Authorities in Dubai have detained Iraqi lawmaker Mohamed al-Tai after a complaint was issued against him over a cheque, the public prosecutor announced late Saturday.

The MP was detained and questioned on Wednesday in the presence of his lawyer before he was detained pending completion of the investigation, prosecutor Isam Isa al-Humaidan said in a statement on the official WAM news agency.

The brief statement said Tai was suspected of issuing a cheque of about seven million dirhams (nearly $2 million) with malicious intent.