Spanish daily El Pais reported that Liechtenstein has agreed to a request from Spanish 'super-judge' Baltasar Garzon to block bank accounts located in the jurisdiction belonging to suspected members of Eta.

The authorities in Liechtenstein have also agreed to a request for information regarding the opening of the bank accounts, transactions, and amounts transferred in from Spain and France.

It is understood that the request was made after a bank in Vaduz tipped off the Spanish authorities that it may have received funds from senior members of the Eta, the Basque separatist group.

According to the report, the Spanish judge believes that Liechtenstein has become the principal destination for proceeds gained from extortion rackets operated by Eta.

Judge Garzon has made a name for himself over the last twenty years for his high-profile investigations into terrorist organisations, governments and former rulers.

His previous campaigns led to the freezing of assets belonging to the former dictator of Chile, General Augustus Pinochet, in Bermuda in 2001, although he failed in his bid to have Pinochet extradited to Spain from the UK, where he was staying at the time.

He also headed an inquiry into alleged tax evasion by a Spanish television company part-owned by then Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi.