Published: Thursday | September 16, 2010

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100916/business/business3.html

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) in Jamaica has been cleared of breaching the Money Laundering Act by failing to file threshold reports in relation to a particular account.

Resident Magistrate Georgiana Fraser upheld submissions from the bank's lawyers Garth McBean and Dave Garcia that the directive issued by the designated authority that financial institutions should file reports of deposits in excess of US$50,000 was not gazetted.

The lawyers said for the directive to become law it must be gazetted.

NCB was taken to court for six breaches of the Money Laundering Act after investigators probing the accounts of St Ann businessman Norris 'Deedo' Nembhard discovered that certain sums of monies were lodged at the Linstead branch of NCB.

Must file reports

The directive under the Money Laundering Act makes it compulsory for financial institutions to file reports of all lodgements in excess of US$50,000.

It was alleged that between February and September 2003, lodgements in excess of US$50,000 were lodged to the account.

The bank's lawyers argued in their no-case submission in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court that "the Interpretation Act states that the directives given to the financial institutions amount to regulations and therefore must be gazetted before they can become law".

Fraser upheld the submissions.

Nembhard, 54, who was designated a drug kingpin, was extradited to the USA in 2008 to face drug-related charges.

He pleaded guilty in 2009 to conspiracy to export cocaine and is now serving a 13-year prison term.

In 2004, a major operation among law-enforcement agents of the United Kingdom, Jamaica and the United States resulted in Nembhard and four other Jamaicans being extradited to the USA. The men were reported to be key payers in the illicit drug trade.

The other men were police Corporal Herbert Henry, Robroy Williams, also called 'Spy', Glenford Williams and Vivian Dalley.