BANK SUING U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE FOR $4 MILLION

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A Venezuelan bank is suing the U.S. Customs
Service for the $4 million it says it lost during an undercover sting
operation, bank officials said Wenesday.

U.S. Customs agents allegedly used the money during Operation Casablanca to
mount a money-laundering scheme using two accounts in Banco Industrial de
Venezuela's Miami branch, bank president Rafael Pena told The Associated
Press.

Lawyers for Banco Industrial filed the lawsuit in federal court in Los
Angeles earlier this month, Pena said.

Bill Anthony, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs Service, said officials in
their Washington and Los Angeles offices had no knowledge of the lawsuit.
He acknowledged, however, that it could have been filed elsewhere in the
country.

Operation Casablanca resulted in 160 indictments, including at least two
dozen Mexican bankers and five Venezuelan bankers representing four banks.
Many of them were lured to the United States where they were arrested.

Checked-by: Richard Lake