Swiss hold off on Menem probe

Former Argentinian president Carlos Menem is suspected of collecting a huge bribe Keystone Archive

Switzerland is refusing to provide legal assistance to Argentina until it is given more details about a bribery probe into former president, Carlos Menem.

The justice ministry told Argentina it needed more information about accusations that Menem stashed $10 million in bribe money in a Geneva bank.

Argentina claims that the former president accepted the money for covering up an alleged Iranian role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires in which 85 people died. Argentina made the request for legal assistance last December.

Menem has denied the allegations, as has Iran’s foreign ministry.

The spokesman for the Swiss justice ministry, Folco Galli, said Geneva authorities needed more information before deciding whether to grant Argentina’s request.

“We submitted a request to the Geneva authorities [but] they said they needed more information to decide if it is possible to grant legal assistance… and last week we sent a diplomatic note to the Argentine embassy asking for this additional information.”

Banking secrecy

Swiss banking secrecy laws are waived in cases where legal assistance is granted.

Galli made clear that the investigation was unrelated to a criminal inquiry into suspected arms sales to Croatia and Ecuador, under which Switzerland has blocked two accounts linked to Menem containing around $10 million.

Menem, 72, is running for a third term as president in 2003 after spending six months under house arrest last year on charges of arms trafficking.

The bribe issue resurfaced earlier this month when the New York Times quoted a former Iranian intelligence agent as saying Iran was responsible for the bombing and had paid Menem to cover it up.

Iran has called the claim “baseless” and Menem has said he plans to sue both the agent and the newspaper.

swissinfo with agencies