Andres Oppenheimer

  In the grand scale of Latin American presidential larceny, the $124 million allegedly stolen during the presidency of former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo
  Alemán may not sound like much money. Compared with the fortunes suspected to have been plundered under Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori or
  Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, it may be small potatoes.

  But if you look at it in the context of Nicaragua's extreme poverty, and hear from Nicaraguan prosecutors -- as I did this week -- the details of Alemán's
  shopping sprees in Miami and his $30,878 bill at the Taj Mahal Hotel in India, it makes you wonder whether he is not poised to win a hemispheric
  corruption championship if he and his entourage are proven guilty.

  Nicaragua, along with Haiti and Honduras, is one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere. Yet, according to prosecutors, that didn't stop Alemán from
  using government funds to live like a king during his 1997-2002 term.

  Acting chief prosecutor Francisco Fiallos and his aides told me in telephone interviews from Managua that they have found up to $124 million in
  questionable government and private transfers, which they suspect ended up in the hands of Alemán, his relatives and associates.

  CREDIT CARD MISUSE

  In addition, the prosecutors said they will file charges against Alemán within the next 10 days involving an additional $1.8 million in illegal government
  expenditures to cover the former president's American Express card purchases. Alemán's plastic card was used for personal purchases and paid for by
  the Central Bank, prosecutors say.

  In August 1999, Alemán, at the time 53, threw a big party at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables to celebrate his engagement to 30-year-old Miami school
  teacher María Fernanda Flores. About 300 guests were invited to the party, which, according to a Herald report at the time, featured baby lamb chops,
  shrimp sautéed in cognac and salmon in champagne sauce. The party cost $46,609, not including entertainers, The Herald reported.

  Nicaraguan prosecutors now say that Alemán paid part of the bill with his American Express card, later covered by Central Bank funds. Alemán's card
  shows $3,866 paid to the Biltmore that weekend, plus four purchases at Mayor's Jewelers in Miami -- for $1,610, $2,599, $3,244 and $3,840 respectively
  -- on the same days, they say.

  CHARGES LISTED

  Among other purchases that prosecutors say appear on the American Express cards of Alemán and his private secretary, Alfredo Fernández:

  • In November 1999, shortly after Alemán's wedding, the newlyweds spent their honeymoon in Italy, where they charged $25,955 to their American
  Express cards, including $1,300 at a Gianni Versace shop in Rome, $11,500 at the Mariorita International store, and a $574 dinner at the Al'Augusteo
  restaurant.

  • In March 2001, the couple and their aides took an 11-day vacation in Egypt, where they charged $98,282 to their credit cards. Among the expenditures
  were $1,029 in perfumes at Royal Perfumes of Cairo, $22,530 in carpets at the Carpet School of Egypt and $8,462 in unspecified items at the Gabry Gift
  Stop.

  • In July 2001, the couple took a seven-day holiday in India, Singapore and Taiwan. On that occasion, they spent $30,878 at the Taj Mahal Hotel in India
  and $13,775 at the Ritz Carlton in Bali. In addition, they charged $12,549 in jewelry at Bhandari Jewelry, $6,749 at the Jonie Cherie Taylor Co. and
  $14,583 at the Sodhi Textiles Jaipur shop.

  ''This was paid for with the American Express card that was being fed with government transfers, which did not have a legal origin,'' says assistant
  prosecutor Raimundo Romero.

  DEAL WITH ORTEGA

  The new government of President Enrique Bolaños has asked the Nicaraguan congress to lift Alemán's congressional immunity from criminal prosecution.
  Alemán, who is president of the congress and controls about half of the 93-seat legislature, is benefiting from a deal he made three years ago with
  fellow former President Daniel Ortega -- who is fighting his own share of corruption and sexual abuse charges -- under which he obtained an automatic
  congressional seat for former presidents.

  Last week, the U.S. State Department's top Latin American diplomat, Otto Reich, visited Managua and told the daily El Nuevo Diario and the Nicaraguan
  weekly Confidencial that 'we support President Bolaños' campaign to attack corruption.''

  Alemán denies all the charges and says he is a victim of political persecution.

  ''These expenses were legitimate,'' says Jamileth Bonilla, a senior congressman of Alemán's party. ``Part of them were covered with a confidential
  presidential fund, and what exceeded the authorized spending limit was reimbursed by Alemán or his secretary.''

  But if the allegations against Alemán are proven, his Miami shopping sprees and his vacations at the Taj Mahal Hotel in India will become a major entry in
  Latin America's hall of shame.