NEW YORK: Sean "Diddy" Combs – the rap mogul whose star has plunged after a wave of sex trafficking accusations and assault lawsuits, was arrested in Manhattan late Monday.
In a statement to AFP, his lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had "voluntarily relocated" to New York anticipating the charges, the details of which remain unclear.
The New York Times reported that the arrest follows a grand jury indictment.
Combs's lawyer said their team is "disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr Combs by the US Attorney's Office."
The rapper is the target of several civil lawsuits that characterise him as a violent sexual predator who used alcohol and drugs to subdue his victims, and his homes were raided this year by federal agents.
The heavily publicised bicoastal operation in March indicated a federal investigation and potential criminal case was mounting against Combs.
Armed agents entered his sprawling luxury properties in Miami and Los Angeles, marking a rapid downfall for the powerful music industry figure who in recent years has vied to rebrand himself as "Brother Love."
His legal team said Monday that Combs was being "cooperative with this investigation" and "looks forward to clearing his name in court."
The artist, who's gone by various monikers including Puff Daddy and P Diddy, was widely credited as beng key to hip hop's journey from the streets to the bottle-service club.
Over the decades he's amassed vast wealth not least due to his ventures in the liquor industry.
But despite his efforts to cultivate an image of a smooth party kingpin and business magnate, a spate of lawsuits describe Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity to prey on women.
The artist has denied all accusations against him.
He has no major convictions but has long been trailed by allegations of physical assault, dating back well into the 1990s.
Late last year the floodgates opened after singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.
The pair met when Ventura was 19 and he was 37, after which he signed her to his label and they began a romantic relationship.
The bombshell suit was quickly settled out of court, but a string of similarly lurid sexual assault claims followed – including one in December by a woman who alleged Combs and others gang-raped her when she was 17.
Disturbing surveillance video then emerged in May showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Ventura, corroborating allegations she made in the now-settled case. --AFP