Pinochet under house arrest on tax fraud charges
Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the former military dictator of Chile was placed under house arrest Wednesday at his Santiago mansion for alleged tax evasion.

According the Associated Press, Pinochet was charged with evading $2.4 million in taxes, using four false passports to open bank accounts abroad, submitting a false government document to a foreign bank and filing a false report on his assets.

Since returning to Chile after being freed from detention in Britain in 1998, General Pinochet has twice been formally accused of human rights violations that occurred during the 17 years he was in power.

But this new indictment marks the first time he has been charged with other crimes.

The former dictator, who suffers from heart, circulatory and neurological disorders, has eluded trial in the human rights cases on grounds that his health is too fragile.

But court-appointed doctors ruled last month that he was capable of standing trial for tax evasion and related charges, which also include submitting false documents and reports.

Pinochet's attorneys said he would appeal the most recent medical ruling and added that General Pinochet could not afford to post the $23,000 bail required of him because his personal assets had been frozen.
A guard stands outside the home of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet

United States Senate investigators originally uncovered about $8 million that General Pinochet and his wife had deposited in accounts at Riggs Bank in Washington. Since then, accounts have been found in England, Gibraltar and elsewhere.

Official calculations of General Pinochet's personal fortune have now grown to more than $27 million.

"I have always been an honest man," General Pinochet said under questioning last week by the investigative judge handling the case, Carlos Cerda.

Officers of the Pinochet Foundation have attributed his wealth to donations and smart investments, but human rights lawyers say much of the money came either from kickbacks on arms deals or funds embezzled from the state.