Four con artists are on trial for trying to sell key buildings in Rome, including the US embassy and the UN food agency headquarters (FAO) to a German businessman for 1.3 million euros.

Wolfang Kroll, 57, along with three accomplices presented himself as a real estate broker and allegedly approached the businessman, offering to sell him the Porta di Roma shopping centre.

He then, took the help of Walter Baccini, who impersonated a government official to ‘sell’ the US embassy building and the headquarters of the UN food agency, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The price of the embassy was set at 580,000 euros, while FAO was supposedly on sale for 600,000 euros.

The German businessman transferred a further 900,000 euros to the group, before realizing he had been tricked.