MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pinochet's wife and son jailed for tax fraud

Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's wife and youngest son were indicted and arrested Wednesday in Santiago on tax fraud charges in connection with the millions of dollars discovered in the family's secret bank accounts overseas.

However Judge Sergio Muñoz who since last year has been investigating the origin of the former dictator's fortune later accepted granting release on bail which must be decided Friday by an Appeals court. Until then Lucia Hiriart, (82), will remain in custody at Santiago's military hospital, and her son, Marco Antonio Pinochet in Police headquarters.

An investigation into Pinochet's fortune, launched after a US Senate Committee revealed the existence of 128 secret bank accounts ? mainly in the United States and Britain- in his name and of close associates, has already uncovered unaccounted for assets between 17 and 35 million US dollars.

On hearing of his wife and son's arrests Mr. Pinochet delivered a release assuming full responsibility for the alleged crimes under investigation rejecting any family or close associates participation in the events.

Last June 7 the Santiago Appeals Court stripped Pinochet of immunity from prosecution on the "well-founded suspicion" that he was engaged in tax evasion, using false passports and giving misleading financial disclosure statements. The former dictator's defense appealed to the Supreme Court, which has yet to take up the case. So far only two close associates of Pinochet have been indicted as accomplices.

This week Judge Muñoz also questioned several retired generals whose names were used for the transfer of funds among the secret accounts. They were all closely linked to the former dictator during his iron fist rule.

Allegedly between 1980 and 2004 Pinochet cheated tax collectors out of 8,6 US million dollars and deposited in overseas bank accounts roughly 17 million US dollars, most of it in Washington's Riggs Bank.

Chilean President Ricardo Lagos when asked by the press about the court ruling said "no one in Chile is above the law" though he also called on the public "not to reach hasty conclusions" as the judicial process is barely beginning.