Hunting for Escobar's Fortune
12-29-1993
^Trail of Bodies Piles Up As Hunt Is On For Escobar's Riches AP Photo NY112
^By ANDREW SELSKY
^Associated Press Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) _ In one of the largest treasure hunts in modern times, authorities are trying to track down slain drug lord Pablo Escobar's fortune, which is believed to be scattered throughout the world.
A scramble for the loot among remnants of his Medellin cocaine cartel has already left behind a trail of bodies since Escobar was killed four weeks ago. He fell to security forces Dec. 2 in a gunfight on a Medellin rooftop.
About $1 billion in assets suspected of being Escobar's has been seized in recent years in Colombia, authorities say.
But the government believes it will find nowhere near all the holdings of the man described by Forbes magazine in 1991 as the 62nd richest in the world, with an estimated net worth of more than $2.5 billion.
"There are many places the money could be hidden, bank accounts in Switzerland for example," said Francisco Sintura, the assistant prosecutor general whose office is in charge of seizing Escobar's assets.
"It's perfectly possible we will never find much of the money and property."
A senior drug agent said Escobar remained wealthy until his death, despite being the target of the biggest manhunt in Colombian history and seeing his gang surpassed by the Cali cartel as the world's main supplier of cocaine.
"What we have found amounts to a minor share of everything Escobar owned," said another senior government official.
He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing that discussing Escobar's fortune might mark him for assassination.
A shadow of its former self, the Medellin cartel is still considered dangerous: Threats faxed to government officials last week and signed by the cartel said President Cesar Gaviria and others "who smilingly announced Escobar's death" will be killed - "not even bulletproof jackets will save you."
Sintura and the other senior official, interviewed separately, said several foreign governments were being contacted in efforts to track down Escobar's overseas assets. They would not say which ones.
If front groups believe authorities are close, they could start another round of a global shell game to prevent an impounding of assets.
Officials said they cannot estimate Escobar's total wealth. With so much of it hidden, they would be merely guessing, they said.
His foreign holdings included hotels in the United States, Venezuela and Panama, shares in two European banks, investments in the Tokyo stock exchange and ranches throughout the Caribbean, the newspaper El Espectador said Sunday, without giving specifics.
He also reportedly owned ranch land in Australia and had investments across Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Escobar may have made savvy, low-key investments overseas, but some of his properties in Colombia showed the flamboyant side of a man who rose from being a car and gravestone thief to the world's most powerful cocaine trafficker.
Among assets seized were hundreds of gazelles, rhinoceroses, buffalo, hippos and oryx that roamed Escobar's 7,000-acre Napoles Ranch, landscaped with artificial lakes and with its own airport.
Most of the animals were sent to Colombian zoos.
Other holdings in Colombia include 37 farms, three or more discotheques, a dozen buildings, four hotels, and three factories making bicycles, soft drinks and tiles, El Espectador said, citing reports from the secret police and the prosecutor general's office.
Seven people who were fronts for his holdings tried to keep the wealth for themselves after Escobar's death - a fatal mistake, the anonymous senior government official said.
Cartel members knew they were fronts and killed them, he said.
But if Escobar kept the identities of some fronts to himself, the secret went with him to the grave. If they take the risk, those fronts can assume the property and become instantly rich, the official noted.
Several properties are in the names of Escobar's wife, son and daughter. Like all the seized assets, they are being managed by the Directorate of Dangerous Drugs until judges determine case by case whether they really belonged to Escobar - a process that could take years.
The directorate meanwhile has distributed many of the seized properties among government ministries, including sophisticated radio equipment, airplanes and armored luxury cars.
In fact, all the luxury cars used by top federal officials and their bodyguards formerly belonged to suspected traffickers, the senior official said. He himself drives a Mercedes-Benz, outfitted with a top-of-the-line stereo system, taken from the Medellin cartel.
And that fancy eight-story Medellin apartment building Escobar allegedly owned, where he maintained a penthouse?
It has been turned over to a religious group for treatment of drug addicts, El Espectador said.
^Trail of Bodies Piles Up As Hunt Is On For Escobar's Riches AP Photo NY112
^By ANDREW SELSKY
^Associated Press Writer
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) _ In one of the largest treasure hunts in modern times, authorities are trying to track down slain drug lord Pablo Escobar's fortune, which is believed to be scattered throughout the world.
A scramble for the loot among remnants of his Medellin cocaine cartel has already left behind a trail of bodies since Escobar was killed four weeks ago. He fell to security forces Dec. 2 in a gunfight on a Medellin rooftop.
About $1 billion in assets suspected of being Escobar's has been seized in recent years in Colombia, authorities say.
But the government believes it will find nowhere near all the holdings of the man described by Forbes magazine in 1991 as the 62nd richest in the world, with an estimated net worth of more than $2.5 billion.
"There are many places the money could be hidden, bank accounts in Switzerland for example," said Francisco Sintura, the assistant prosecutor general whose office is in charge of seizing Escobar's assets.
"It's perfectly possible we will never find much of the money and property."
A senior drug agent said Escobar remained wealthy until his death, despite being the target of the biggest manhunt in Colombian history and seeing his gang surpassed by the Cali cartel as the world's main supplier of cocaine.
"What we have found amounts to a minor share of everything Escobar owned," said another senior government official.
He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing that discussing Escobar's fortune might mark him for assassination.
A shadow of its former self, the Medellin cartel is still considered dangerous: Threats faxed to government officials last week and signed by the cartel said President Cesar Gaviria and others "who smilingly announced Escobar's death" will be killed - "not even bulletproof jackets will save you."
Sintura and the other senior official, interviewed separately, said several foreign governments were being contacted in efforts to track down Escobar's overseas assets. They would not say which ones.
If front groups believe authorities are close, they could start another round of a global shell game to prevent an impounding of assets.
Officials said they cannot estimate Escobar's total wealth. With so much of it hidden, they would be merely guessing, they said.
His foreign holdings included hotels in the United States, Venezuela and Panama, shares in two European banks, investments in the Tokyo stock exchange and ranches throughout the Caribbean, the newspaper El Espectador said Sunday, without giving specifics.
He also reportedly owned ranch land in Australia and had investments across Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Escobar may have made savvy, low-key investments overseas, but some of his properties in Colombia showed the flamboyant side of a man who rose from being a car and gravestone thief to the world's most powerful cocaine trafficker.
Among assets seized were hundreds of gazelles, rhinoceroses, buffalo, hippos and oryx that roamed Escobar's 7,000-acre Napoles Ranch, landscaped with artificial lakes and with its own airport.
Most of the animals were sent to Colombian zoos.
Other holdings in Colombia include 37 farms, three or more discotheques, a dozen buildings, four hotels, and three factories making bicycles, soft drinks and tiles, El Espectador said, citing reports from the secret police and the prosecutor general's office.
Seven people who were fronts for his holdings tried to keep the wealth for themselves after Escobar's death - a fatal mistake, the anonymous senior government official said.
Cartel members knew they were fronts and killed them, he said.
But if Escobar kept the identities of some fronts to himself, the secret went with him to the grave. If they take the risk, those fronts can assume the property and become instantly rich, the official noted.
Several properties are in the names of Escobar's wife, son and daughter. Like all the seized assets, they are being managed by the Directorate of Dangerous Drugs until judges determine case by case whether they really belonged to Escobar - a process that could take years.
The directorate meanwhile has distributed many of the seized properties among government ministries, including sophisticated radio equipment, airplanes and armored luxury cars.
In fact, all the luxury cars used by top federal officials and their bodyguards formerly belonged to suspected traffickers, the senior official said. He himself drives a Mercedes-Benz, outfitted with a top-of-the-line stereo system, taken from the Medellin cartel.
And that fancy eight-story Medellin apartment building Escobar allegedly owned, where he maintained a penthouse?
It has been turned over to a religious group for treatment of drug addicts, El Espectador said.
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