Accounts Tied to Menem Frozen Amid Allegations

A Swiss magistrate said he froze two bank accounts linked to former Argentine President Carlos Menem amid investigations of alleged money laundering and illegal arms sales to Croatia and Ecuador.

Claude Wenger, a Geneva investigating magistrate, said the accounts were blocked last week after a request from Argentina for judicial assistance in its probe.

Wenger confirmed Swiss media reports that one of the accounts was held by Menem's ex-wife and daughter. The other was opened by a company that he declined to identify.