A Chilean judge on Wednesday ordered the arrest of former dictator Augusto Pinochet for fraud and other alleged crimes related to millions of dollars in secret overseas bank accounts.
Investigating Judge Carlos Cerda ordered that Pinochet, who will be 90 on Friday, remain confined in his home in Santiago’s elegant La Dehesa neighbourhood.
Cerda has formally questioned Pinochet three times over the past two weeks over the origin of about $27-million in his assets and bank accounts.
A United States Senate investigation found that Pinochet had stashed millions of dollars in a Washington bank, and banks in other countries, under assumed names.
Following that testimony, Cerda charged Pinochet with fraud, providing falsified documents and failing to give information when he was first questioned.
Under a separate inquiry, Pinochet also faces possible charges in connection with the disappearance of 119 left-wing activists who opposed his 1973-1990 military junta, court officials said.
Pinochet has claimed he had no knowledge of Operation Colombo, in which the members of the Revolutionary Leftist Movement disappeared in 1975 while in custody. Their bodies were found later in Argentina and Brazil.
Chile’s Supreme Court has withdrawn Pinochet’s immunity from prosecution as a former head of state so he could stand trial for Operation Colombo. Doctors declared Pinochet fit enough to stand trial. — AFP
