Millions frozen as FIFA investigation continues

Millions of Swiss Francs have been frozen in relation to
the FIFA scandal at the request of United States
authorites.Photo: Filed.

The Swiss justice ministry has frozen millions of Swiss francs in
connection with FIFA as the world football governing body's
corruption scandal continues to unravel.

News broke as FIFA kicked off its ethics committee hearings
investigating the conduct of suspended FIFA president Sepp
Blatter.

Ministry spokesman Folco Galli confirmed the action in a
statement on Thursday.

"US authorities asked for documents related to 50 accounts at
different banks, through which corruption money is supposed to
have transited," Galli said.

Although Galli would not confirm the amount of money frozen,
he said a "high double-digit million amount" had been frozen
following the US request.

Estimates from the Tages-Anzeiger predict it could be between
$50-101million.

Blatter's hearing on Thursday lasted almost eight hours, but the
Swiss FIFA president emerged in a buoyant mood, with his
lawyers stating they expected Blatter's name to be cleared.