THE ASSOCIATED PRESS May 6, 2011, 8:04AM ET

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9N1U7O00.htm

Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into suspected money-laundering after a U.S. investor claimed fraud by Russian tax officials.

The federal prosecutors' office says it opened the probe March 7 after Switzerland's Money Laundering Reporting Office received a complaint from a legal firm acting on behalf of London-based Hermitage Capital Management.

The company says the husband of a former Moscow tax official who approved a fraudulent $230 million tax return for three of Hermitage's subsidiaries used Swiss bank accounts to make million-dollar purchases.

Prosecutors office spokeswoman Jeannette Balmer declined Friday to confirm whether any Swiss accounts have been frozen or provide further details on the case, citing the ongoing investigation.