Ex-Argentine president charged with tax fraud

Former Argentinian president Carlos Menem was today charged with tax fraud, accused of failing to declare a Swiss bank account containing €272,760 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 some $200,000 (€161,581) 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 $600,000 (€484,741).

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.