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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, July 12, 2002

Swiss Ambassador Arrested for Alleged Money Laundering

Swiss Ambassador to Luxembourg Peter Friederich has been arrested in connection with alleged money laundering, the Federal Prosecutor's Office said on Thursday.


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Swiss Ambassador to Luxembourg Peter Friederich has been arrested in connection with alleged money laundering, the Federal Prosecutor's Office said on Thursday.

In a statement, the prosecutor's office said that Friederich had been taken into custody on Swiss soil on Monday and that the arrest had been made "in connection with private transactions worth hundreds of thousands of francs."

It added that it was not clear where the money had come from.

The statement said the Luxembourg authorities told the Swiss inFebruary about suspected money laundering.

Hansjurg Mark Wiedmer, a spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office,said that authorities were eager to uncover the origins of the money.

"We were informed by the authorities in Luxembourg at the end of February," Wiedmer said.

The Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation against Friederich, Wiedmer said, adding that he could give no more details about the case because of ongoing investigations.

Local media reported that the arrest comes as the Swiss ForeignMinistry battles with fallout from a scandal involving former Swiss ambassador to Germany Thomas Borer.

The 60-year-old Friederich was ambassador to Vietnam and Cuba before taking up his post in Luxembourg in December 1999.

Born in St Gallen and educated in political science at the University of Geneva, he has worked for the foreign ministry since1971.


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