Franz Beckenbauer is facing a Swiss criminal investigation on suspicion of financial corruption together with three fellow key movers behind Germany's successful bid to host the 2006 World Cup.
The Attorney General of Switzerland named 70-year-old Beckenbauer, a World Cup winner with West Germany as a player in 1974 and as manager of the team 16 years later, as one of four suspects.
The Swiss prosecutor's office said searches "for the collection of evidence" were carried out simultaneously at eight separate locations on Thursday, and various suspects were questioned.
The other suspects named are former German Football Association (DFB) presidents Wolfgang Niersbach and Theo Zwanziger, and former general secretary Horst Rudolf Schmidt.