Bank accounts linked to Eta are frozen in Liechtenstein
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Monday, 31 March 2008
Authorities in Liechtenstein have blocked bank accounts and offshore companies belonging to suspected Eta terrorists at the request of the Spanish investigative judge Baltasar Garzon.
Judge Garzon – whose previous investigations into the finances of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet found more than £4m in offshore accounts – seeks to prove that the tiny fiscal haven has become home for money extorted from Basque businesses.
The judge has formally requested Liechtenstein's judicial assistance in getting information about the opening of these accounts, their transactions, and amounts transferred from Spain and France. The principality has expressed its concern and has promised to co-operate, according to Spain's El Pais newspaper.
A bank in Vaduz that received the suspected Eta funds apparently tipped off the Spanish authorities.
Liechtenstein generally ignores requests to investigate tax evasion, and is on an OECD blacklist for its opaque practices and uncooperative attitude. The principality will, however, help countries tracking down money linked to terrorism.
One of the frozen accounts belongs to Joseba Elosua, owner of the Faisan bar in Irun, a town on Spain's border with France. Mr Elosua was detained in 2006 on suspicion of leading an Eta extortion ring, sources close to the investigation told El Pais. Police have interviewed several business people who admit making payments.
Eta's extortion racket goes back 20 years, organised by veteran separatists living in France. In the early days, funds were collected with the help of pro-Eta priests, and hidden in sacristies and confession boxes.
But the procedure has become much more sophisticated. Laundering the cash offshore keeps the funds secret, hides their origins, and nets a tidy, 10 per cent, tax-free interest. The shift marks a dramatic innovation by Basque separatists, who previously used the so-called " revolutionary tax" to pay for armed operations and safe houses.
By investing offshore, Eta has copied practices perfected by Colombian cocaine barons, Italian Mafiosi and east European gangs, Judge Garzon's National Court investigation suggests.
The police operation began in June 2006 – during the abortive peace process between Eta and the government – when 12 suspects, including the owner of the Faisan bar, were detained in France and Spain. Eta's founder, Julen Madariaga, and Eloy Uriarte, who are said to have masterminded Eta's extortion operations in the 1980s, were also detained after joint Franco-Spanish investigations.
Members of the conservative Basque Nationalist Party visited Mr Elosua to try to mediate in favour of businessmen being blackmailed, Judge Garzon's investigation revealed. Sources suspect Carlos Bellver is the network's tax adviser, responsible for depositing funds in various European tax havens.
