Belize Real Estate For Sale
Investment Climate
Foreign currency transactions come under the exclusive control of the Central Bank of Belize (CBB). In order to pay for goods and services procured outside of Belize in a foreign currency, a foreign exchange permit must be obtained from an authorized dealer or directly from CBB. The CBB also has to grant approval to businesspeople or firms who wish to secure a loan from outside Belize that involves a foreign currency, and for these businesspeople or firms to be able to service repayment of the loan. In addition, foreign investors are required to register any investments made in Belize with CBB in order to facilitate the repatriation of profits, dividend, etc. Officially, no person, other than authorized dealers and authorized depositories, may retain any foreign currency in their possession without the consent of the Central Bank. However, there a number of cases of U.S. citizens being unable to exchange Belize dollars for U.S. dollars or other hard currency at commercial banks in ... [Read More]
Canada, Mexico, and Central America
Canada I. Summary The Government of Canada had an active and productive year in counternarcotics in 2004. The national "Canadian Addiction Survey" that was made public in November indicated that substance abuse among Canadians has significantly increased over the past decade, especially among youth. While alcohol and cannabis remained the most commonly abused substances, there were worrisome trends in abuse of other illicit substances. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) estimates that the overall drug trade in Canada generates criminal proceeds in excess of $3 billion at the wholesale level and $13.5 billion at the street level. Marijuana production is a thriving industry in Canada with production estimated by the RCMP at somewhere between 960 and 2400 metric tons. This is a particular concern of the USG because of in ... [Read More]
Taiwan
employment of foreign workers, reducing foreign workers in ... Enforcement Task Force (IETF) consisting of 220 IP police ... limits of U.S. $5 million for an individual foreign investor ... [Read More]
International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports
US DEPARTMENT OF STATEBUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS MATTERSINTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRAGEGY REPORTAPRIL 1994FINANCIAL CRIMES AND MONEY LAUNDERING1994 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORTINTERNATIONAL MONEY LAUNDERINGOVERVIEWIntelligence findings from North and South America, Eastern and Western Europe, South and East Asia, Africa and the Middle East confirm that another significant shift has occurred in money laundering trends and methods, requiring changes in policy and strategy for 1994.The critical aspects are the volume of non-drug related money laundering; increased investment of illegal proceeds in legitimate business, including the financial industry; and the targeting of financial systems in countries/territories (some with little or no domestic involvement in drug trading or other serious proceeds-generating crimes) to launder drug and other proceeds generated by crimes committed in other jurisdictions.In 1988, when the United Nations Convention was ... [Read More]
Money Laundering and Financial Crimes
(1) Patterns of Global Terrorism—1999, United States Department of State Publication 10687, April 2000.A wide-ranging joint FBI and Department of Treasury investigation into interstate cigarette smuggling, involving a suspected Hizballah terrorist cell operating in Charlotte, North Carolina, led to the July 21, 2000 arrest by U.S. authorities of 18 individuals. Ten days later a federal grand jury in North Carolina indicted these individuals, including seven suspected Hizballah supporters, for immigration fraud and related bribery and conspiracies; conspiring to smuggle contraband cigarettes; and conspiring to launder money. Many of the defendants continue to be detained prior to trial, while the investigation continues. At least seven of the defendants are suspected members of, or sympathetic to Hizballah, a foreign terrorist organization designated as such under U.S. law in 1997 and again in 1 ... [Read More]
Austria
Foreign and domestic private enterprises are free to establish, acquire, and dispose of interests in business enterprises, with the exception of railroad infrastructure, some utilities, and a few state monopolies, such as gambling. As the government continues to pursue privatization, it is gradually opening up some of these industries to private investment as well. For example, the Austrian Government implemented legal changes in 1997 and 2001 to allow private radio and private terrestrial TV under a limited number of licenses. The government dismantled the postal monopoly for wire-transmitted voice telephony and infrastructure in 1998. The Austrian electricity market was partially liberalized in February 1999 for bulk purchasers and in October 2001 for consumers. The Austrian gas market was fully liberalized in October 2002. However, by law, federal and provincial governments maintain at least 51% majority shares in all electricity providers. In line with EU regulations, the gover ... [Read More]
Law Enforcement Cases
Trade-Based Money Laundering Money Laundering via Gold Smuggling In August 2001, the ICE Boston office received information that narcotics traffickers were laundering drug proceeds through the smuggling of gold, which they had disguised as other commodities. ICE officers used the Data Analysis and Research for Trade Transparency (DARTT) database to corroborate the information and provide additional leads. The scheme centered on gold refineries located in the Northeastern United States. Investigators determined that narcotics traffickers were using a number of overvaluation schemes to move the gold into and out of the U.S. Overvaluation schemes, which are common in trade-based money laundering, allow a launderer to send excess funds overseas, while providing documents to conceal the nature of the ... [Read More]
M) Money Laundering and Financial Crimes
The following are summaries of the most significant priority issues:Refocus Efforts of High Intensity Financial Crime Areas (HIFCAs). HIFCAs are special, high-risk areas or sectors where law enforcement will concentrate its resources and energy to combat money laundering. The 2001 Strategy mandated that the HIFCA task forces become operational and conduct investigations designed to result in indictments, convictions, and seizures, rather than focus primarily on intelligence gathering. Each of the six HIFCA Task Forces is now actively working cases. HIFCA Task Forces are composed of, and draw upon, all relevant federal, state, and local agencies. The Departments of Treasury and Justice jointly supervise the HIFCA Task Forces, and the 2001 Strategy primarily tasks the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and Justice’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section to develop an advanced money laundering training program to enhance the HIFCA Task Forces’ abili ... [Read More]
Haiti (02/05)
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on entry requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system: 202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings also are available on the Consular Affairs Int ... [Read More]
Canada, Mexico, and Central America
Bilateral Cooperation. The Moscoso Administration continued its close cooperation by increasing joint counternarcotics efforts with DEA and by strengthening national law enforcement institutions. The GOP cooperated with U.S. requests to board and search Panamanian-flagged vessels suspected of drug smuggling in international waters despite the December 31, 1999 expiration of the Status of Forces agreement (SOFA) that eliminated an important framework under which counternarcotics joint operations and training had taken place. Nonetheless, the GOP has remained one of our principal partners in counternarcotics missions. Under the authority of the Attorney General and Ministry of Government and Justice, there have been seven transits of drugs or prisoners seized on the high seas, in territorial waters, and in the Panama Canal. The GOP has been extremely cooperative and forward-leaning, both with seizures within their territory as well as prosecution of targets of drug intent. It has eng ... [Read More]
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