Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Copyright: 1998 The Orange County Register
Pubdate: 21 Oct 1998
Author: Paul de la Garza-Chicago Tribune

SWISS DECLINE TO CHARGE SALINAS

Crime: The brother of the ex-president of Mexico already is facing murder
charges in his homeland.

Mexico City-After years of threats, Swiss authorities have decided not to
press money-laundering charges against Raul Salinas, the elder brother of
Mexico's former president.

The Swiss, however, said Tuesday that they have frozen accounts of Salinas
totaling some $115 million, arguing that the money is linked to narcotics
trafficking. The government said it would keep the funds "for the benefit
of the state." Salinas is appealing to the Swiss Supreme Court to recover
the funds.

Swiss officials in Geneva said they were dropping money-laundering charges
because Salinas already faces murder charges in Mexico.Salinas, who never
has been convicted of a crime, remains behind bars in a prison outside
Mexico City.

At a newspaper conference Tuesday, attorneys for Raul Salinas accused the
Swiss authorities of pursuing the case in an effort to illegally keep the
money and to sully the reputation of Mexico as a "narcostate."

Edurado Luengo, one of Salinas' attorneys, also said Swiss investigators
had relied on information from informants of the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration, and suggested that the informants were paid to provide
incorrect information about his client.

A spokeswoman for the DEA in Washington said she could not comment because
she was not familiar with the allegations. U.S. Embassy officials in Mexico
City were not available for comment.

The decision clearly caught some Mexican officials by surprise.News reports
in American newspapers, some apparently based on leaks by Swiss government
officials, had indicated strong links between Raul Salinas and narcotics
traffickers.

Raul Salinas has maintained his innocence, indicating the money in the
Swiss accounts came from business associates who gave him money to invest.

"The only reason(for the investigation) is to illegally seize the money,"
Salinas said in an open letter published Tuesday.  "They invented an
unbelievable story of narcofiction." 
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Checked-by: Mike Gogulski