Bolivia Money

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]

Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

(1) As DEA also points out, "In some cases, the agent (business) may represent a variety of remittance companies. When this is the case, the agent may suggest dividing the deposit, sending a portion with each of the represented businesses (companies). Thus, detection is increasingly challenging."Federal authorities at the conference also highlighted the recent growth of smaller independent remitters (beyond the more established Western Union and MoneyGram systems), particularly of those providing service to and from Mexico. DEA reported that although these remitters provide important legitimate services to migrant worker populations, the location of these businesses, "do not necessarily parallel the employment centers for these laborers. Rather, it appears that the agent locations are primarily located in states without regulations governing the money services industry." ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Guinea is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Guinean girls are trafficked internally for forced labor as domestic servants and boys for shoe shining and street vending. Some children are also trafficked for forced labor in agriculture and diamond mining camps. Women and girls are trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, and Greece for sexual exploitation. On a smaller scale, men are trafficked for forced labor in agriculture. Guinea is a destination country for forced child labor from Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. The Government of Guinea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Guinea is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its fail ... [Read More]

E) South America

For years Uruguay has attracted bank depositors with its strict bank secrecy laws, currency exchange regulations, and overall stability, leading to the assumption that the country may be a destination for money laundering. The GOU made significant gains in money laundering control during 2001 and continued to reinforce its control apparatus. In May 2001, Uruguay extended the predicate offenses for money laundering beyond drugs and corruption to other serious crimes, a key step noted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in its June 2001 review. Due to this and other measures, FATF did not identify Uruguay as non-cooperative in the international fight against money laundering. ... [Read More]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports

US DEPARTMENT OF STATEBUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS MATTERSINTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRAGEGY REPORTAPRIL 1994SOUTH AMERICA 85 Argentina 87 Bolivia 90 Brazil 95 Chile 100 Colombia 103 Ecuador 109 Paraguay 114 Peru 118 Uruguay 124 Venezuela 127 ARGENTINAI SummaryArgentina is primarily a transit route for Andean narcotics sent to the US and Europe. As elsewhere in the region, domestic consumption of narcotics has risen with increased trafficking. Government and public awareness has increased of the threat posed by narcotics trafficking, money laundering and other attendant ills. The Argen ... [Read More]

South America

Money Laundering. In 2000, the Government of Brazil implemented money laundering reporting requirements, based on 1998 money laundering legislation and implementing regulations issued in 1999. The law makes money laundering a criminal activity and requires financial entities (ranging from banks to jewelry stores) to maintain records and report suspicious financial transactions. The Council for the Control of Financial Activities (COAF), which coordinates government efforts to counter money laundering, is the central recipient of reports regarding suspect financial activities; COAF reported an appreciable increase in the number of these reports in 2000. A number of bank accounts and other funds were blocked because of suspicion of money laundering. In some instances, funds were forfeited following judicial decisions. ... [Read More]

Bolivia

In July 2000, then-President Hugo Banzer Suarez signed a Supreme Decree (similar to an executive order) governing the relationships between religious organizations and the Government, which then entered into force, replacing a 1985 decree that had been the subject of criticism by Catholic and non-Catholic churches. The new decree reflects input from the churches and, according to the Government, is designed to increase transparency and dialog in church-state relations. The 2000 decree requires groups to consult civil authorities to address concerns such as traffic before conducting public gatherings such as outdoor celebrations. The 2000 decree also requires that the fundraising reports of religions be certified by a notary public. This new requirement is designed to protect churches against allegations of money laundering or receiving money from drug funds. ... [Read More]

Bolivia

In July 2000, then-President Hugo Banzer Suarez signed a Supreme Decree (similar to an executive order) defining the relationships between religious organizations and the Government, which immediately entered into force. It replaced a 1985 decree that had been the subject of criticism by Catholic and non-Catholic churches. The 2000 decree reflects input from the churches, and, according to the Government, was designed to increase transparency and dialogue in Church-State relations. It requires groups to consult civil authorities in order to address potential concerns, such as traffic, before conducting public gatherings such as outdoor celebrations. It also requires that a notary public certify fundraising reports for religious groups. This requirement was designed to protect churches against allegations of money laundering or of receiving money from drug sources. ... [Read More]

Bolivia

Prison conditions are harsh. Prisons are overcrowded, and conditions can be life threatening for inmates without money. According to the Director General of the Penal System in the Ministry of Government, as of July there were approximately 8,500 prisoners in facilities designed to hold 4,400 prisoners. The majority of all prisoners were held for narcotics crimes. The Pardon and Extraordinary Freedom Jubilee 2000 Law, an amended version of which took effect on December 8, is expected to reduce this overcrowding. The law pardons prisoners under the age of 21 or over the age of 60; reduces felony sentences by one-third for all prisoners sentenced prior to August 30; and pardons prisoners who are parents of minor children and have completed at least 50 percent of their sentences. (Reductions in felony sentences are not extended to prisoners convicted of murder, parricide, or treason, nor to most prisoners convicted of terrorism, rape, or narcotics trafficking. In addition, prisoners who w ... [Read More]

Index of International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports

Money Chart ...

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