News
Noriega Could Return to Jail in France after Being Released in Miami
By Carla Valero
printTwo 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 US$3 million there between 1988 and 1989. French authorities say Noriega, 70, who has been serving a sentence for money laundering and drug trafficking since 1990, carried out financial transactions – purchasing apartments in Paris – with drug trafficking proceeds, a violation of French law. An extradition hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday in federal district court in Miami, according to a Justice Department statement. Frank Rubino, Noriega's attorney, said his client plans...
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.
France's decision to shut down French banks in jurisdictions on a European Union tax haven blacklist will likely be mirrored by other countries, according to tax analysts.
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.
France's highest court has overturned a law requiring lawyers to report the suspicious activities of their clients related to money laundering, a provision of the European Union's Second Money Laundering directive, which France adopted by decree in 2006.
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 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.
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