Peru gets control of spy's $18m account

Peruvian authorities have recovered about $18 million from a Cayman Islands bank account allegedly controlled by former intelligence…

Peruvian authorities have recovered about $18 million from a Cayman Islands bank account allegedly controlled by former intelligence chief Mr Vladimiro Montesino.

Justice Minister Mr Fernando Olivera said the money was "undoubtedly spirited out of the country" by Montesinos, now in jail after his extradition back to Peru by Venezuelan authorities.

A Peruvian anti-corruption judge managed to find and freeze the account at Wiese Sudameris Bank on Gran Cayman and persuade the authorities to surrender the money to Peru.

The return of the money brings to $23 million the amount retrieved by Peru from funds allegedly siphoned by Montesinos, although Peruvian authorities believe the former spy master spirited more than $200 million out of the country during President Alberto Fujimori's rule.

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Montesinos (55) is facing 140 corruption-related charges, including drug-trafficking, money-laundering, arms sales and blackmail.

His flight from Peru in October brought down Mr Fujimori, who is currently in Japan, his parents' country of birth, resisting Peru's efforts to have him extradited.

Also yesterday, two re-elected Peruvian lawmakers - supporters of Mr Fujimori - who were thrown out of Congress on grounds that they had conspired against democracy, vowed to appeal their removal to the Interamerican Court of Human Rights. Mr Luz Salgado and Mr Carmen Lozada told a radio station they were victims of a political vendetta by the ruling party.