Warrant issued for expat swindler

French police have issued an international arrest warrant for a British conman, who is said to have swindled more than €2m (£1.4m) from retired people, mainly British, living in the Dordogne in south-west France.

Graham Briggs, who called himself Graham Templeton and is in his fifties, used a loophole in French banking laws to prey on the wealthy expatriates who live in the area sometimes known as Dordogneshire.

He is believed to have escaped with at least €2m, including €800,000 from one victim alone. Mr Briggs, who already has a conviction for fraud in Britain, is being sought by French police for "fraud, forgery and use of forgeries".

From 1999 to 2005, he posed as a financial adviser who could give returns of up to 15 per cent a year from investments in Guernsey. Mr Briggs instilled confidence by asking victims to make out cheques to a reputable French bank, Société Générale. Exploiting a loophole in French banking law, he then placed the money in his own account in the bank.

Joyce Coleman, one of the cheated Britons, said: "He took all our savings. Now my husband and I have to work again and sell our home and look for something smaller."