SANTIAGO, Chile, July 21 (UPI) -- The Council for Defense of the State of Chile has voted to launch an investigation into the secret bank accounts of former dictator Augusto Pinochet.
The Riggs Bank of Washington allegedly helped Pinochet sock away several million dollars while he was under arrest in Great Britain.
After eight hours of debate the CDE voted 8-3 to file charges, based on information revealed during a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing into Rigg's activities.
The request for an investigation into the charges was filed with the office of Judge Sergio Munoz. Muñoz, who is known throughout the country for leading the investigation into the largest known pedophilia network in Chile, will institute the proceedings against Pinochet, after which two human rights lawyers, Carmen Hertz and Alfonso Insunza, will present the case against the former dictator for the crimes of defrauding the Treasury, misuse of public funds and corruption.
On Monday, when President George W. Bush received Chilean President Ricardo Lagos in the White House in Washington, Bush assured Chileans that the Senate will conduct an "in-depth investigation" of the secret accounts of the 88-year-old Pinochet, who headed the military coup that overthrew the government of President Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973.
