WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum
Albert Gea/Reuters/CorbisA Brazilian judge has frozen 19.5 million reais ($6.07 million, £2.2 million, $4 million AU) in Facebook funds after the social networking company repeatedly ignored federal orders to release WhatsApp messages related to a drug investigation.
The messages could contain evidence linking a cocaine smuggling ring in Brazil to local cohorts in Bolivia, Paraguay and Spain, according to a Reuters report Thursday.
Brazilian police have repeatedly asked WhatsApp for the messages, Reuters said. After determining non-compliance, a judge blocked parent company Facebook from accessing money in its Brazilian bank account. The amount is equal to the fines incurred over the last five months, the news service reported.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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