US real estate companies lose $ 50 million in alleged drug money
Three American real estate companies have agreed to turn over more than the US $ 50 million to the federal government to settle claims that they accepted the proceeds of laundered drug trafficking through a clandestine exchange market.
“The Black Market Peso Exchange [BMPE] facilitates the laundering of vast sums of drug trafficking proceeds generated in the US, allowing the conversion of US dollars into the currencies of drug trafficking organizations,” said acting university attorney Audrey Strauss in a statement this week.
Strauss’s statement accompanied an announcement by the Justice Department that prosecutors had settled a civil forfeiture action against Sefira Capital, which owns real estate from high-end in the United States, and more than 30 of its subsidiaries.
The government alleged that the group accepted millions of dollars in laundered drug money through the BMPE, which is then reinvested in
properties The deal comes after it A similar agreement was reached with holding companies Hampus Assets and Kaunas Assets, which prosecutors said had also handled millions of dollars in ga Finances of drug trafficking from clandestine exchange
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A long-term money-laundering system, favored by Mexican and Colombian drug cartels, the BMPE is based on the need for legitimate companies in Latin American countries to have currency to be able to conduct business internationally. Banking and finance regulations, such companies will turn to “peso brokers” to exchange legitimate local currencies for dirty dollars, very often the revenues of international drug trafficking syndicates operating in the United States.
It was precisely such revenues that ultimately found their way into the hands of Sefira Capital, claimed the U.Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). And the agency should know how they claim that it was indeed their officials who provided the company with the money.
“In an investigation into International Money Laundering, the DEA used confidential sources to track down transactions in the black market peso. The DoJ said in its most recent statement.
Throughout 2018, the DEA said this was in the accounts of its many subsidiaries of millions of dollars in the stock exchange to expose people involved in illegal activities and develop evidence of criminal prosecution Sefira transferred. Sefira allegedly accepted them without question or further request.
40 a4 “Money is the elixir of life for cartels,” said incumbent DEA administrator Timothy J. Shea. “The alleged laundering of millions of dollars in illicit proceeds shows the incredible gain of ruthless drug cartels that care only about money and power, not the suffering of Americans or broken communities.
As part of this week’s foreclosures, Sefira, Hampus, and Kuanas committed to improving their due diligence protocols as they process future investments.
OCCRP / TechConflict.Com