MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Criminal links of Pinochet son surface

Marco Antonio Pinochet, son of the former Chilean dictator Augusto, was described in court documents released in Santiago as a key player in the multi-million-dollar bank accounts fraud and a shady if not dangerous figure with criminal links.

The fresh information emerged when Santiago Appeals Court denied bail to the younger of Pinochet two sons, who was described as "a danger to society".

The indictment by Judge Sergio Muñoz unveils a network of businesses and identities used by Marco Antonio to move his father's money as well as his links with Edgardo Batich, a close associate of Syrian international arms dealer Monser Al Kassar.

Marco Antonio and Batich who is also linked to drug trafficking according to press investigations, appear to be the recipients of several passports stolen in 1990, which in the case of the former dictator's son were delivered to him by a close advisor of his father.

The judge also revealed that at the beginning of 1980, Marco Antonio falsified his identity card adding four years with the purpose of having a driver's license. The forgery was discovered when he had a traffic accident in which a girlfriend was killed.

Marco Antonio maintained a low public profile up until the arrest of his father in London in October 1988, when he began to act as the family spokesman, replacing his older brother Augusto. Marco Antonio is currently detained in a low security prison for white collar criminals in downtown Santiago.

Lucia Hiriart Pinochet and Marco Antonio were indicted Wednesday as tax fraud accomplices by Judge Sergio Muñoz who is investigating the origins of the family fortune and secret accounts that Pinochet had at Washington-based Riggs Bank and other foreign financial institutions which apparently range between 17 and 35 million US dollars. A sum wildly inconsistent with the retired general's earnings as longtime head-of-state and army commander.

In his 27-page ruling Judge Muñoz said Hiriart and Marco Antonio opened foreign accounts that allowed the general to evade taxes. Chile's internal revenue service estimates that Pinochet evaded taxes on some 5 billion Chilean pesos, almost nine million US dollars.