• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 08 / 05 / 2010

The Cuban judge investigating a case of bribery against Max Marambio issued an arrest warrant for the Chilean businessman.

In July, Marambio’s lawyer said his client would testify, after the judge issued a citation.

The warrant, published in the Gaceta Oficial Aug. 3, gives Marambio until Aug. 23 to appear before the judge. If Marambio
doesn’t show up, he will be declared in contempt, and Cuba will seek his arrest.

The owner of several companies in Cuba is accused of bribery, damaging acts to economic activity or contracting, embezzlement, falsification of bank and commerce documents, and fraud.

Marambio, 63, said in July that he would demonstrate “the total inconsistency of the alleged offenses.”

The Cuban case against Marambio made headlines in Chile earlier this year. Cuban authorities began investigating Marambio, who is running several joint venture companies with Cuban state partners. According to a terse note published by Granma April 15, Cuban prosecutors were investigating “irregularities and violations of existing laws” at Alimentos Río Zaza S.A., a company owned by Marambio.

A key witness in the case was found dead April 6 in his Havana apartment. Roberto Baudrand, 59, the top Chilean manager in Cuba for Marambio’s Alimentos Río Zaza S.A., had been under orders not to leave the island and was twice cited to report to police to testify as a witness. According to the Cuban autopsy, Baudrand’s death was caused by a mix of pharmaceuticals and alcohol.

At least two Cuban employees of Marambio’s companies had been detained earlier. In December, the accountant of ING holding and the Cuban representative in the Río Zaza food and agricultural joint venture were arrested in Havana.

ING is a 50-percent shareholder in Río Zaza; the Cuban state controls the other half.

ING also holds a 50-percent share of the Sol y Son travel agency.

In April, Chile’s Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno told reporters his government knew about the Cuban investigation against Marambio’s companies, but that he wasn’t aware of any specific charges.

Max Marambio was an executive at Corporación CIMEX, today Cuba’s largest state company.

Source: www.cubastandard.com