Cayman Government Freezes Peruvian Money

Caymannetnews

24 August 2001

This story is reproduced by kind permission of Cayman Net News at: http://www.caymannetnews.com

The Cayman Islands Government said it has frozen money which it believes to be proceeds from criminal activity and being held in local bank accounts belonging to former Advisor to the Peruvian Secret Service, Vladimiro Montesinos Torres.

In a release issued Tuesday, 21 August, the Cayman Islands Government, through Attorney General David Ballantyne, noted that investigations of the former advisor in Peru are underway and so far there have been accusations of murder and narcotics distribution among others.

The money is reported to be in millions of dollars and the Attorney General said that freezing of the assets was in response to requests from the Peruvian Government.

The following is the government's release ­

Early this year the Cayman Islands Government received various requests from the Peruvian Government in relation to funds held in various accounts at banks here in Grand Cayman.

The requests were made that these funds be frozen on the basis that they are the proceeds of crime of Vladimiro Montesinos Torres and his associates, currently under investigation in Peru. Montesinos is a Peruvian national who held the position of Advisor to the Peruvian secret service between 1990 and 2000 and was closely linked to the former President of Peru, Alberto Fujimori.

Montesinos is the main subject of an extensive Peruvian criminal investigation. Investigations into his activities so far have unearthed accusations of murder, narcotics distribution, extortion, illicit arms deals, bribery and corruption.

In response to the requests of the Peruvian Government the Attorney General, with the assistance of Crown Counsel from the Legal Department, successfully applied for and obtained freezing orders from the Grand Court in respect of funds held in the accounts identified.

When further information came to light from Peru. Officers from the Financial Reporting Unit began investigations into the activities of the banks concerned. Using powers available under the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Law (2001) the officers were able to obtain documentation from the institutions involved and the investigations which followed led to a further application being made to the Grand Court in July when a Restraint Order was obtained replacing the earlier orders and freezing further funds identified as being likely to be the proceeds of criminal conduct.

As a result of these investigations the Cayman Islands Government has been able to assist the Peruvian Government in freezing the funds and uncovering further information about the actual location of the funds and the manner in which they have been deposited by the alleged criminals.

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