Wanted Snipes 'on set in Namibia'

Snipes has played the lead role in three Blade movies

Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes, wanted in the US on tax fraud charges, is on a movie set in Namibia, according to film officials in the African country.

Edwin Kanguatjivi, chief executive officer of the Namibia Film Commission, told Reuters news agency that Mr Snipes had been in the country since August.

Namibia has no extradition treaty with the US.

Mr Snipes is accused of failing to file tax returns and falsely claiming nearly $12m (£6.4m) in refunds.

A US arrest warrant was issued for the star earlier this week, and prosecutors said he faced up to 16 years in jail if found guilty.

The Namibia Film Commission said he was working on the set of Gallowwalker, in the Namibian desert, according to Reuters.

'Conspiracy to defraud'

The charges allege Mr Snipes failed to file tax returns between 1999 and 2004, and conspired with two men to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which collects taxes in the US.

Prosecutors say Eddie Kahn and Douglas Rosile, both from Florida, attempted to make it look like the actor had no liability for income tax.

Mr Kahn's firm, American Rights Litigators, is said to have fraudulently argued that US citizens could only be taxed on income earned overseas.

Mr Rosile, who was an accountant for the firm, is accused of illegally preparing tax returns for Mr Snipes on this basis.

He has surrendered to authorities while Mr Kahn is believed to be in Panama.

Mr Snipes, who was born in Orlando, Florida, has been a Hollywood actor for 20 years.

His first role was in Goldie Hawn's 1986 American football comedy, Wildcats, and he later appeared in the video for Michael Jackson's Bad, which was directed by Martin Scorsese.

The actor also appeared in hit films such as White Men Can't Jump, New Jack City and the Blade trilogy.