MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
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Chilean judge closes case into the origin of Pinochet millions
Pinochet’s millions came to light during a US Senate investigation into the Riggs bank in Washington Chilean court decided on Monday not to charge any of late Dictator Augusto Pinochet's family members in a long-running investigation into the origin of the general's fortune and his suspected embezzlement of public funds.
The judge did charge six former members of the military who had collaborated with Pinochet in the so-called Riggs case.
Pinochet was charged in 2005 with tax evasion in connection with millions of dollars he held in foreign bank accounts, which came to light after a US Senate investigation into banking irregularities at the now-defunct Washington-based Riggs Bank.
Chilean judge Manuel Antonio Valderrama decided not to charge Pinochet's widow, Lucia Hiriart, and her children. He said the decision can be appealed within 15 days.
Pinochet, who took power in a 1973 military coup, died in 2006 at the age of 91. He did not face a full trial for crimes committed during his 1973-1990 dictatorship, when around 3,000 people were kidnapped and killed and 28,000 were tortured.
An audit by the Universidad de Chile's Business and Economics faculty in 2010 estimated that Pinochet had accumulated 21 million dollars before his death, of which more than 17 million was of unknown origin.
The six former military members charged in the case could face five to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
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Read all commentsI always thought that General Frei of the FACH was a far better man than Pinochet. Pinochet had sticky fingers worthy of a country to the north-west of India.
Aug 06th, 2013 - 05:19 am 017 million of unknown origin...
Aug 06th, 2013 - 06:00 am 0I suppose the old geezer just couldn't help himself, or maybe it was the price he thought fair for saving Chile from Communism. Freedom ain't free I guess.
17 million of unknown origin vs how much dirty hundreds of CFK millions of known origin and Argentine Justice doing nothing about it?
Aug 06th, 2013 - 06:31 am 0Worlds appart...
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