Marc Harris, the one-time guru of international finance, has been indicted again in Miami, Fla., where he is in jail.

This time the indictment is for tax evasion and conspiracy, and his new trial date is Nov. 10, according to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service

Harris had been indicted for money laundering allegations, and he was expelled from Nicaragua and arrested by U.S. agents last June on the strength of that indictment.

Harris headed a Panamá-based organization of the same name. He was flying high in 1997 and early 1998 and held seminars in San José for which investors paid up to $500, according to a businessman here who remembers Harris.

The public plan was to create vast networks of tax avoidance for U.S. citizens. In fact, a Miami reporter, David Marchant, uncovered his operation as a ponzi scheme in which old investors were paid with money placed by new investors — minus whatever Harris took off the top. 

Harris moved to Nicaragua last year after having financial difficulties in Panamá. He was detained in Managua.

The Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. tax collecting agency, had placed an ad  in A.M. Costa Rica seeking victims of the Harris operation.

Woman here needs
0-negative blood

A woman with O negative blood has been hospitalized and needs donors to provide her with more of the rare type.

She is Gisela Baardse, the business manager of the Humbolt School in Pavas, who is recovering from an operation, according to Kevin Glass, principal of The Country Day School.

He said the German Embassy had issued the request. Those who wish to donate blood may contact Stefani Glass at the German Embassy Tel: 232-5533

Free trade term
up to 15 years

Costa Rica will have up to 15 years in some cases to prepare for the impact of a free trade treaty with the United states, according to Alberto Trejos, minister of Comercio Exterior.

The minister discussed the controversial trade treaty with members of the Comisión Permanente de Asuntos Internacionales y Comercio Exterior at the Asamblea Nacional.

Trejos said that reductions in tariffs might be linear or non-linear for agricultural products during this period and that the treaty would contain prohibitions against subsidizing exported products.

Trejos said since the first meeting with U.S. negotiators that Costa Rica has made clear that opening the domestic telecommunications market would not be a possibility.

Meanwhile foes of any possible treaty are building their forces.  The Federación Costarricense para la Conservación del Ambiente will host a speaker at 6 p.m. Thursday. The speaker is sociologist José Manuel Valverde and his topic is "La respuesta popular al neoliberalismo: Movimientos globales y locales."

In a release announcing the talk the organization talked about resistance to the treaty and referred to Costa Rican officials as lackeys. The talk is at the organization office. Directions are available at 283-6046 or 283-6046

Fox party handed
$50 million fine

MEXICO, D.F. — Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute has voted to fine the political alliance that helped bring Vicente Fox to power for violating campaign finance rules. The autonomous institute voted late Monday to impose a fine of about $50 million on the National Action Party and the Green Party.

The institute said the parties violated a number of finance rules in the 2000 presidential election, including accepting foreign donations, which are prohibited under Mexican law.  The fine must be approved by the electoral institute's general council, which meets Friday.

Fox's presidential victory three years ago ended 71 years of consecutive rule of the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Coral reefs get
influx of money

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is contributing $200,000 to assist states and territories with local projects to protect coral reefs and the species that depend on them.

This was announced by Craig Manson, assistant secretary of Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the 10th meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force.

"Coral reefs are among the world's most imperiled ecosystems — they are the next rainforests in terms of threats from human development," said Manson, the co-chairman of the task force. "This initial $200,000 will be seed money to get many projects off the ground. The time has come to take action, and we are taking it."
 

New anti-poverty chief

Fernando Trejos Ballesteros has been named the new executive president of the Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social to replace Silvia Lara Povedano, who announced her resignation Monday.  Trejos has been vice minister of Trabajo.

The Instituto Mixto de Ayuda Social is the principal governmental anti-poverty agency.
 

Transparency International came out with its 2003 corruption index Tuesday and Costa Rica again fared better than most, this time in 50th place of 133 countries.

The index is a complex attempt to see how residents and expats feel about corruption in each country. Corruption is defined as public officials taking advantage of their position for private gain.

Costa Rica was ranked with Greece and South Korea. 

Transparency said that the rank is not as important as the score. For example, Costa Rica was ranked 40th in 2001 with a score or 4.5 with 10 being mostly free of corruption. In that study there were 91 countries. This year Costa Rica is scored at 4.3 and ranked 50th of 133 countries.

The scores suggest a slight increase in the perception of corruption here.

At the regular Tuesday Casa Presidencial press conference President Abel Pacheco said that he has been told the country’s trend is the opposite.  Citing information from sources he felt were trustworthy, such as the Contraloría de la República, Pacheco said he believed that corruption had been reduced in the country. Such a reduction is one of his political goals.

The corruption index is a poll of polls, reflecting the perceptions of business people, academics and risk analysts, both resident and non-resident. First launched in 1995, this year’s index draws on 17 surveys from 13 independent institutions. 

"It is important to emphasize that the [index], even with 133 countries, is only a snapshot," said Peter Eigen, chairman of Transparency International. "There is not sufficient data on other countries, many of which are likely to be very corrupt."

The German-based organization published an extensive report on its Web site along with a detailed explanation of the methodology used.

Nicaragua was at 88th with a score of 2.6. At the bottom, No. 133, was Bangladesh with a 1.3 score.

Transparency said the index provides a snapshot of the views of decision-makers, who take key decisions on investment and trade. The index builds public awareness of the corruption issue, and it draws the attention of governments to the negative image of their nation that low rankings in the index reflect, adding another reason for them to address the problem, according to a press release with the report.

The organization stressed that the perception of corruption was different than actual corruption.

"Rich countries must provide practical support to developing country governments that demonstrate the political will to curb corruption," according to Eigen.  "In addition, those countries starting with a high degree of corruption should not be penalized, since they are in the most urgent need of support," he said in London while releasing the 2003 report.

The new index points to high levels of corruption in many rich countries as well as poorer ones, making it imperative that developed countries enforce international conventions to curb bribery by international companies, and that private businesses fulfill their obligations under international agreements, said Eigen. 

"Nine out of 10 developing countries score less than 5 against a clean score . . . . Their governments must implement results-oriented programs to fight corruption, but they also urgently require practical help tailored to the needs of their national anti-corruption strategies," he said.

The report also was released in San José by the organization’s Costa Rican vice president, Mario Carazo.