Article
Stopping Banks from Hiding Human Rights Abusers' Money: A Recent Settlement by Riggs Bank Highlights the Issue
Riggs Bank and its principal owners agreed to pay $8 million to a foundation established for victims of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. In exchange, a Spanish court agreed to dismiss criminal charges against bank officials...Both the criminal proceedings that led to the settlement, and the settlement itself...establish that financial institutions have a responsibility not to aid and abet dictators, but rather to act in a manner that allows for governments to properly locate and freeze their assets, so that restitution can ultimately be made to their victims.