Bank of Credit and Commerce International |
 |
|
|
|
Cocaine Trade |
 |
|
|
|
| Rate the Bank of Credit and Commerce International - Cocaine Trade connection |
|
| Bank of Credit & Commerce International Holdings S.A has had two of its units and nine bank officials were charged with conspiring to launder more than $32 million of profits from alleged cocaine sales in the U.S by traffickers operating out of Panama and Colombia | | Submitted by fedup | 2007-05-08 03:28:22 | Federal prosecutors said the charges against the Luxembourg based bank capped a two year undercover operation in which U.S Customs Service agents posed as professional money launderers and even staged a fake wedding to lure some of the defendants to Florida so they could be arrested. The indictment was unsealed 23 Mar 2007 in Tampa,Fla. with related charges filed against about 70 other individuals in five other cities.
It is the first time the Justice Department has obtained money laundering charges against a sizable international bank and some of its officers. Joe Magri, the lead prosecutor in the case, said in an interview that some BCCI officials approached the undercover agents to suggest ways of concealing alleged drug money. Law enforcement officials said investigators hope some of the bank officials will agree to cooperate with the government, and added that other senior officials could become targets of the continuing grand jury
inquiry. BCCI and an assistant director of its Miami office, who was among those indicted, were identified in congressional testimony earlier this year as allegedly helping Panamian strongman Gen. Manuel Noriega hide drug trafficking profits. Prosecutors said BCCI also is identified as a conduit for alleged money laundering in one of two pending federal indictments charging Gen. Noriega with drug related offenses.
The latest indictments didn't mention Gen. Noriega. But federal investigators said they have sworn testimony and other evidence indicating that Amjad Awan, the Miami manager, was among BCCI officials who allegedly acted as Gen. Noriega's personal bankers for several years. Mr. Awan allegedly commuted regularly from Miami to Panama to handle certain transactions. Mr. Awan couldn't be reached for comment. The indictment also charged that two officials who worked at BCCI's Panama City office participated in the alleged conspiracy. The sworn testimony also indicated that Gen. Noriega referred alleged drug smugglers to the bank, and didn't close his personal account with BCCI until shortly before U.S. investigators went public with their allegations. Among the bank officials charged were Nazir Chinoy, European and African regional manager for the Paris office of the bank's Cayman Island subsidiary, and Asif Baakza, a London based manager of the bank's corporate business unit. Mr. Chinoy couldn't be reached.
A federal judge lifted a restraining order that had been issued against the bank's assets in the U.S. after BCCI put up a $14 million bond, according to a source close to the bank. But the government still is seeking forfeiture of certain BCCI assets. David Rowe, a Miami attorney for the bank, said it "has always attempted to obey U.S. laws and regulations" and operate "in a manner consistent with the rules and regulations" of all other countries. Mr. Rowe said, "This is a tragic episode, and the bank hopes it is resolved expeditiously."
At BCCI's London headquarters, a spokesman said "it is wholly unaware of any violation that allegedly has been committed," and asserted that the charges could be part of a "malicious campaign against it." Law enforcement officials in Britain, France and several other countries cooperated with the investigation. A statement issued by Customs Service Commissioner William Von Raab carried a stern warning to banks." I'm putting the banking industry on notice business with crooks is a crime," he said. In an earlier briefing, Mr.Von Raab told reporters that the charges against BCCI are serious enough to cause its operations in Britain, France and other countries to be closed down by local authorities.
The sheer volume of the drug trade raises suspicions that many other financial institutions wittingly or unwittingly are being used for money laundering. Mr. Von Raab's warning appeared to impose some kind of self policing responsibility on the banks. The "bottom line," he said, is "whatever kind of financial institution you are, if you have crooks for customers, then you are a crook." The indictments charge that the principal money laundering scheme involved placing alleged drug profits in certificates of deposit in bank branches in France, Britain, Luxembourg, the Bahamas, Panama and South America. BCCI officials then created phony loans at other branches and permitted traffickers to withdraw those funds, according to the indictment.
The grand jury accused the bank of repaying the loans with funds in the certificates of deposit. According to the documents filed in Tampa, undercover agents dealt principally with Gonzalo Mora, who was charged with
allegedly controlling a money laundering network set up to assist members of the so called Medellin Cartel based in Medellin, Colombia.
The Justice Department considers this group the largest and most violent ring smuggling cocaineinto the U.S. One of those charged was arrested earlier after a seizure in Philadelphia of more than a ton of cocaine hidden in a shipment of anchovies, according to prosecutors. In addition to seeking BCCI assets, U.S. officials have seized or intend to seize millions of dollars in real estate and a Miami fight promotion company. The charges against Mr. Baakza, 38 years old, the bank manager in London, were spelled out in a courtroom there. A British Customs official said Mr. Baakza was accused of laundering nearly $1 million in proceeds from cocaine sales in Houston and New York by passing the funds through banks in Florida, Luxembourg and London, and finally to Panama.
The official said Mr. Baakza had been assigned to handle the transaction by others at BCCI, but he didn't elaborate. Julian Bevan, Mr. Baakza's attorney, said the banker admitted handling the transaction in London but denied knowledge of the money's source. The major defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison and fines totaling more than $5 million if convicted on allcounts. The bank faces maximum fines of more than $45 million. copyright ISPY@Newsvine
http://ispy.newsvine.com/_news/2007/05/08/706253-bcci-london-and-the-us-cocaine-money-scam
|
| | Edit |
|
|
|
