Rome  - A German posing as an estate agent has been arrested for trying to sell the US embassy in Rome, Italian media reports said Saturday.

The 57-year-old man is also believed to have offered the building that houses the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome for sale to a German businessman, the reports said.

The man was already being sought under a European warrant by German authorities for serious fraud and falsified identification papers.

In September, the man already came to the awareness of the authorities when he tried to sell the businessman, who lives in the principality of Monaco, shopping centres in Rome and Milan. (dpa)