BRASILIA, 03/14 -- Brazilian police told reporters on Monday that they had arrested a Lebanese woman wanted by Interpol, as part of an investigation into the 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

The 38-year-old woman, Rana Abdel Rahim Koleilat, was wanted by the Interpol for bank fraud in Lebanon and was also suspected of having playing a role in the killing of Hariri in February last year, according to Brazilian police.

She was also sought in connection with armed bank robberies which netted 4 million U.S. dollars in the Middle East, and for arms trafficking.

Police in the city of Sao Paulo arrested her in an upscale apartment on Sunday. She was carrying a British passport, which the police said they believed was forged. They will interrogate her through an interpreter on Monday.

Koleilat was a former top official at Lebanon`s Al-Madina Bank, which collapsed in early 2003, leading to the loss of several hundred million dollars for depositors. Police also said that she tried to bribe the police officers sent to arrest her, offering them some 100,000 dollars).