Ian Norris, former chief executive of Morgan Crucible, the British engineering company, has been arrested and charged with a series of price-fixing offences, in a ground-breaking bid by US authorities to secure the first extradition in a cartel case.

News of the move is likely to exacerbate fears that the American authorities are becoming increasingly active in seeking the extradition of white-collar suspects, particularly in the wake of new treaty arrangements between the UK and the US.