8 Holders of Swiss Accounts Fight Inquiry by U.S.
Eight holders of Swiss bank accounts believed used in arms sales to Iran are fighting U.S. requests to disclose details of the accounts, Switzerland’s Justice Ministry announced today.
Account holders named by the U.S. Justice Department in requests for Swiss legal assistance now have until the middle of February to explain their disclosure refusals in writing. It is then up to the Swiss government to accept or reject those arguments.
Washington, in two requests for legal assistance, cited a total of 12 bank accounts with three persons charged with illegal transactions in moving funds from the arms sales to Nicaraguan contra rebels.
The three people cited in the first U.S. request have been widely identified as former National Security Council official Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, retired Air Force Gen. Richard V. Secord and Lebanese-born American businessman Albert A. Hakim.
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