Switzerland has blocked several bank accounts thought to be linked to the former head of Peru's secret services, Vladimiro Montesinos. The accounts, which were held in a Zurich bank, contained some $10 million (SFr17 million).

The Swiss justice ministry said on Thursday that the accounts belong to close acquaintances of Montesinos, who stands accused of illegally taking $120 million out of the country by the Peruvian authorities.

A justice ministry spokesman, Folco Galli, said Switzerland had informed the Peruvian authorities that the accounts had been frozen. He added that they would have to file a demand for judicial cooperation to obtain more details about the assets.

Switzerland has already seized over $70 million belonging to Montesinos and his associates since last October, when the former spy chief went into hiding. He is still on the run, on suspicion of corruption.

A Swiss parliamentarian on Thursday called on the government to hand over the funds to the Peruvian authorities. Remo Gysin Klarheit, a Social Democrat from Basel, criticised the government for its delayed reaction to the affair.

swissinfo with agencies