regional court in Lublin to issue a warrant for his arrest.

If granted, Poland will seek the extradition of Mr Karkoc to face trial.

Mr Janicki said: "He is our suspect as of today."

He was investigated by German authorities in 2013 after the Associated Press alleged he was a former Nazi commander.

But the probe was stopped in 2015 after prosecutors said they had received evidence suggesting he was not well enough to stand trial.

Mr Karkoc's family has denied he was involved in any war crimes.

His son, Andriy Karkoc, said his father was not in Poland at the time and was not behind any war crimes.

He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin's government of making up the stories of "misinformation or disinformation" about his father.

Efraim Zuroff, a Nazi-hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, praised Polish authorities for pursuing legal action.

He told the AP: "It's high time that the Poles became more active seeking people who committed crimes in the Second World War on Polish soil".

Stephen Ankier, one of Britain’s leading experts in the hunt for Second World War criminals, told the JC in 2014 he had also been investigating Mr Karkoc.