Swiss Federal Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has a reputation as a fearless crusader against organized crime and drug trafficking.

Swiss Federal Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has a reputation as a fearless crusader against organized crime and drug trafficking.

Del Ponte made international headlines with her money-laundering investigation against the brother of former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

She also risked the wrath of Russian President Boris Yeltsin by investigating allegations of high-level corruption in the Kremlin.

In Switzerland, she ruffled the feathers of the powerful banking establishment and was dubbed an "unguided missile" for short-circuiting legal procedures to gain information on accounts allegedly linked to the Sicilian Mafia.

Del Ponte, 52, has been Switzerland's top legal official since April 1994 — the first woman to take the job. Although she has had little experience with war criminals, she has a long-standing interest in international criminal law.

Last October, after a 2 1/2-year investigation, she ordered the confiscation of $114 million linked to Raul Salinas, saying the money came partly from drug-trafficking bribes.

Switzerland's supreme court overturned the confiscation last month, ruling that Del Ponte had exceeded her powers and should have passed the matter to cantonal prosecutors. However, the funds remain confiscated for the time being.

From staff and wire reports.

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