Antonio Castanon (or ''Toño Castañon'') is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

businessman. (1954)

Alleged money laundering

In November, 1995, Antonio Castañon and

Paulina Castañon Paulina or Paullina (, ) is a common female given name Latin. Paulina was a name shared by the mother, sister, and niece of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Paulina Major, mother of Hadrian (Domitia) Paulina (or Paullina) Major (''Major'' being La ...

, Raúl Salinas's wife, were arrested in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

after attempting to withdraw US$84 million from an account owned by Raúl Salinas de Gortari, brother of Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Their capture led to the unveiling of a vast family fortune spread around the world amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. A report by the U.S.

General Accounting Office The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the sup ...

indicated that on this case. Over $90 million were transferred out of Mexico and into private bank accounts in Switzerland and London, through a complex set of transactions between 1992 and 1994, using a private investment company named Trocca, all with the help of

Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

and its affiliates. In 2008, the government of Switzerland turned over $74 million, out of $110 million in accounts held by Trocca to the government of Mexico. The Swiss Justice Ministry indicated that the Mexican government had demonstrated that $66 million of the funds had been misappropriated, and the funds, with interest, were returned to Mexico. The bank accounts were held at Pictet & Cie, Citibank Zurich,

Julius Baer Julius Baer (; né Isaac Baer; born 2 January 1857 – 9 March 1922) was a German-born Swiss banker, businessman and philanthropist. Baer was the founder and namesake of Julius Baer Group, and the patriarch of the Baer family. Early life and ...

Bank, and

Banque privée Edmond de Rothschild The Edmond de Rothschild Group is a financial institution specialized in private banking and asset management. Based in Geneva, the group is family-owned and independent, and encompasses the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations (philanthropic arm), ...

in Geneva and Zurich.
/ref> All funds in Mexico were returned to third parties, including Mexican billionaire Carlos Peralta Quintero, who had given funds to set up the investment company. Antonio and Paulina Castañon were released one week after the arrest when the Mexican, U.S and Swiss governments found no grounds to charge them.

References

Bibliography

*Oppenheimer, Andres. ''Bordering on Chaos''. New York: Little, Brown, 1996.

External links

BBC news releaseBBC story about Salinas de Gortari's acquittal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castanon, Antonio Mexican businesspeople Mexican fraudsters Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Political scandals in Mexico