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唐朱昌
唐朱昌
教授,博士生导师。复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心首任主任,复旦大学俄...
严立新
严立新
复旦大学国际金融学院教授,中国反洗钱研究中心执行主任,陆家嘴金...
陈浩然
陈浩然
复旦大学法学院教授、博士生导师;复旦大学国际刑法研究中心主任。...
何 萍
何 萍
华东政法大学刑法学教授,复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心特聘研究员,荷...
李小杰
李小杰
安永金融服务风险管理、咨询总监,曾任蚂蚁金服反洗钱总监,复旦大学...
周锦贤
周锦贤
周锦贤先生,香港人,广州暨南大学法律学士,复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中...
童文俊
童文俊
高级经济师,复旦大学金融学博士,复旦大学经济学博士后。现供职于中...
汤 俊
汤 俊
武汉中南财经政法大学信息安全学院教授。长期专注于反洗钱/反恐...
李 刚
李 刚
生辰:1977.7.26 籍贯:辽宁抚顺 民族:汉 党派:九三学社 职称:教授 研究...
祝亚雄
祝亚雄
祝亚雄,1974年生,浙江衢州人。浙江师范大学经济与管理学院副教授,博...
顾卿华
顾卿华
复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心特聘研究员;现任安永管理咨询服务合伙...
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上传时间: 2018-08-20      浏览次数:796次
Argentina casino link to Hezbollah money laundering probe

 

https://calvinayre.com/2018/08/18/casino/argentina-casino-hezbollah-money-laundering-probe/

 

A casino in Argentina apparently played a key role in disrupting an alleged money laundering ring connected to Islamic militant group Hezbollah.

 

This week, Argentine media reported that police had raided a number of casinos and hotels in Puerto Iguazú, near the ‘triple frontier’ intersection of the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The raids were part of an ongoing investigation into the activities of Assad Ahmad Barakat, a Lebanese national with alleged ties to Hezbollah.

 

Last month, Argentina’s Financial Information Unit (UIF) froze the assets of Clan Barakat, a group associated with Assad, who has been designated a terrorist financier by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

 

Barakat and 13 other individuals linked to the Clan reportedly paid hundreds of visits to Casino Iguazú over the past few years. One Clan member, Assad’s cousin Hassan Ali Barakat, reportedly made 620 border crossings during that span. All of the individuals cited in the reports reside in either Brazil or Paraguay and none appears to have any business interests in Argentina.

 

The Clan members reportedly crossed the border into Argentina bearing large sums of cash that they exchanged for chips at the casino, then cashed out after minimal play and carried the newly laundered cash back across the border without declaring the sums, either coming or going. Authorities estimate that the Clan may have laundered over US$10m via this method.

 

It remains unclear what level of complicity the casino – or its parent company HCI SA, which owns numerous other casino and hotel operations in the region — may have had in the Clan’s alleged money laundering activities.

 

However, this week, US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) director Kenneth Blanco told attendees at the 11th Annual Las Vegas Anti-Money Laundering Conference and Expo that “reporting by a casino in Argentina helped piece together” the investigation into the Clan’s activity.