Latin America Round-Up

BRAZIL Business as usualDespite a bribery scandal that has shaken the Brazilian government to its roots since June, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva remains a strong candidate for re election in October 2006. According to local media reports, the

INTERNATIONAL New study on money laundering The South America Financial Action Task Force (GAFISUD) released a report in September in which it listed the different money laundering techniques that have been identified by several South American government agencies. The report

BRAZIL Party blues Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva's government is still paralyzed by the corruption scandal that has been going on for three months. His Workers' Party (PT), which believed it had exclusivity on principled politics in Brazil, is now

BRAZIL: Corruption Crisis in Brazil Deepens; GUATEMALA: Portillo Can Travel; LATIN AMERICA: Remittances on the High; and PERU: New Member of the Egmont Group.

ARGENTINA: Cavallo, Again; COLOMBIA: Money Laundering Increasing; Disarticulated Laundering Network; HONDURAS: Another Twist in Bancorp's Tale; LATIN AMERICA: Justice, Maybe; MEXICO: Free Salinas?; and PERU: Banco Wiese report.

ARGENTINA: When Disco's Owners Hide Behind Corporations; Secret Laws and the Ministers; CHILE: Chile Has More Secrets Than Anybody Else; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: "Plan Renove"; and MEXICO: Pemex Gets Fined, Unionists Don't; After moving slowly through the courts for four years, the "Pemexgate" case is almost over; E-banking Frauds on the Rise; and PERU: Wiese Controversy Continues.

CHILE: Money Laundering in Post-Pinochet Times; COLOMBIA: Uribe On the Spot; COSTA RICA: Lucky Calderón Under House Arrest; MEXICO: New Developments in Casablanca Operation; URUGUAY: No Sentence For the Peirano Brothers, Yet; VENEZUELA: Phony Numbers At the Forex Counter.

CHILE Pinochet Had 125 Bank Accounts A further investigation by a U. S. Senate Subcommittee into former dictator Augusto Pinochet's riches revealed this month that he held 125 bank accounts in the U. S., and not a few as previously

CHILE: Pinochet Says He Wants to Pay; COLOMBIA: Corruption Costs; INTERNATIONAL: An Evil Eye Opens Up Again; Banking Blues; and MEXICO: Salinas Again.

ARGENTINA: Purge in Prison; CHILE: Pinochet Investigation Becomes Global; COLOMBIA: "Let Politicians Tremble"; and PERU: Lost Millions Recovered.

ARGENTINA: He Came Back for Christmas; BRAZIL: Banking Scandal; CHILE: "Pinochecks" Pay Back; COLOMBIA: Rodríguez Orejuela Faces Charges in the U. S.; ECUADOR: Money from Colombia?; GUATEMALA: No Visa for Military Men; LATIN AMERICA: More Corruption is expected in 2005; and PANAMA: Fraudulent Loans.

ARGENTINAIs he coming back? There is a lot of talk in Argentina about whether former president Carlos Menem is about to return from Chile or not. Former Senator Héctor María Maya, now one of his lawyers, announced recently that he

COSTA RICADisgraceThe head of the Organization of American States, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, was detained and put under house arrest following his resignation just two weeks after starting the job on October 15th. He has been accused of taking a bribe

CHILETracing the General's secret money The Chilean authorities assigned a special Judge, Sergio Muñoz, to investigate the alleged illegal money linked to former dictator Augusto Pinochet. Judge Muñoz has taken control of $6 million that was held in trusteeship in

CHILE: The General's Mysterious Fortune; ECUADOR: Supervising the Bank Trials; EL SALVADOR: The Money Ended Up in the Bankers' Hands; GUATEMALA: Portillo Finds a Job in Mexico; and PARAGUAY: The Paraguayan Quagmire.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Gang on Trial; CHILE: Riggs Case Prompts an Investigation; COSTA RICA: Bank Busted; ECUADOR: Filanbanco's Twisted Trail; GUATEMALA: Portillo's Associate on the Line; and MEXICO: Construction Blues.

ECUADOR: All Against Corruption?; INTERNATIONAL: The Riggs Bank Scandal; PARAGUAY: The return of the President; A 'No Trial' for Banco Oriental; and PERU: Something is Brewing; Americans Banned from AeroContinente.

ARGENTINA Menem in exileFor the second time, an Argentinean judge issued an international arrest warrant for the former President, Carlos Menem, on allegations of tax fraud.Apart from other crimes, Menem is accused of embezzling tens of millions of dollars during

ARGENTINA: Menem 'suffering' in exile; Carrousel of bank executives accused; BOLIVIA: Two more bank employees in the dungeon; COLOMBIA: Trust us, we're the Police; PARAGUAY: González Macchi's process grows; Journalists and presidential pressure; and REGIONAL: Latin American presidents: A catalogue of abuse.

ARGENTINA Good banks, bad banksElisa Carrió - leader of the Alternative for a Republic of Equals (ARI) party - warned the government in a letter that Merrill Lynch & Co. and Barclays Plc, two of the three banks picked by

ARGENTINA: The Swiss connection; New charges for banker; BRAZIL: Lula faces first scandal; EL SALVADOR: Sentences in El Carmen case; GUATEMALA: Portillo on the run; MEXICO: Court rules U.S. operation unconstitutional; PARAGUAY: Looking for minister Ferreira; The Peirano brothers: scapegoats?; and PERU: Toledo in trouble.

ARGENTINA: Vote-buying scandal; COLOMBIA: Colombian drug lord extradited; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Dominican Republic in bad shape; PERU: Swiss banks in Montesinos' web; and REGIONAL: South American companies accused of laundering; US brings up corruption in Monterrey; Parmalat's spilt milk in Latin America.

ARGENTINA More incriminating data against MenemFormer Iranian spy Abolghasem Mesbahi confirmed from Berlin in a videotaped interview at the AMIA trial taking place in Buenos Aires that an alleged envoy sent by Carlos Menem requested $10 million in exchange for

COSTA RICAMoney laundering on the rise A report by the Drug Enforcement Administration identifies an increase in Costa Rica's vulnerability to money laundering. According to the report, the real estate sector has become one of the favorite ways of laundering

CHILEInverlink debacle goes on Former Scotiabank employee Gino Tirapegui, and former BBVA employee Juan Pablo Prieto and Inverlink's Larry Fletcher have been indicted for fraud related to the Inverlink case. They are part of a group of twenty people, including

ARGENTINA: Circle around Menem narrower; COSTA RICA: Costa Rica becoming popular; ECUADOR: No foreign holidays for Noboa; MEXICO: Pressure mounts over big banks; NICARAGUA: Alemán in prison: PANAMA: Marc Harris' friends in Panama in trouble?; and PARAGUAY: González Macchi ordered to stay put.

ARGENTINA, PARAGUAY and URUGUAY: Banco General de Negocios, Multibanco, Banco Comercial sagas continue; NICARAGUA and PANAMA: Following Marc Harris' steps in Nicaragua; PANAMA and COLOMBIA: Colombian scandal affects Panama; and PERU: Kroll unable to find Fujimori's money so far.

ARGENTINA: Purge in the making; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: The consequences of Baninter banking scandal; ECUADOR: Ex-minister investigated for laundering; MEXICO: HSBC investigated; NICARAGUA: New charges for Alemán; and PANAMA: Iranian citizen arrested; Frozen Guatemalan assets; New rules; The legacy of Marc Harris in Panama.

ARGENTINA Bad start for new president Néstor Kirchner, an obscure provincial governor, became Argentina's president elect by default when former President Carlos Menem withdrew alleging that there was "a systematic slander campaign" against him. Menem is on trial for several

ARGENTINA: Investigator investigated; CHILE: A major financial scandal erupts; COSTA RICA: More controls for Costa Rica; GUATEMALA: USA resumes aid; Congress Chair in trouble for alleged corruption; MEXICO: The PRI fined; Divine bank accounts; NICARAGUA: Bolaños presents policy; PANAMA: Portillo's account in the open; REGIONAL: Eleven jurisdictions of "concern" in Latin America and the Caribbean; URUGUAY: Controversy! What controversy?; and VENEZUELA: Chavez under scrutiny.

ARGENTINA: Still, debate about Menem's feasibility as candidate; BOLIVIA: Big trouble in La Paz; COLOMBIA: Operation against Cali cartel's leader; GUATEMALA: Acquisition to save Banoro; Blacklisted again; NICARAGUA: Centeno Roque brothers sentenced; PARAGUAY: President González Macchi under investigation; and PERU: Montesinos' silence.

ARGENTINA: Banker goes to prison; Escobar's widow on trial; BOLIVIA: Six people sentenced in bankruptcy case; CHILE: Former minister jailed in scandal; COLOMBIA: First Colombians extradited for money laundering; ECUADOR: New president in Ecuador; INTERNATIONAL: Pardon for taxpayers hiding income; MEXICO: Anti-corruption raids; NICARAGUA: Immunity removed for Alemán; PANAMA: New anti money laundering measures; PARAGUAY: Money laundering and frauds on the rise; PERU: Perturbing news from fugitive Fujimori; PUERTO RICO: Paper bags and inaccurate reports; and URUGUAY: The Central Bank investigated.

ARGENTINA: The long Argentinean "culebrón"; COLOMBIA: Life insurance as laundering instrument; COSTA RICA: Frauds unlimited; NICARAGUA: Lehman Brothers investigated; Money laundering surge; PANAMA: Fraudulent bankruptcies galore; and PERU: Lasnaud's "Montesinos" connection.

ARGENTINA The bankers' parade Michael Smith, of HSBC, declared before judge Claudio Bonadío that bribes were somewhat customary in Argentina. Smith—a British citizen who has been only months in the South American country—was testifying in a new case of alleged

ARGENTINAMenem off the hook, for the moment Judge Julio Speroni concluded there is not enough evidence to indict former President Carlos Menem in the case of the illegal arms sale to Croatia and Ecuador. Judge Speroni added, though, that Menem

ARGENTINA: Menem in deeper trouble; Funny operations to save BISEL; Duhalde criticized; COLOMBIA: New President; LATIN AMERICA: Enron tentacles in Latin America; NICARAGUA: No visa; Alemán, formally accused; PARAGUAY: New financial scandal; and URUGUAY: Little Uruguay sneezes, Latin America is already sick.

COSTA RICA: List of 15 alleged recipients of bribes causes outrage; ECUADOR: Finance Ministry's officials to be arrested; Arms trafficking and Corruption; EL SALVADOR: Investigation of a state company's sale; HONDURAS: INTERFINSA's founder arrested; Another "black list"; MEXICO: US Banker falls in Mexican crackdown; Mexicans take over cocaine business; NICARAGUA: Tangled money; PANAMA: Panama investigates illegal money linked to Nicaragua; PARAGUAY: Bancosur's executives convicted; and URUGUAY: Rohms' dealings in Uruguay; The downfall of "Uruguay's owners"; Banking system in bad shape.

ARGENTINA: BGN fiasco unfolds; COLOMBIA: Perception of corruption increases; ECUADOR: Failure in international bid; GUATEMALA: New regulations in Guatemala; "Twin  banks" investigated since 1996; MEXICO: The honeymoon is over in Mexico; NICARAGUA: $2 million lost in Nicaragua; The high life of a president; …And Taiwan wants its money back; and PANAMA: Welcome to Panama.

Corruption in Argentina Since it was founded in 1999, the Argentinean Anti Corruption Office has handled 1,784 cases that generated 489 complaints but none of them has produced a sentence. The last index by Transparency International — which classifies countries

ARGENTINA: Former minister Domingo Cavallo indicted, Argentinean justice investigates the "Banco Extrader" case; COLOMBIA: Most wanted thief, Wilson de Jesús Yepes Ardila, is arrested; COSTA RICA: Costa Rica elects Abel Pacheco as its new President; PANAMA: Panama becomes more transparent; Panama-based business operators Yardena Mizrahi Herbroni and her brother Eliahu Mizrahi convicted in New York; PERU: BBVA debacle has a Latin American connection; VENEZUELA: Chaos reigns.

COLOMBIA: News of a kidnapping; GUATEMALA: A tale of embezzlement; HONDURAS: Funny transactions in Honduras; A law against money laundering; NICARAGUA: New charges against Interbank executives; PANAMA: New dirty links between Peru and Panama; Portillo tarnished by accusations; URUGUAY: BCCI's death throes; and REGIONAL: Waves from Washington; Latin America EXTRA.

COLOMBIA: New "super code" against corruption; GUATEMALA: No removal from "black list"; HONDURAS: Rich in Police corruption; HONDURAS & BOLIVIA: New Anti-Money Laundering laws debated; MEXICO: "Yellow light"; Something fishy in Banco Atlántico; PANAMA: New scandal; PERU: Switzerland offers to repatriate $110 million; and REGIONAL: Enron in Latin America.  

Menem's secret accounts in Switzerland; Mexico still cleaning up after the Salinas family; Alemán's hidden money; Disappearing money in Bolivia; and Huge investigation in El Salvador.

ARGENTINA: Chaos in Argentina; EL SALVADOR: Degrees galore; GUATEMALA: New anti-laundering law in Guatemala; and MEXICO: Clean up operation in Mexico.

Investigator finds links among different cases of corruption in Argentina The head of an anti money laundering commission in Argentina, Legislator Elisa Carrió, has linked apparently unconnected cases of corruption that have occurred during the past 15 years in a

September 11 side effects on already slowing regional economy The attacks on the United States on September 11th will have profound economic effects, further slowing a world economy already growing at its lowest rate in a decade and speeding up

ARGENTINA: A report in Argentina points at money laundering; BOLIVIA: New interim President in Bolivia; CHILE: Trouble in the skies; PERU: More repercussions in Fujimori-Montesinos case; and PANAMA: Going bananas in Panama.

COLOMBIA: Secondary mortgage firm; COSTA RICA: Brotherly love; MEXICO: "Towelgate"; PANAMA: Ocean Disgrace I; PERU: Montesinos saga continues; and REGIONAL: Black market peso brokers; US bank downsizes in Latin America.

ARGENTINA: Trouble in Aerolineas Argentinas; ARGENTINA & BRAZIL: Brazil and Argentina to renegotiate Mercosur Tariff Policy; PANAMA: New controversy in Panama's Maritime Authority; PERU: Alejandro Toledo wins election; REGIONAL: Andean community improves position in South Florida; VENEZUELA: Court ruling causes alarm for journalists.

Panama is on a new "black list" Getting genuine and trustworthy information vital if one wants to make smart investing decisions is going to be harder from now on in Panama. Eight journalists have been convicted of criminal libel in