|
 It
started out as a local loan fraud investigation
of one man.
But
by the time it was over, it had turned into "Operation
Utah Powder," a huge international money
laundering case involving an impressive array
of characters--Colombian drug traffickers, Colombian
terrorist groups, and over $5 million in proceeds
laundered through American banks. To date, four
Utah residents have pled guilty to money laundering
charges, thanks to the partnership efforts of
international and domestic law enforcement, with
special thanks to the Salt Lake City Police Department's
Financial Crimes Unit.
Where
was the dirty money laundered? In this
case, in banks and credit unions in Utah, Nevada,
California, Texas, Ohio, New York, George, Florida,
and Columbia, along with Panama, Cayman Islands,
Mexico, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and
Latvia. With the cooperation of several of the
defendants, the FBI's investigation is continuing
in other jurisdictions, nationally and internationally.
How did the scheme work? The
foursome traveled to cities outside of Utah to
pick up cash-stuffed suitcases at pre-arranged
meetings with anonymous couriers. They then moved
the money to Utah and other places using a variety
of techniques to launder it--and that's when things
got complicated.
Money
laundering 101: Here--in a nutshell--is
what they did:
1) They put the "dirty" cash into
the United States' legitimate financial system
(eg. opening accounts at different banks with
deposits of less than $10,000 each so as to
not trigger federal bank reporting requirements);
2) They layered the money through a bunch
of transactions that hid where it came from,
then gave it back to the drug traffickers
(eg., falsifying business invoices and purchasing
cashier's checks and money orders, then wiring
funds to a bunch of different banks and credit
unions before it was ultimately sent to the
accounts of the traffickers located in places
like Miami and Panama).
And
here's what the drug traffickers did:
They put the "clean" funds back into
their pockets (eg., using the Colombian Black
Market Peso Exchange, an elaborate mechanism that
enables traffickers to repatriate the proceeds
from their drug sales in the U.S.).
And
what did our money launderers in this case get
for their trouble? A percentage of the
profits--a mighty hefty sum considering they helped
launder more than $3.7 million.
Possible
terrorism connection? During the investigation,
the FBI also learned that for each kilo of cocaine
exported from Colombia and sold in the U.S., a
fee was paid to the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia (FARC), the military wing of the Colombian
Communist Party, which the U.S. has designated
a terrorist organization. Protection money for
the cocaine shipments was also provided to the
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC),
a right wing terrorist organization.
Bottom
line: Once again, international law enforcement
partnerships shut down international criminal
operations.
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