MOSCOW, April 5 - RAPSI. The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Switzerland is looking into Russian businessman Alexander Udodov's purchase of a hotel in canton of Lucerne, prosecutor's offices' Press Secretary Jacqueline Boehlmann told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.ru) on Thursday.

Udodov is the vice president of the Itera company.

Boehlmann emphasized that the prosecutor's office is investigating unspecified individuals and no charges have been brought as of yet.

Prosecutors are looking for possible criminal elements in the deal, she said.

The Swiss Tagesanzeiger newspaper reported earlier that law enforcement agencies are probing the purchase of the Albana hotel in Lucerne. Udodov bought the hotel for $4 million in 2007 and planned to invest $45 million in the hotel renovation and modernization project, media reported.

The paper alleged that the police turned a suspicious eye to the deal after receiving a note that it was a cover-up for money laundering operations.

Later, the prosecutor's office took the control of the investigation.

Udodov's lawyer in Switzerland said the deal was legal, while the accusations were spread by a man who has been trying for months to frustrate the hotel renovation project.