Trustee 'stole $2.9m' native title funds

A trustee who allegedly stole almost $3 million in royalty payments from West Australian native title claimants has been charged.

Police allege the 68-year-old Geraldton man used the stolen proceeds to partly purchase the lease of a hotel in the Mid West town.

He is accused of stealing $2.9 million from a native title claim trust account established to receive royalties from mining companies within the Meekatharra Murchison region.

The man was appointed as trustee in 2004 and removed in July 2017.

He has been charged with stealing as a servant and will face Geraldton Magistrates Court on January 9.