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Duran: Suitcase Scandal Foreign Agent Conviction Affirmed

By Tim Cone

In United States v. Duran, No. 09-11446 (Feb. 16, 2010), the Court affirmed the convictions of a Venezuelan citizen for acting as an agent of a foreign organization, without prior notification of the Attorney General, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 951.The case arose out of the ?Suitcase Scandal? involving the seizure of $800,000 in cash from a Venezuelan entering Argentina, cash intended, it was speculated, for the presidential candidate Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Duran, acting on behalf of Venezuela, had meetings in Miami in an effort to conceal responsibility for the $800,000.The Court rejected Duran?s argument that the government had to prove that he had knowledge of the foreign agent registration requirement. The failure to register offense is a general intent offense, which does not require proof of actual knowledge...continue to full post

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on February 17, 2010 (boomark / email).