Global Criminal Money Laundering Network Uncovered

In 2008, a Romanian tyre dealer took three former business partners to court in the tiny republic of Moldova. He claimed that they used a phantom offshore company called Tormex Ltd. to defraud him of US$437,176.
When prosecutors subpoenaed Tormex’s bank accounts from Latvia, they found the appearance of more than US$680 million pouring through them.
The case opened the door to a vast, hidden illicit network which allows corrupt politicians and organized crime groups to evade taxes, plunder state resources and launder crime and corruption-generated money.
Delving into Tormex, reporters from theOrganized Crime and Corruption report (OCCRP), a consortium of investigative centres, journalists and media organisations throughout the Balkans and Eastern Europe, uncovered a system ‘built on hundreds, maybe thousands, of evolving phantom companies’.
OCCRP reporters traced Tormex transactions to Chisinau, Moscow, Kiev, Riga, Bucharest, London and Auckland, cities that ‘have become hubs in a huge network of banks, proxies, financial consultants and offshore companies that launder money and hide stolen assets.’
In their brilliantly presented multimedia project, The Proxy Platform, OCCRP researchers describe their findings. ‘For over 12 months, thousands of transactions and commissions from all over the world circulated through the Tormex bank account in Latvia before they were diverted to other offshore companies.
‘Yet Tormex didn’t really exist. It was a phantom. It had no offices, no employees. Its director was a Russian citizen; an unwitting stand-in with no idea there was such a thing as Tormex.’
Through their investigation, the OCCRP uncovered connections to  crime figures, businessmen, Asian gangsters, Sinaloa Cartel Drug money, and Russian authorities, including those thought to be behind the corruption uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who alleged wide-scale tax fraud sanctioned by Russian officials.
Magnitsky, imprisoned after blowing the whistle, died in suspicious circumstances in police custody in November 2009. The OCCRP found that Russia was one hub for money laundering.
Ruslan Milchenko, ex-operative officer of the Department of Tax Crimes of Moscow police, and head of the anti-corruption center Analyses and Security, told OCCRP reporters: ”Unofficially we believe that of the 5 million firms registered in Russia, 3 million or even more are phantom companies, which don’t conduct any real commercial activities and are aimed only on money laundering,” said Milchenko.
However, the OCCRP found that Russia was not the only culprit.  Many of the proxy companies they identified were registered by GT Group in New Zealand and Midland Consult in London.
Read the full interactive project here.

Michael Hearns an Anti Money Laundering specialist with over 24 years of AML experience can also be found at www.launderingmoney.com and on twitter at : http://twitter.com/#!/LaunderingMoney

Colombian drug and money laundering group busted

 

 

Colombia announced on Monday that they had arrested 14 men suspected of being the inner circle of a major drug trafficking and money laundering ring. 

             

Authorities say it's a major hit to the band of Daniel 'El Loco' Barrera. 

 

Arrested suspects, who were shown to the press on Monday, are thought to have carried out cocaine production, trafficking and money laundering.

 

They created false companies within Colombia and internationally to hide income from cocaine sales.

              

Colombian police chief Oscar Naranjo added the bust was the result of a two-year investigation. 

       

"It's a definitive hit to the organization of 'El Loco' Barrera. After two years of investigations in conjunction with the Colombian attorney general's office, the North American DEA and Virginian authorities in the United States, we have captured in this operation 14 members of the inner circle. They were dedicated to the illicit exportation of cocaine and at the same time money laundering on a large scale on Colombia's north coast." said Oscar Naranjo, Colombian Chief of Police

             

Police say the most notable of those arrested is a man known as 'El Flaco'.

 

He reportedly took over Barrera's position at the head of the group after Barrera went into hiding during the police crackdown.

              

The men allegedly worked on Colombia's northern coast, using false agricultural and transportation businesses in Colombia and Venezuela to get the drugs out of the country

Michael Hearns an Anti Money Laundering specialist with over 24 years of AML experience can also be found at www.launderingmoney.com and on twitter at : http://twitter.com/#!/LaunderingMoney

US to name Iran area of 'money laundering concern'

The U.S. Treasury Department plans to designate Iran as an area of "primary money laundering concern" on Monday, a U.S. official said, a move allowing it to take steps to further isolate the Iranian financial sector.
The decision was reported earlier by ABC News and the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said the Treasury would not formally sanction Iran's central bank, in part to avoid causing a sudden shock to oil prices.
Under Section 311 of the U.S. Patriot Act, such a designation allows the United States to take a range of "special measures" against a jurisdiction as a whole, an institution, a class of transactions or a type of account.
It was unclear what exact steps the Treasury planned for Iran but it seemed unlikely it would seek to cut off the Iranian financial sector entirely, a move that could disrupt the global energy markets and harm the U.S. economic recovery.
The decision -- which the official said was to be announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday -- appeared designed as a warning about the risks of dealing with Iran's financial institutions.
It follows a Nov. 8 report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog that presented intelligence suggesting that Iran had worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be secretly carrying out related research.
That report, calls by U.S. lawmakers to sanction Iran's cental bank and media speculation of a possible Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear sites have all pushed the Obama administration to look for tougher sanctions against Tehran.
The Obama administration suspects that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability under cover of its civilian atomic energy program. Tehran denies this, saying it has no interest in nuclear arms and its atomic program is purely peaceful.
The United States is also expected to unveil sanctions against Iran's petrochemical sector on Monday, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, and European nations are expected to follow suit.

RELUCTANCE TO DISRUPT OIL MARKETS

According to the U.S. Treasury website, the United States has previously designated three jurisdictions as of "primary money laundering concern" -- Myanmar, Nauru and Ukraine. When applied to a specific institution, such a designation can have devastating consequences. In 2005, the United States designated Macau-based bank Banco Delta Asia as a primary money laundering concern because of its dealings with North Korea. When the United States later allowed BDA to return more than $20 million in frozen assets to North Korea, it had great difficulty finding a bank to carry out the transfer because most feared losing access to the U.S. financial sector.
The range of "special measures" permitted under U.S. law appears to give the Obama administration fairly wide latitude on how to tailor any restrictions. According to the 2003 designation of Myanmar, which the U.S. government refers to by its colonial name Burma, such steps can allow the Treasury to obtain more information about the designated jurisdiction, better monitor transactions with it or bar U.S. financial institutions from dealing with it.
U.S. officials say there has been a debate within the Obama administration about whether to formally sanction the Iranian central bank, which many importers of Iranian crude oil use to clear their transactions.
Despite calls for such sanctions by Democratic and Republican lawmakers, U.S. officials been reluctant to do so because of the fear that this could cause oil prices to spike higher, potentially impairing the U.S. recovery.
There is also a concern that importers of Iranian oil -- which include such nations as China and India -- could be hurt by such a move, thereby antagonizing nations whose support the Washington needs if it is to pursue wider sanctions on Iran.
The U.S. decision to take unilateral steps to sanction Iran reflects the difficulty of persuading Russia and China to punish it further at the U.N. Security Council, where they hold vetos and have supported four previous sanctions resolutions.

Michael Hearns an Anti Money Laundering specialist with over 24 years of AML experience can also be found at www.launderingmoney.com and on twitter at : http://twitter.com/#!/LaunderingMoney

New Mexico possibly new front line for drug trafficking and money laundering

By Leigh Irvin

Daily Times

Mexican drug cartels are operating at increased levels within San Juan County, and they steadily are becoming more violent, according to Region II Narcotics Task Force Director Neil Haws. Speaking to the Bloomfield City Council on Tuesday, Haws outlined recent trends within the cartels and warned that unless aggressive measures such as securing a federal magistrate in the area are taken, the picture looks bleak for stemming drug-related crime and violence. "Drugs and Mexican cartel activities are a real issue in Bloomfield," Haws said. "The cells are already here, and all of the problems that U.S. cities bordering Mexico are now dealing with are going to come this way. It's only a matter of time."

Cartel operations

Haws said that for the past two years the major Mexican drug cartel operating in San Juan County has been the Juarez cartel, but recently the Sinaloa and Michoacan cartels have gained ground.

"What's happening here is reflective of what's occurring in Mexico," said Haws, adding that Region II is concentrating its investigative efforts on individuals three or four levels above the drug addicts, or those who are directly connected to the cartels.Going deeper into how the cartels operate in Bloomfield, Haws said that four to five males are usually sent by the Mexican cartel to Bloomfield to live, and they spend 80 percent of their time in and around the city.The cartel members bring their families with them to try to fit into the community and to be less noticeable, and do not deal directly with drug addicts, which makes them difficult to detect. "These cartel members recruit local gang members to sell drugs to lower-level dealers, who then sell the drugs to the addicts," said Haws. Region II agents rely on background checks and surveillance to identify cartel members, and watch for signs like tattoos and the collection of religious artifacts like shrines.

Recently, the Sinaloa cartel has added Albuquerque as a stepping stone for its drug distribution in New Mexico, and much of the drugs coming into San Juan County are coming from Phoenix, passing through Albuquerque and then being transported into San Juan County via Highway 550. Drugs continue to be transported to the area from Mexico after going through California. Albuquerque is seeing more "enforcers," or cartel members who resort to kidnappings and violence on order of the cartel leaders in Mexico, Haws said. While some of the drugs reaching the county stay in the area and are sold to local drug addicts, much of the drugs are further distributed to other states such as Colorado, Utah, Missouri and the Dakotas. "We are definitely a distribution hub here," said Haws. Addressing why our area makes a good distribution hub, Haws said that the cartel members find it easy to import the drugs via wide-open New Mexico roads and reservation lands, and storage of drugs is also relatively easy here. Obtaining fake documentation is also easy to obtain in this area, despite Bloomfield taking away the ability of illegal aliens to obtain driver's licenses. "One of the best forgers in the area lives in Shiprock and works by the side of the road. For $30, it's possible for someone to get a whole new identity from this person," said Haws.

Drug trends

While Region II has seen a slight increase in the use and distribution of heroin, Haws says methamphetamine remains the drug of choice in San Juan County, and that 98 percent of the drug cases Region II works on involve meth.

What is changing, he said, is the purity of the meth coming into the county. "The purity here in San Juan County amazes the rest of the state," he said. "We're seeing 94-98 percent purity here, and one recent sample sent to the DEA lab was 100 percent pure. The DEA didn't even know this level of purity was possible." One of the challenges for local cartel members is getting the drug money back to Mexico. Bulk cash smuggling is one way to do this, but a relatively recent trend is to utilize money remitters such as Western Union and local businesses. "The cartels know how to stay under the radar, and they'll repeatedly wire $999 back to Mexico to avoid reporting requirements. Since no reporting is required for this amount, the transfers are hard to detect."

Drug-related crimes

Drug-related crimes such as kidnapping, homicide and money laundering are picking up in the county, says Haws.

One local family consisting of a father, an uncle and a cousin, were all recently kidnapped and taken to Mexico, according to Region II sources. The family members were never seen again, and are believed to have been killed.

"Crimes like these are usually perpetrated by the cartels against undocumented Mexican nationals, so it makes it hard to positively identify a lot of the victims," said Haws. The FBI has been involved in some of the Mexican-on-Mexican investigations, but without a U.S. citizen nexus, their hands are somewhat tied. "We're also seeing a lot of extortion cases," he said. "The cartel members might get a small local business to illegally transfer too much money on one occasion, then will extort them to continue the transfers, using the company's fear of getting into legal trouble." Other strong-arm methods of local cartels is to kick gang members out of their homes and move their own families in. "The gang family may be having some debt issues, and the cartel member will just say, get out, we're moving in,'" he said. Fear of cartel violence prevents others from fighting back or reporting these activities, making it difficult for Region II to secure witnesses and informants. Haws said money laundering is also "huge" in Bloomfield, and that the cartels are using small businesses like clothing shops to launder their drug money. Investigating and apprehending cartel-related individuals is an extremely dangerous business for Region II and other law enforcement officials. "We have to always be extremely careful, as each and every one of these guys has multiple guns, and they don't care about anything or anybody. Even though many of them have families here, they don't care as much about their wives or their kids as their money. They'll do anything for the money and to stay alive," said Haws.

Federal presence

"What we don't have in this county and what is desperately needed is a stronger federal presence," said Haws. While there is an effective FBI office in Farmington, much of the agents' responsibilities are devoted to investigating crimes on the Indian Reservation and they lack the manpower to fully tackle the cartel issues in the county. What is most needed, said Haws, is a federal magistrate. "We've been trying to get a federal magistrate here for years, and have shown through cases and sheer numbers that we have a serious drug problem here. A federal magistrate is warranted, but we're still fighting this battle." Despite the presence of a federal magistrate's office located in Durango, it can only be utilized only for Colorado cases unless an interstate nexus can be demonstrated. Some temporary help has come in the form of five Homeland Security investigators who have arrived to work with Region II for the next month, and they are reviewing many of Region's open drug cases.

A serious warning

Haws made an ominous prediction that Bloomfield will continue to see an increase in Mexican cartel presence and drug-related violence. "These people are already here in Bloomfield and in nearby towns, and although most of the violence has involved non-U.S. citizens, I believe it's just a matter of time before what's happening in the U.S. towns bordering Mexico will start to happen here, and our citizens will start to be affected more and more. The problem is here. It's real. And it's what we're dealing with every day," he said.

What can be done

At the conclusion of Haws' presentation, Bloomfield City Manager David Fuqua asked what the council can do to help, and asked if a resolution which could be taken to other officials, senators and pertinent groups would assist with efforts to secure a federal magistrate for the area.

"That would definitely help," said Haws. "Without a federal hammer' to help us with our efforts, we don't have the manpower or resources to keep going after the cartel once some are taken down. They just keep springing up and replacing each other." Mayor Scott Eckstein agreed that it would be productive to draft a resolution expressing the importance of a local federal magistrate, and Haws stated that he would provide the Council with additional statistical information needed to bolster the resolution's statement about the need for a federal magistrate. Haws has also been coordinating with Farmington officials and with the San Juan County Sheriff's Office to lobby for a federal magistrate, but stated that it would be a tremendous help if everyone could come together to try to work toward this goal. "Everyone has been doing what they can, but this is a huge problem. We just need to be aware of what we may be facing in the future." he said. Mayor Eckstein found Haws' presentation to be eye-opening. "I frankly found it a little alarming, as the activities Neil was describing are not things we see on a day-to-day basis," he said."If it's true, and I believe it is, the situation is worse than I thought it was. I think a resolution which we could get other elected officials to sign would be very effective, and if there's something else we can do to help, we'll do it." Police Chief Mike Kovacs agreed. "These cartel members are hiding in plain sight, and if we don't figure out a way to stiffen our laws within New Mexico, these cartel activities will start to affect all of us. Law enforcement is understaffed, and we're going to have to find a way to get ahead of the issue. I'm glad the city is taking a stance on this, and I look forward to working with the city to combat the problem," he said.

Michael Hearns an Anti Money Laundering specialist with over 24 years of AML experience can also be found at www.launderingmoney.com and on twitter at : http://twitter.com/#!/LaunderingMoney

AUSTRAC uncovers money laundering operation in "Little Persia" section of Sydney

In a quiet Parramatta street, hidden off the main drag, the small grocery store Little Persia was doing a roaring trade. But it was not bread, milk or traditional Middle Eastern delicacies that made the family-run business so profitable.

It was $34 million of drug money that came into their bank account over a three-month period and was sent overseas.

But authorities would learn this was only the start of the exponential growth. According to Austrac, a government agency that tracks money transactions, Little Persia's bank account grew to $95 million over 10 months. Of that, $55 million was sent overseas and the rest laundered and distributed through the community in a diverse portfolio of legitimate investments.

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Two men linked to Little Persia - one of them the co-owner, Iranian-born Amir Rafizadeh - were jailed in August for their part in the money laundering operation following an investigation led by the Australian Federal Police.

On one occasion, police discovered the shop had sent $4 million to Iran. Bags of cash were collected in car parks across Sydney then transferred to the ''Gold Corporation'' in Tehran and other destinations through the Commonwealth Bank.

As part of their efforts to smash money laundering and terrorist financing, the AFP and the Australian Crime Commission, along with Austrac, busted the Little Persia racket in October 2009. The Sun-Herald has learned the case was one of the country's biggest scams, cleaning millions of dollars for crime syndicates. Investigations continue into a raft of organised crime groups that used the service.

Iranians living in Sydney and some local businesses continue to use Little Persia to send money legally to overseas remittance services. But what happens once it leaves Australia is difficult to track. There is concern that some transactions are sent to third countries for organised crime networks.

Western Union and MoneyGram are major names in the remittance provider service in Australia and popular with diasporas across the globe as an easy way to transfer money. But authorities are sharpening their focus on hundreds of backroom remittance systems, operated out of shops such as Little Persia, that might be vulnerable to abuse by criminal networks.

Austrac's suspicions were piqued when there was a sudden increase in financial traffic at Little Persia and when a significant proportion of the transactions shifted from Iran to the United Arab Emirates.

Court documents show co-owner Rafizadeh conducted the illegal activity with Bangladeshi-born Abdul Hameed, who ran Freshco Foods, a grocery wholesalers in Clyde. On five occasions between June and October 2009, Rafizadeh approached Hameed in his car opposite a Commonwealth Bank in Parramatta and collected a black sports bag containing between $500,000 and $1 million in cash. Rafizadeh then visited the bank to deposit the money into a business account.

The AFP observed a total of $3,560,110 in cash passing between Hameed and Rafizadeh over a five-day period. On October 2, 2009, the AFP raided Hameed's Baulkham Hills home and discovered $562,430 in cash in his house.

Hameed later admitted to police he received $60,000 in commission for providing cash to Rafizadeh. Hameed claimed a man named ''John'' had approached him to help transfer money to Iran and regular money deliveries were made, including at a Bunnings car park.

In August, Judge David Freeman in the NSW District Court sent both Hameed and Rafizadeh to jail until April next year. After the men pleaded guilty to the charges, they returned to work at the store while on bail. Rafizadeh's wife Mojgan Zojagi, who also owns a stake in Little Persia, continues to operate a remittance business from the store. Austrac say she has done nothing wrong.

''We are all above board, there was some trouble in the past but now all OK," Mrs Zojagi said when The Sun-Herald visited her store.

The chief executive of Austrac, John Schmidt, said the Little Persia case was the best example of Australian efforts to smash the new trend in which sophisticated international money laundering syndicates use small remittance providers to transfer money and avoid detection.

Michael Hearns an Anti Money Laundering specialist with over 24 years of AML experience can also be found at www.launderingmoney.com and on twitter at : http://twitter.com/#!/LaunderingMoney

Chinese buffets in Maine linked to money laundering, illegal aliens

 

 

By Dawn Gagnon

Bangor Daily

 

 Local police and agents from the federal government raided Chinese buffet restaurants in Brewer, Lewiston, Waterville and the Portland area on Wednesday, shutting at least four of them down temporarily.

They also made unannounced visits to two residences in Brewer, one on Elm Street and one on Wilson Street, according to an area law enforcement official who assisted in the operation there.
Authorities took four people described as “immigrants” into custody as a result of raids in Portland and Westbrook, according to the Portland Press Herald. The four were being held at Cumberland County Jail, a jail official confirmed.
Their names, addresses and charges were not available, nor would jail officials say where they were taken into custody, the Portland newspaper reported Wednesday night.
One of the houses raided in Brewer, located at 287 Elm St., now is the subject of a forfeiture complaint. Federal authorities are seeking to seize the property because they believe the owners — members of the “Zhang Operation” — used the property as a “safe house” for Asian and Hispanic illegal aliens, according to an 18-page complaint filed late Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Portland.
The Zhang Operation also is believed to have engaged in money laundering though its buffet restaurant operations in Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the complaint said.
As of early Wednesday evening, none of the other raided properties had been the subject of forfeiture complaints. There also was no word of arrests or charges in connection with the raids.
Though little information was being released about the raids — which were conducted at Twin Super Buffet in Brewer, Super China Buffet in Waterville and New China Buffet in Lewiston — witnesses reported seeing agents from U.S. Immigrations, Customs and Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and local police officers at the surprise entries.
Spokesmen for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection said they were not authorized to release information about the incidents and referred questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark said Wednesday afternoon that he could not comment on whether an investigation was under way or if anyone had been charged or taken into custody.
In the complaint filed later in the afternoon, however, federal prosecutors cited the harboring, hiring and transportation of illegal aliens and illegal financial activities as probable cause for the forfeiture.
Court documents show that the Zhang Organization has been the focus of an investigation involving agents from the Department of Homeland Security and other federal and state agencies that dates back as far as 2006.
Zi Qian Zhang, his wife, Ai Hui Lu, who is owner of record of the house on Elm Street, and others in the organization reportedly use illegal aliens as cheap labor in Chinese buffet restaurants, where customers often pay in cash because of low prices, according to the federal complaint.
The workers are paid $7 to $10 an hour, sometimes are required to work 70 hours a week and receive no overtime pay or benefits, the complaint said. The organization reportedly housed many of the restaurant’s employees in “safe houses” funded with the proceeds of irregular illegal activity. Court documents say the aliens were “tightly quartered” in conditions described as “squalid” and “deplorable.” Some were living in the garage.
Members of the family organization allegedly did not withhold income taxes from employees or maintain required employee records. They also reportedly falsified income and business documents.
The buffet restaurants in Brewer and Lewiston both were open again by late Wednesday afternoon. An employee who answered the telephone at the Super China Buffet in Waterville said the business would reopen Thursday but declined to identify himself or comment on what agents were looking for.
An employee at Kon Asian Bistro on Brighton Avenue in Portland, one place where vehicles from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were seen, wouldn’t say whether immigration agents had been at the restaurant or made arrests there, according to the Press Herald. The restaurant, which was closed for a time, reopened Wednesday evening.
City tax records indicate that the Brewer restaurant is owned by Twin Super Buffet Inc. of New York City, Brewer Assessor Mary Lynne Hunter said Wednesday.
Efforts to reach Mei Ya Zhang, who was listed as the operation’s manager, were unsuccessful Wednesday afternoon. A woman who answered the telephone at the number provided to the city said no one by that name was at that number and that the number belonged to an accounting business.

Michael Hearns an Anti Money Laundering specialist with over 24 years of AML experience can also be found at www.launderingmoney.com and on twitter at : http://twitter.com/#!/LaunderingMoney

U.S. Tightens Rules on Prepaid Cards to Stop Money Laundering

By Geoffrey Ramsey

The U.S. Treasury aims to crack down on the use of prepaid cards to launder money, a tactic which officials fear could be gaining popularity among criminal groups.

Prepaid cards, a popular gift choice during the holiday season, are increasingly being used to launder illicit funds. The cards, which are available at drug stores and retail outlets across the United States, can be used almost anywhere in the world, and in some cases allow their holders to withdraw cash from ATMs.
In most cases, authorities have to obtain warrants before they can gain access to prepaid card information, making it difficult to launch investigations into the accounts. As the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2010 National Drug Threat Assessment notes, this results in a situation where “law enforcement agents cannot efficiently determine whether the total value associated with a card is suspicious.”
This also means that the extent of the use of prepaid cards to launder money is unknown. As a U.S. Government Accountability Office report  noted in 2010, “The nature and extent of the use of stored value for cross-border currency smuggling and other illegal activities remains unknown, but federal law enforcement agencies are concerned about its use."
To make matters worse, U.S. Customs guidelines do not currently require travelers to include the value of these cards when declaring the total amount of money they bring in to the country. Because of this, and because of the relative ease with which they are obtained, prepaid cards have become a popular alternative to smuggling bulk cash for Mexico-based money launderers in recent years.
This was recently confirmed by an anonymous U.S. drug enforcement official, who told Reuters last month that he was familiar with instances where drug traffickers bought prepaid cards with their profits in the U.S. and then moved overseas, where they were then  exchanged for money that was not linked to the drug trade.
One known instance of this, as reported by the Associated Press, occurred in 2006 when a Dallas-based firm known as Virtual Money Inc. provided stored value cards to individuals who then assisted a  Colombian drug trafficking organization in moving more than $7 million to Medellin over a period of three months. According to a defense attorney in the case, the accused used about 400-500 cards with maximum load limits of $1,000, which they emptied and refilled repeatedly.
John Tobon, a senior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, told the AP in May of this year that prepaid cards have become the “the preferred means of paying couriers who transport illicit drugs across the U.S.,” adding that "Law enforcement loses lives all over the world trying to keep [major criminals] unbanked, and these prepaid cards are offering them a great alternative to sneak into our financial system.”
All of this is set to change in the near future, however, in response to a new regulation proposed by the U.S. Treasury Department. Under the new rules, travelers would have to include prepaid cards, gift cards, and potentially even cell phones to the list of “monetary instruments” whose value must be declared upon entering or leaving the country. When the total exceeds $10,000, the individual would have to file a special report with customs officialsl.

Michael Hearns an Anti Money Laundering specialist with over 24 years of AML experience can also be found at www.launderingmoney.com and on twitter at : http://twitter.com/#!/LaunderingMoney