The wife and five children of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet were arrested today on tax evasion and fraud charges as part of an investigation into secret, multimillion euro bank accounts.
Officials who asked not to be identified said Judge Carlos Cerda ordered the arrest of Mr Pinochet's wife, Lucia Hiriart, and their children on charges of filing "maliciously incomplete" and false tax declarations involving millions of euro.
Mr Cerda also ordered the arrests of Monica Ananias and Oscar Aitken, a personal secretary of Mr Pinochet and the former executor of his will.
Observers say the former dictator (90) may end up facing prosecution for tax crimes before any of the human rights charges that have mounted against him but have stalled in the courts because of his health.
"We are satisfied because the investigation has translated into crucial resolutions," said Rodrigo Veliz, a lawyer for Chile's Internal Revenue Service.
General Pinochet took power in a 1973 US-backed military coup that toppled the democratically elected socialist Salvador Allende.
He has been accused of responsibility in the deaths of as many as 3,000 Chileans during his regime between 1973 and 1990, and in tens of thousands of torture cases.
He was charged last year with evading taxes on an estimated €22 million hidden in foreign accounts. Prosecutors say Mr Pinochet and his family stashed millions in more than 100 bank accounts outside Chile.
Among the first arrested were Marco Antonio, Mr Pinochet's youngest son, and his daughters Lucia, Jacqueline and Veronica.
In separate charges, his eldest son, Augusto, was arrested for falsification of official documents.
Mr Pinochet's wife and four of the children will be detained under house arrest until tomorrow at least, when an appeals court will decide whether or not to grant them bail.
Augusto Pinochet was released hours after his arrest when he posted bail of paid 100,000 pesos (€150) bail.