FILE - In this March 21, 2012 file photo, Jacob Ostreicher, a New York City businessman, left, arrives at a court to attend a hearing in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The U.S. State Department says Ostreicher, who was detained the past 2 1/2 years in Bolivia on suspicion of money laundering, has arrived in the United States. Bolivian government officials said Monday that they didn't know anything about him possibly leaving.(AP Photo, file)
December 16, 2013 - 4:03 PM
CARACAS, Venezuela - The U.S. State Department says a New York businessman detained the past 2 1/2 years in Bolivia on suspicion of money laundering has arrived in the United States.
A State Department official speaking on condition of anonymity says only that the agency can confirm Jacob Ostreicher had left Bolivia, and it can give no details on his departure or travel.
Bolivian government officials said Monday that they didn't know anything about him possibly leaving.
Ostreicher spent 18 months in a Bolivian jail without charges on suspicion of money laundering while trying to salvage a rice-growing venture. He was released a year ago and put under house arrest in the city of Santa Cruz after actor Sean Penn directly appealed to President Evo Morales to free him.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013