A central figure in the scandal surrounding the sinking of the Sewol ferry has been arrested in the United States. 

According to the New York Times on Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department said that Yoo Hyuk-kee was arrested on Wednesday without incident at his home in New York. The report noted the arrest came in response to an extradition request that South Korea submitted to the U.S. 

Yoo is the second son of the late Yoo Byung-eun, whose family controlled the Chonghaejin Marine Company, the operator of the Sewol ferry. 

Yoo and other family members were accused of embezzling 169 million dollars from a church that Yoo Byung-eon helped found and from various companies, including Chonghaejin, that were run with church funds. 

According to South Korean prosecutors, the Yoo family contributed to Sewol’s sinking by diverting money which could have been used for safety measures on the ferry that sank on April 16, 2014, killing more than 300 people.  

The daily said Yoo’s arrest ended a prolonged mystery over the whereabouts of the man who was once considered the likely heir to his father’s religious and business empire.