Riggs National Corp. has put on paid leave an executive who was once the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's lead examiner of Riggs' principal bank subsidiary, according to a news report.
The Washington Post reported in Wednesday's edition that R. Ashley Lee will remain on paid leave until the Justice Department completes an investigation into whether he improperly influenced OCC exam reports.
A congressional investigation last month concluded that Mr. Lee told two employees of the agency not to include information about Riggs' dealing with the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in examination files. Mr. Lee testified at a subsequent Senate hearing that he did not recall giving that order.
The story also said that Riggs' board of directors had commissioned an internal investigation of the bank's dealings with Mr. Pinochet, and specifically of how much involvement former chairman Joe L. Allbritton had in acquiring and maintaining the account.
Riggs did not return calls.
