Pinochet and Riggs

Pinochet's Rise and Rule

General Augusto Pinochet seized power in Chile during a violent coup in 1973. Thousands of people were jailed, tortured or killed by the time Pinochet left office in 1990. A former Chilean ambassador and vocal critic of Pinochet was killed in a car bombing in Sheridan Circle in 1976. Afterward, Chile closed its official accounts in the United States.

Riggs's Courtship of Pinochet

1981 First known Pinochet account opened in the name of Jose Ramon Ugarte at Riggs in Miami.

1994 Chilean military reopens its "official" accounts at Riggs in July. In October, senior Riggs officials travel to Santiago for client meetings and meet with Pinochet. He opens an account in his name at Riggs.

1996 In February, Joe L. Allbritton leads a Riggs delegation to Santiago, where he meets Pinochet. The two men exchange gifts.

1997 Riggs makes a $5,000 donation to the Augusto Pinochet Ugarte Foundation, a Chilean group dedicated to improving the general's image. In October, Allbritton leads another delegation to Chile, where he again socializes with Pinochet.

1998 Riggs National Corp. President Timothy Coughlin leads a delegation to Chile.

1999 In March, Allbritton leads a Riggs delegation to Chile.

2002 The military has more than $100 million in deposits and loans at Riggs. Allbritton leads the last Riggs delegation to Chile, accompanied by Riggs executives and his son, Robert, who spends part of the trip in Antarctica as a guest of the Chilean military. Later that year, Riggs's regulator discovers suspicious transactions in the Pinochet accounts. Riggs is forced to close the accounts.