Judge Jorge Zepeda has been named to replace Sergio Muñoz on the Riggs Bank case, the special investigation into former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s secret bank accounts. Judge Muñoz left the investigation after being appointed to Chile’s Supreme Court last Tuesday (ST, Oct. 20).
Zepeda’s fist move after assuming control of the investigation was to reiterate an order requiring Gen. Pinochet’s wife, Lucía Hiriart, and his youngest son, Marco Antonio, to present themselves to the police for booking procedures: to have a mug shot photographs and fingerprints taken.
Muñoz had previously given the pair five days to comply with the order or risk being arrested. Marco Antonio appeared at the Civil Registrar’s offices on Friday. Hiriart has yet to comply with the order.
Pinochet’s family members are being investigated for their role in the complex money laundering scheme discovered in 2004 by a U.S. senate money laundering report. The report found that Washington, D.C.-based Riggs Bank helped the former dictator hide between US$4 and 8 million in bribes and illegal commissions related to the sale of Chilean military weaponry (ST, Oct 10). Before leaving the case, Muñoz determined Pinochet’s secret wealth to be about US$27 million.
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