News
Judge denies Noriega’s bid to block extradition to France
By Brian Monroe and Carla Valero
printA federal judge on Friday rejected a request by Manuel Noriega to block his extradition to France, paving the way for the former Panamanian dictator to face 10 years in prison on money laundering charges in the European nation. The ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler puts Noriega's extradition in the hands of Magistrate Judge William Turnoff, who is scheduled to conduct a hearing on the French request on Tuesday. Frank Rubino, Noriega's attorney, had argued his client's designation as a prisoner of war (POW) – a designation made by Hoeveler shortly after Noriega's 1992 drug trafficking trial...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
The United States should strengthen its efforts to fight money laundering and terrorist financing associated with Afghan opium ahead of a military withdrawal from the nation, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
A proposed Uruguayan law that would permit and regulate recreational marijuana use poses serious legal and regulatory questions for American banks doing business in the region, according to compliance officers and former U.S. attorneys.
U.S. investigators Wednesday disclosed the seizure of $31 million from seven American banks as part of a probe into an alleged Peruvian money laundering network that exploited industrial firms and shell companies.
When Mexico's President Felipe Calderon relinquishes power in December to his successor, he'll leave behind a decidedly mixed legacy in the fight against the country's drug cartels. But U.S. law enforcement agents and other officials worry that Mexico's next leader could do worse, sources say.
Dozens of U.S. banks along the country's southern border are denying new accounts to wealthy Mexican nationals and corporations because of due diligence troubles caused by drug-related violence in Mexico.
A top BCCI investigator spoke with reporter Larissa Bernardes about some of the complex money laundering schemes he encountered during his undercover work.
The U.S. Justice Department continues to seized more than $3.2 million in nearly 400 accounts tied to narcotics dealers, Transparency International published its annual corruption report and more, in this weeks roundup.
More than 100 medical marijuana clinics have seen their accounts closed in the last 18 months by at least three U.S. banks concerned about regulatory repercussions, say cannabis advocacy groups.
The opaque financial structures of the sports sector, including soccer and basketball, can be abused by criminals seeking to disguise dirty money and climb social ladders, an intergovernmental organization said Wednesday.
Arizona's Supreme Court struck down a ruling Wednesday that would have allowed the attorney general to order freezes on wire transfers from 28 other states to locations in northern Mexico.
Improving the efforts to stop money laundering in Central America will require strong international pressure, according to Ricardo Gomez, a manager with Phoenix -based consultancy IPSA International, Inc.
Africa is fast becoming one of the world's largest hubs for smuggling cocaine, heroin and prescription drugs from South America and Asia into Europe and the United States, according to a United Nations watchdog group.
Latin American and Canadian drug cartels profit and launder between $51 billion and $95 billion from U.S. sales annually, often smuggling their proceeds across the border, according to a government report.
Bolivia's decision to oust the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration from the country will likely open the way for increase in regional drug trafficking and organized crime, say analysts.
U.S. Justice Department prosecutions involving narcotics are expected to remain flat for fiscal year 2008, as immigration violations will again be the most commonly charged federal offense, according to a report by a Syracuse University organization that tracks trends in law enforcement.
The case points to the difficulties that large money service businesses face in detecting compliance violations at associated stores, compliance consultants say.
French authorities are seeking to extradite Noriega following his release in September from a U.S. prison to prosecute him for allegedly laundering more than $3.15 million.
A federal judge Thursday scheduled another extradition hearing for former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega who will soon finish a U.S. prison sentence on a 1992 drug conviction giving his lawyers more time to pursue claims that he should be returned to his homeland rather than sent to France
Two months before his release from a Miami prison, former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega faces possible extradition to France on charges that he laundered more than $3 million there between 1988 and 1989.
Mexican authorities took Mario Villanueva Madrid into custody June 21 as he left prison after completing a six-year sentence on a money laundering conviction. Villanueva, the former mayor of Mexicos Quintana Roo state, is wanted in New York on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.