Contra Inquiry Given Data on Swiss Accounts

The Swiss government Tuesday turned over crucial bank records to U.S. investigators in the Iran-Contra case, making it likely that independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh will seek a sweeping indictment alleging that conspirators illegally diverted funds from arms sales to Iran and tried to obstruct justice.

Review of the thousands of pages of documents will require several weeks and perhaps delay any charges until next year, sources familiar with the case said.

The release of the records ended a contentious, 11-months-long legal battle in courtrooms and government agencies in the United States and Switzerland. The documents, widely considered critical to Walsh’s investigation, are expected to fill a substantial gap in the sensitive probe.

Fills in ‘Paper Trail’

Acquisition of the records clears the way for a broad indictment that would include the funds-diversion charges. Sources outside Walsh’s office had believed that he might bring only the obstruction-of-justice charges as a first step, if there were a long delay in compiling the “paper trail” needed to support the conspiracy counts that cover the diversion allegations.

In response to Tuesday’s action, Walsh said only that he was pleased at the Swiss move. He expressed thanks to Swiss officials and the Justice Department’s office of international affairs for their assistance, and added that his office would “proceed promptly with our review of this evidence.”

The records are of Swiss bank accounts controlled by former National Security Council aide and Marine Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, retired Air Force Major Gen. Richard V. Secord and his business partner, Albert A. Hakim, and arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar.

Secord, Hakim and Ghorbanifar had fought release of the records on various legal grounds, including a claim that Walsh was investigating political matters instead of the criminal violations covered in a U.S.-Swiss treaty.

Arms Sales Link Seen

The four men allegedly set up the bank accounts in 1985 and 1986 to funnel to the Nicaraguan rebels proceeds from the Iranian arms sales and private contributions to the Contra effort.

Among the accounts in the records was one under the name Lake Resources, a Panama-based company that was the basic operating account for the secret arms sales to Iran. According to investigators, Secord drew on the account to pay the U.S. government for weapons supplied to the Iranians.

It could not be learned Tuesday whether Walsh had obtained all the materials he had sought. The accounts will be reviewed initially in Switzerland by two associate counsels on Walsh’s staff, Robert Shwartz and Vicki Been.