HONG KONG — A New York lawyer who fled the United States after allegedly embezzling $2.5 million from a client faces extradition after being arrested in Hong Kong, legal officials said Friday.

The city’s department of justice said Douglas Arntsen of US law firm Crowell & Moring was arrested Monday following a request by the US government.

“He appeared in (court) the next day and has been remanded in custody until next Tuesday when surrender proceedings will continue,” a department spokeswoman said.

Arntsen is suspected of embezzling about $2.5 million in funds deposited into a third-party account by Regal Real Estate, a property firm in the US, according to media reports.

The firm discovered the missing funds last week and alerted local authorities, who tried to have Arntsen arrested in a sting operation in Manhattan, but the lawyer had already left for Hong Kong on a tip-off, reports said.

Crowell & Moring has more than 500 lawyers in offices around the world, including New York, San Francisco, London and Brussels, according to its website.