Word: bcci
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Customs officials say the initial C-Chase probe of narcotics "greenwashing" in Florida, which started in 1986, led them to BCCI's drug-money network. Posing as money launderers, "Musella," "Erickson" and other agents gradually infiltrated drug-trafficking circles. In May 1986 Gonzalo Moro Jr., reputed to be the chief launderer for the Medellin cartel, approached one of the agents with a proposition. If the agent were to open some Florida bank accounts and help Moro launder cash, Moro would pay a commission on each transaction...
...late 1987 Moro had introduced the agents to a Panamanian branch of BCCI for their laundering operation. The agents collected cash from Medellin dealers in the U.S. and deposited it at domestic banks, then wired the money to the account of a newly created shell corporation in the BCCI branch in Panama. The agents then provided the Colombian traffickers with signed blank checks that could be cashed at most banks...
Soon a more complex laundering method was introduced. BCCI allegedly began to wire drug money deposited in its branches to accounts in foreign banks, using major New York City institutions as unwitting intermediaries. Once the funds were overseas, BCCI allegedly used them to buy certificates of deposit at banks in France, Britain, Luxembourg, Uruguay, Panama and the Bahamas. Using the CDs as collateral, BCCI then issued phony loans for slightly smaller amounts to the agents' Panamanian account. Once again, the agents gave the Colombians signed blank checks drawn against the account. BCCI collected the CDs as "payment" for the loans...
Having extensively documented the laundering of funds through BCCI, U.S. Customs decided to close the net. In April, Erickson and Musella announced * their engagement and sent wedding invitations to top BCCI officers and Medellin hoods. The two then played out their romantic charade, making preparations for their nuptials...
...BCCI officials in London expressed astonishment at the arrests. Said BCCI in a statement: "The bank wishes to state categorically that at no time whatsoever has it knowingly been involved in drug traffic-related money laundering." While the arrests had no immediate impact on the bank's substantial legitimate operations, BCCI faces potentially severe penalties under the U.S. antilaundering law. Besides providing for as much as $28 million in possible fines, the U.S. law authorizes the seizure of narcotics- tainted money or assets, including businesses involved in trafficking and money laundering. Thus the bank's U.S. assets could be vulnerable...