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JULY

98/07/02

FRANCISCO DEBERA BEFORE ANTI-DRUG COMMISSION

CASE: CASABLANCA

URL: www.elnacional.com
According to the investigations carried out in Venezuela in Operation Casablanca, banking
superintendent Francisco Debera said that the U.S. banks that certified the transfers made to
national financial institutions collaborated with the U.S. government. Debera was questioned
by Venezuela's Congressional Anti-Drug Commission, chaired by Emilio Lpez, to whom he
voiced his concerns about the perception that in the future the national banking could have of
the Bank of America and Bankers Trust. "We are not saying that U.S. banks are not reliable,
but that this collaboration with the U.S. government could foster some distrust in other
institutions," he said. The Banking Superintendent wondered how the money transferred to
Venezuelan institutions can come from money laundering, whether it was certified by banks of
renown that had to comply with the requirements established by the Federal Reserve to
receive these deposits. Francisco Debera also said that, according to Sudeban's
investigations into the banking movements of Esperanza Matos de Saad, Marco Tulio
Henrquez and Roberto Vivas, no evidence of illegal money management was found. The
head of the Anti-Drug Command of the National Guard, Major General Luis Alberto Camacho,
http://www. cajpe.org.pe/rij/BASES/NOTICIAS/ven/noti10.htm 9/14/2005
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shares this perception. He affirmed that the investigations

carried out by the police in connection with Operation Casablanca did not indicate that the
crime of money laundering was committed in Venezuela. He pointed out that on June 5, he
suspended the investigations into this case, as the 11th Criminal Judge of the Metropolitan
Area, Luz Alvarez Finol, requested all the supporting documentation that the National Guard
had gathered. Request to the Attorney General. Congressman Emilio Lpez reported that in
view of the refusal of the Attorney General of the Republic, Ivn Daro Badell, to cooperate
with Congress, the Anti-Drug Commission will serve him by the Official Gazette and press
publications. Lpez explained that if Badell refuses to accept the third invitation of the Anti-
Drug Commission, he is prepared to go before the Supreme Court of Justice to request
Badell's prosecution for contempt of Congress.

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http://www. cajpe.org.pe/rij/BASES/NOTICIAS/ven/noti10.htm 9/14/2005