Castro Will Not Send Fugitive Vesco Back to U.S., Report Says

Cuban President Fidel Castro has decided against sending fugitive financier Robert L. Vesco back to the United States, where he has been sought for 22 years on fraud charges, it was reported Monday.

Castro made his comments Sunday night at a private dinner with CNN executives and correspondents, the network said.

Castro said it would be immoral to allow Vesco’s extradition to the United States, making him a political pawn in U.S.-Cuban relations, the network said.

It quoted Castro as saying Vesco will be fully investigated and put on trial in Cuba if evidence pointed to violations of Cuban law.

Vesco, 59, was arrested in Cuba this month on suspicion of being a foreign agent. The arrest touched off speculation that Cuba is seeking an accommodation with the United States.

Vesco is accused of bilking investors in a Switzerland-based mutual fund out of an estimated $224 million. He fled the United States in 1972 and moved from country to country to evade U.S. extradition efforts.

In 1989, seven years after he settled in Cuba, Vesco was indicted on drug conspiracy charges in Jacksonville, Fla. Another indictment alleges that he made an illegal $200,000 contribution to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign in 1972.