President charged with tax fraud
Former Argentinian president Carlos Menem has been charged with tax fraud, accused of failing to declare a Swiss bank account containing €569,000 in US dollars.
Menem, whose 1989-99 presidency was marred by allegations of corruption, does not face jail if convicted, but could be barred from holding public office again.
The 74-year-old former leader admitted to having the account last year only after repeatedly denying its existence.
Menem has said the account was opened in 1986 with €285,000 from a legal settlement he won after being jailed as a political prisoner of the past military dictatorship. He said the account was legal and that the money, with interest, had grown to about €854,000.
Menem did not comment publicly about the charges today.
The Swiss bank account has prompted a number of investigations by Argentine prosecutors into the origins of the money.
