Spain to ask for seizure of Pinochet's assets

UPDATED: 15:26, September 21, 2004

....

Spanish judicial authorities are negotiating in the United States on the seizure of 8 million US dollars found in Pinochet's accounts in Washington-based Riggs Bank, which would be allocated to compensate over 4,000 victims of the regime that governed Chile from 1973 to 1990, Juan Garces said in a radio interview.

The lawyer said a charge for the concealment of assets and money laundering had been opened in Madrid against Riggs Bank, its executive body and others who had contributed to hiding Pinochet's money.

Baltazar Garzon, a Spanish High Court judge, also asked for thehelp of the Bank of Spain and the authorities in Britain, the United States and the Bahamas in tracking down and freezing any assets Pinochet held directly or indirectly in these countries, said Garces.According to a US Senate investigation into Riggs Bank in July,up to 8 million dollars were found in secret accounts of the former dictator.Garces was an advisor to constitutional President Salvador Allende, who was ousted in a coup in 1973.

The lawyer played an important role in a complaint to the Spanish courts welcomed by Garzon, who has been pursuing the retired general since 1998. Garzon won international fame with a bid to extradite Pinochet from Britain to stand trial for torture and other charges.

Garces said last week that Spain passed the distress resolution in 1998 to search for 50 or 100 million dollars which Riggs bankers said were Pinochet's assets.

more
http://english.people.com.cn/200409/21/eng20040921_157775.html

A good communist hunter like him? Perhaps they would like to live in a country with Pinochet or Milosovech as their president?

Golly, Augusto is just such a victim of circumstance! Who would have thought that the bank where he stashed $8 million of his humble civil servant's salary would turn out to be such a den of corruption? Darn the luck!

Daniel R. Bannister, president and chief executive officer of DynCorp, Reston, Va.
Canceled an economic development mission to Bosnia and Croatia.
http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/news/9604/03/ron.brown/exec.shtml

http://www.virginiaeconomicbridge.org/Organization/Corporate%20Information/Profiles/Board%20Of%20Directors/Board%20members%20pages/Dan_Bannister.htm

1996 While on an economic development mission to Bosnia and Croatia,
Paul Cushman III, head of the International Division, dies in a
plane crash with U.S. Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown.

1997 Riggs & Company is formed, bringing together the services of
RIMCO and the Riggs Financial Services Group.
The subsequent purchase of J. Bush & Co., Incorporated as well as
alliances with life insurance agents and brokers and Peat Marwick
(KPMG) enable Riggs to bring a comprehensive range of financial
services to its clients.

1999 Upon the request of the State Department, Riggs Europe opens
a branch in Berlin, the capital of a reunited Germany.

U.S. Treasury Department selects Riggs Bank to redesign and manage
the CA$HLINK cash management system, the largest deposit and cash
reporting system in the world.

May 31, 2000 Riggs Bank N.A. today announced that the Board of Directors
of RIMCO, a wholly owned investment management subsidiary, has elected
Jonathan J. Bush President & Chief Executive Officer and a Director.

2001 Robert L. Allbritton, was named Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Riggs National Corporation and Chairman of Riggs Bank
N.A. Lawrence I. Hebert was named President and Chief Executive Officer
of Riggs Bank N.A. Joe L. Allbritton assumed the role of Senior Chairman
of the Board of Riggs National Corporation.

2002 Riggs opens its first Financial Center - the Riggs Financial Center at
Tavern Square - in Old Town Alexandria (Virginia).

Riggs Investment Corp. is renamed Riggs Securities Inc.

Riggs Investment Management Corporation (RIMCO) is renamed Riggs Investment Advisors.

2003 Riggs paves the way for a new era of service by completing a
comprehensive system upgrade that will enable the company to excel
in the future. http://www.riggsbank.com/Discover_Riggs/may31_00.html

Alex?

:kick:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1937000/1937000.stm&h=180&w=300&sz=10&tbnid=Jgf4LgReTGsJ:&tbnh=66&tbnw=110&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbalthazar%2Bgarzon%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN

against Allende.

As a US taxpayer, I don't feel so bad about the money going to pay off his victims.