Regulator freezes accounts of Mexico’s Cruz Azul soccer team

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s anti-money laundering agency said Friday it has frozen the personal accounts of some of the top directors of first-division soccer team Cruz Azul, saying that “unusual movements were detected” in bank transactions.

The Financial Intelligence Unit said it had not touched the team’s operational accounts, like those used to pay players. It said it was leaving those accounts open “to safeguard the labor and salary rights” of the cooperative.

Cruz Azul is one of Mexico’s four most popular teams, though it hasn’t won a national championship since 1997. League play has been shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Team spokesman Jorge Hernández told the Milenio television news channel that the squad had been “totally transparent” and suggested the move was the result of a complaint by disgruntled former executives.