Aruba Gambling

FINANCIAL CRIMES AND MONEY LAUNDERINGMONEY LAUNDERINGOVERVIEWIn 1992, the major trends affecting money laundering policy were: (1) further sophistication of money laundering practices; (2) greater investment of drug and other illicit proceeds into established businesses, both to conceal money movements and to capitalize on illicit profits; (3) the internationalization of money laundering networks whose operations involve an ever larger number of countries and territories, regardless of their importance as financial centers or as drug producing or transit countries; and (4) the intensified involvement of the Sicilian Mafia and other criminal organizations in Europe, Asia and the Western Hemisphere who comingle proceeds from many crimes to confound investigators, and are now acting as brokers for funds unrelated to their own trafficking activities. These trends have made it more difficult to differentiate between drug-related money laundering and other forms of illegal money m ... [Read More]

M) Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

Additionally, the Island has introduced the Online Gambling Regulation Act 2001 and an accompanying AML (Online Gambling) Code 2002. The Act and the Code are supplemented by regulations issued by the Gambling Control Commission, which provides more detailed guidance on the prevention of money laundering through the use of online gambling. ...

Casinos and sports book-wagering operations in Antigua and Barbuda’s Free Trade Zone are supervised by the ONDCP and the FSRC, of which the Directorate of Offshore Gaming (DOG)—13 professional and clerical employees—is a part. Antigua and Barbuda’s domestic casinos, of which there are six, are required to incorporate as domestic corporations and Internet gaming operations, of which there are 39, are required to incorporate as IBC’s. The FSRC and DOG have issued Internet Gaming Technical Standards and guidelines. The 2000 and 2001 amendments to the MLPA expand its coverage to include all types of gambling entities and set financial limits above which customer identification and source of funds information are required. Suspicious activity and suspicious transaction reports from domestic and offshore gaming are sent to the ONDCP and FSRC; currently, they are receiving 2-3 weekly. The GOAB has drafted and is considering legislation and r ... [Read More]

Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

According to Greek media reports of late 1999, casino gambling and the Greek stock exchange are the current favored venues for laundering funds. Though they are required to be in compliance with tax laws regarding the transfer of foreign exchange, stock market investors are not subject to rigorous background checks on all sources of income when they purchase stocks or bonds. Since there are small transaction fees but no capital gains on stock or bond transactions, it is relatively easy for money launderers to claim that large amounts of funds are the result of shrewd stock trading. A report by the Ministry of Public Order indicated close links between Russian organized crime and money laundering in Greece. The report states that "more than 40 companies operated by Russian interests are engaged in suspicious dealings. . .two of these have been proved to have close links with a Russian criminal organization." Uncorroborated press reports claim that up to $50 billion is laundered each yea ... [Read More]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORTMARCH 1995BUREAU FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS FINANCIAL CRIMES AND MONEY LAUNDERING11995 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORTOVERVIEWThere were a number of significant accomplishments in the world of money laundering in 1994, and a number of new and/or intensified concerns. Accomplishments and concerns are summarized here and explained in detailed sections below.Accomplishments. Several financial center governments, such as Singapore and Panama, have adopted broad, new anti-money laundering policies and/or laws, and a number of governments were in the final stages of presenting/adopting new legislation.The Financial Action Task Force completed the evaluations of each of its 26 member governments, all conducted by outside experts and all culminating in recommendations for changes and improvements which will be monitored through continuing examinations be ... [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]

M) Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

The gambling sector is a critical part of Macau’s economy. It accounts for approximately 40 percent of GDP and direct taxes from gambling comprised 36 percent of government revenue in 2000. The Macau Special Region Administrative Region Government (MSARG) is planning to restructure the industry early in 2002 by ending the monopoly held by one company and expanding the number of licensed operators to three. Under the monopoly framework, organized crime groups were associated with the gambling industry through their control of VIP gaming rooms and activities such as racketeering, loan sharking, and prostitution. As a result, the gambling industry in particular provides an avenue for the laundering of illicit funds. ... [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]

Offshore Financial Centers

Internet gaming executed via the use of credit cards and offshore banks represents yet another powerful vehicle for criminals to launder funds from illicit sources as well as to evade taxes. Virtual casinos can be extremely profitable for governments that sell the licenses but that exert inadequate controls, and may, in fact, share in the operator’s profits. In 2003, 30 OFCs were observed on the Internet as having virtual gambling sites—more than doubling the number of OFCs reported to have Internet gambling sites in 2002. These sites represent a particularly difficult problem for law enforcement, as the Internet server frequently is located in a country other than the country that has licensed the website. ... [Read More]

Table of Contents

Internet Gambling ... [Read More]

USIA: Global Issues, July 1996 - Morris

There's less of a supervisory oversight over the nonbanks,whether we're talking about money transmitters or check cashersor, in some cases, casinos, broker dealers, insurance firms andthe like, or the regulatory scheme is different. And so when webecome more effective with banks, the bad guys will start movingtheir money through nonbank organizations who provide financialservices -- a check casher who probably also has ties to aWestern Union agent and maybe even loans money on the side; largecasinos will often provide credit for gambling, wire money, issuechecks, and the like. So, if you're going to be looked at verycarefully at the bank and not looked at so carefully at thecasino, you go to a casino. ... [Read More]