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Subject:  OLA_ML_LA_02Apr97 BRAZIL:  INVESTIGATION INTO MONEY-LAUNDERING TO BE LAUNCHED.
Status: RO

02Apr97 BRAZIL:  INVESTIGATION INTO MONEY-LAUNDERING TO BE LAUNCHED.
Source: `ABC Color', Asuncion, in Spanish 31 Mar 97
Excerpts from report by Paraguayan newspaper `ABC Color' on 31st March
At last, the Money or Assets-Laundering Prevention Secretariat [Spanish: Secretaria de Prevencion de Lavado de Dinero o Bienes], presided over by Industry and Commerce Minister Ubaldo Scavone, has decided to assume investigation into alleged acts of whitewashing denounced by Brazilian legislators. The operations in question involve Brazilian and Paraguayan financial bodies. In an official communique, the institution created by law to sanction money-laundering reported that all the details of the inquiry will be maintained under bank secrecy until cases with the evidence supporting them are referred to the court.
The information obtained by the secretariat will be investigated as from this week. Technicians will track down accounts with unusual operations and will report to the Attorney-General's Office in case they find indications of possible cases of money-laundering.
The entire investigation will be conducted under a veil of silence imposed by the bank secrecy law. The Attorney-General's Office can release the name of the institutions and persons affected by the investigation only if there is hard evidence that money-laundering has taken place.
According to the law that defines the crime, an operation can be classified as money-laundering only when it is possible to prove that the origin of the funds is illegal or the money comes from a criminal organization. The evidence that funds were introduced into the economy in general or the financial system in particular without the authorities knowing the origin of those funds, is insufficient.
The inquiry became necessary after a report on foreign exchange operations submitted by Victor Chamorro, former banks superintendent and current National Development Bank (BNF) president, was made public. The report says that financial bodies in Pedro Juan Caballero and Ciudad del Este mediate in the transfer of 20m dollars a day...
The Brazilian Central Bank will shortly ask for information on current accounts opened in banks that operate in the Paraguayan market and where part of the funds obtained following a colossal fiscal swindle in that country have been deposited.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: LATIN AMERICA 2/4/97 


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Subject:  ML_02Apr97 TAIWAN:  GOVT PLANS TO START 'WAR ON MONEY LAUNDERING' ON APRIL 23.
Status: RO

02Apr97 TAIWAN:  GOVT PLANS TO START 'WAR ON MONEY LAUNDERING' ON APRIL 23.
Taipei (CENS)-The government will officially start a war against money laundering on April 23 by requiring all financial institutions to confirm large financial transactions (exceeding NT$1.5 million in the same day), keep trading records and file reports to relevant government agencies.
In order to help fight international money laundering, the ministries of Finance and Justice have designated Hongkong, the Caymen and Bahama islands in the Caribbean as well as nations in Indochina and Central and South America as "high risk areas."
Financial institutions are obliged to report on those financial accounts that have more frequent transactions. Executives of banks that fail to do so will be fined or even prosecuted.
In addition to the mandatory reports of large transactions, the banks must contact the Bureau of Investigation about unusual and "suspected money laundering operations."
Such operations include the sudden showing of large deposits that do not match the identity and income of the persons when the money comes from sources unrelated to the persons' own business operations, the abrupt emerging of large deposits in passive accounts, the unusually quick transfers of money, or the frequent changes of small bills into large-denomination bills or vice versa. (KL). 
EAST ASIA 
CHINA ECONOMIC NEWS SERVICE 2/4/97 


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Subject:  OLA_LA_Drug_Seizures_Cocaine_02Apr97_Cocaine shipment seized in U.S.-Colombian drug op......
Status: RO

	   Cocaine shipment seized in U.S.-Colombian drug op.......

RTna 4/2/97 6:57 PM   

    BOGOTA (Reuter) - The U.S. Coast Guard and the Colombian navy seized 1,440 pounds of cocaine in a joint operation in waters close to the Caribbean islands of San Andres and Providencia Wednesday, officials said.
     A U.S. patrol vessel initially gave chase to a high-powered speedboat suspected of transporting drugs and alerted the Colombian authorities when the craft headed into territorial waters around the two islands under Colombian jurisdiction.
     Part of the illegal narcotics shipment was dumped into the sea and the rest was found aboard the boat which was abandoned on an isolated beach in Providencia. No arrests were made, according to a statement by the Colombian navy.
     Colombia and the United States signed a maritime interdiction accord in February granting formal powers to the U.S. Coast Guard to board Colombian vessels suspected of drug trafficking outside the country's 12-mile territorial limit.
 
 REUTER

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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_02Apr97 BURMA:  LAOTIAN PREMIER VISITS; DRUGS CONTROL AGREEMENT SIGNED.
Status: RO

02Apr97 BURMA:  LAOTIAN PREMIER VISITS; DRUGS CONTROL AGREEMENT SIGNED.
Source: Radio Myanmar, Rangoon, in Burmese 1330 gmt 29 Mar 97
Excerpts from report by Burmese radio
At the invitation of Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council [SLORC] of the Union of Myanmar [Burma] and prime minister, and his wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing, Mr Khamtai Siphandon, prime minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic [LPDR], his wife Madam Thongvan Siphandon, and a goodwill delegation arrived at Yangon [Rangoon] International Airport by a special aircraft at 0930 today [29th March].
They were welcomed at Yangon International Airport by SLORC Chairman Senior Gen Than Shwe and his wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing; Gen Maung Aye, SLORC vice-chairman, deputy commander in chief of the Defence Services, and army commander-in-chief, and his wife; SLORC Secretary-1 Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt and his wife; SLORC Secretary-2 Lt Gen Tin U and his wife; Vice-Adm Maung Maung Khin, SLORC member and deputy prime minister, and his wife; Lt-Gen Tin Tun, SLORC member and deputy prime minister, and his wife; ministers and their wives; Mr Valeri V Nazarov, dean of the diplomatic corps and Russian ambassador, and his wife; and senior diplomats and their wives...
Mr Khamtai Siphandon, the visiting Laotian prime minister, called on SLORC Chairman Senior Gen Than Shwe at the Mingalar Hall of the People's Assembly Building at 1400 today.
SLORC Secretary-1 Lt Gen Khin Nyunt and his wife Dr Daw Khin Win Shwe paid a courtesy call on Mr Khamtai Siphandon, the visiting Laotian prime minister, and his wife Madam Thongvan Siphandon, at the Seinlekanthar State Guest House at 1130 today...
An agreement signing ceremony between the governments of the Union of Myanmar and the LPDR was held at the Treaties Chamber of the People's Assembly Building in Yangon at 1600 today. The ceremony was attended by Senior Gen Than Shwe, SLORC Chairman and prime minister; Gen Maung Aye, SLORC vice-chairman, deputy commander in chief of the Defence Services, and army commander-in-chief; SLORC Secretary-1 Lt Gen Khin Nyunt; SLORC Secretary-2 Lt Gen Tin U; Vice-Adm Maung Maung Khin and Lt-Gen Tin Tun, both SLORC members and deputy prime ministers; ministers and senior officials.
A cooperation agreement to prevent illicit trafficking of narcotics, psychotropic substances, and chemicals used in refining drugs was signed and later exchanged by Myanmar Police Force Director Gen Soe Win, secretary of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control, and Laotian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr Phongsavat Boupha.
Another agreement, on cooperation and administration of Myanmar-Lao border region, was signed and later exchanged by Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister U Nyunt Swe and Laotian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr Phongsavat Boupha.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: ASIA-PACIFIC 2/4/97 


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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_02Apr97 VIETNAM:  UN DRUG CONTROL PROGRAMME GIVES VIETNAM 800,000 US DOLLARS.
Status: RO

02Apr97 VIETNAM:  UN DRUG CONTROL PROGRAMME GIVES VIETNAM 800,000 US DOLLARS.
Source: Voice of Vietnam external service, Hanoi, in English 1330 gmt 27 Mar 97
The UN Drug Control Programme has given Vietnam nearly 800,000 US dollars to help in the fight against drug trafficking, Vietnamese radio reported. The money will be handed over to the police and customs departments to help their drug investigations.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: ASIA-PACIFIC 2/4/97 


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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_Organised_Crime_Balkan_Route_02Apr97 TURKEY:  $30M ANNUALLY TO FIGHT DRUG SMUGGLING.
Status: RO

02Apr97 TURKEY:  $30M ANNUALLY TO FIGHT DRUG SMUGGLING.
According to the local press (March 31), Ismail Caliskan, Deputy Head of the Smuggling and Organized Crime Department at the Security Directorate, said that Turkey was being unfairly criticized by Europeans on the issue of drug trafficking, and added that Turkey was not a drug depot as claimed, but rather the protective shield of Europe against drug trafficking. According to Caliskan, Turkey gave great priority to fighting drug trafficking since it was one of the ways terrorist organizations financed their activities. He recalled that 65 percent of the total amount of drugs seized in Europe had been seized by the Turkish police and that $30m annually was spent on fighting drug smuggling.
 
(c) 1997 IPR Strategic Business Information Database. 
MIDDLE EAST 
IPR STRATEGIC BUSINESS INFORMATION DATABASE 2/4/97 


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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_03Apr97_Portugal Seizes More Than 6,000 Kilograms of Drugs ....
Status: O

	 Portugal Seizes More Than 6,000 Kilograms of Drugs ...

OTC  4/3/97 4:34 AM   

 LISBON (April 2) XINHUA - Portuguese police seized a total of 6,218  kilograms of narcotics in 1996 and arrested 3,724 people suspected of  drug trafficking, a police report said today. 
   The report said the drugs included 811.5 kilograms of cocaine, 46.7  kilograms of heroin and 5,324 kilograms of marijuana. 
   Among the drug-trafficking-related suspects, 449 were foreigners and 2,  926 were Portuguese drug addicts, the report said. 
   Earlier police reports show that drug users in Portugal have exceeded  100,000 at present, making Portugal one of the leading countries in the  European Union with the largest number of drug users. 
   The number is still on the rise with a growing population of young drug  addicts, police officials said. 
   The Portuguese government has launched an anti-drug campaign while  beefing up anti-drug measures. 
   Due to its location on the Iberian peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean  and the European continent, Portugal has been an easy way for drug  trafficking from other parts of the world to Europe.  Enditem 
   03/04/97 02:20 GMT 
    Copyright 1997

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Subject:  Police_Tech_Investigative_Methods_Drug_Traffic_LEN_03Apr97_U.S. drug agents to use high-tech equipment.
Status: O

		  U.S. drug agents to use high-tech equipment

RTna 4/3/97 3:39 AM   


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    EL PASO, Texas (Reuter) - U.S. anti-narcotics officials said Wednesday they would turn to the military for new high-tech equipment in their campaign to stop illegal drugs coming in across the border with Mexico.
     Senior Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Border Patrol chiefs met in the Texas city of El Paso Wednesday and vowed to increase border surveillance with the help of the most advanced technology.
     "We're going to tap into the Department of Defense and borrow night-vision devices and radar from the military," said Dennis Usrey, chairman of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a group formed in 1990 to fight the border drug trade.
     "We're going to work smarter, not harder," he said, but he did not give further details on exactly what type of new equipment would be deployed.
     Federal agents estimate that some $50 billion worth of illegal drugs is moved into the United States across the Mexican border each year.
  REUTER

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Subject:  OLA_LA_03Apr97_U.S. could ? ? recertify'' Colombia before year end.
Status: O

	   U.S. could ``recertify'' Colombia before year end

RTw  4/3/97 12:22 AM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    BOGOTA, April 2 (Reuter) - The United States could conditionally "recertify" Colombia as an ally in the drug war this year, U.S. ambassador Myles Frechette said on Wednesday, just a month after Washington blacklisted the country.
     "Colombia could be moved up a grade before the end of the year if certain things that we are currently discussing are carried out," Frechette told reporters after an official event at the presidential palace.
     If Washington decides Colombia has made progress in the fight against drug trafficking it could grant this Andean nation "certification with a national interest waiver," halfway between full approval and blacklisting.
     The envoy also said he would begin consultations with President Bill Clinton and the U.S. Congress next week in a bid to free up extra military aid for Colombia, currently blocked under the terms of the U.S. certification.
     Colombia was decertified by the United States for the second consecutive year at the end of February. In addition to condemning Colombia as an international drug pariah, the decision means hefty cuts in U.S. economic aid, although counternarcotics aid is not affected.
     Frechette declined to say what measures he was discussing with President Ernesto Samper's administration. Last year the Colombian Congress passed laws on tougher jail terms for drug-related crimes in the face of intense U.S. pressure.
     But Washington has also been demanding that Colombia lift its 1991 ban on extraditing Colombians to stand trial abroad -- a stance which has generated acute tensions with senior Colombian government ministers and a grassroots anti-American backlash.
     Frechette sought to play down those tensions Wednesday, saying: "Forget the U.S. position. Extradition is something that is essential for international cooperation against organised crime."
     Despite Colombia's decertification, the United States has pledged more than $80 million in counternarcotics aid together with a multimillion-dollar package of material aid, including crop dusting planes and helicopters.
     Figures were not available on how much Washington may grant Colombia in additional military aid if Congress approves the move.
  REUTER

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Subject:  LA_03Apr97_Former Mexican drug czar charged by military.
Status: O

		  Former Mexican drug czar charged by military

RTna 4/3/97 7:48 AM   


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    MEXICO CITY (Reuter) - Mexico's former antidrug czar Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, already in jail on drug corruption charges, will also be put on trial by the military, the Ministry of Defense said Wednesday.
     A Defense Ministry statement said the military charges were for crimes committed while the general was commander of the Guadalajara military region. The statement did not say what the new charges were.
     Gutierrez Rebollo was head of Mexico's National Institute for the Combat of Drugs for two months until he was arrested in late February on charges of criminal association, the transport of cocaine and receiving bribes.
     He was alledgedly on the payroll of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the country's most powerful drug trafficker.
     The general's arrest was a deep embarrassment for the government of President Ernesto Zedillo.
  REUTER

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Subject:  Drug_Traffiic_02Apr97_Vietnam to Set up New Anti-Drug Body.
Status: O

		  Vietnam to Set up New Anti-Drug Body

OTC  4/2/97 7:24 PM   

 HANOI (April 2) XINHUA - Vietnam will set up an anti-drug police  department to fight the growing drug abuses and trafficking in the  country, an official report said today. 
   The new department will assist the police chief in directing the fight  against drug-related crimes and ensuring security and social order. 
   Anti-narcotics police handled more than 3,800 drug trafficking cases in  1996 and arrested 6,650 people for drug-related offenses. But drug  trafficking and abuses are still on the rise. 
   There are about 140,000 drug addicts nationwide, according to a  national anti-drug program.  Enditem 
   02/04/97 16:55 GMT 
    Copyright 1997

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Subject:  Balkan_Route_Drug_Traffic_02Apr97_Turk state-backed mobsters kill,trade drugs-report.
Status: O

	   Turk state-backed mobsters kill,trade drugs-report

RTna 4/2/97 9:19 PM   


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    By Suna Erdem
     ISTANBUL, Turkey (Reuter) - A Turkish parliament draft report on state-underworld ties painted a bleak picture of right-wing gangsters using state privileges to kill and trade guns and drugs while their friends in parliament were made ministers.
     But the draft report, obtained by Reuters Wednesday, stopped short of pointing a finger at any of the star-studded list of suspects attacked by the local media after a crash in which a top policeman and wanted gangster died in the same car.
     "Some unofficial groups have come to operate the workings of the state and the state organization has degenerated," the report said. "These people have even come to influence the congresses of political parties in Turkey."
     "People mentioned in state security reports as having links with the mafia have been promoted to the most important positions. These people have even been made ministers," the report said, but mentioned no names.
     The draft report, whose details will be finalized late Wednesday by an all-party commission, also purported to throw light on the numerous unsolved murders in southeast Turkey.
     It quotes a man called Huseyin Oguz, whose position it does not identify, as saying, "In the evening the intelligence services would bring us a list and in the morning the hitmen would go and kill (those on) the lists."
     A government member of parliament (MP), Sedat Bucak, who heads a tribal militia fighting separatist Kurdish guerrillas in the southeast, was in the same car as the policeman and the gangster when it crashed in the town of Susurluk in November.
     The commission will consider a demand by a top prosecutor to lift the parliamentary immunities of Bucak and Mehmet Agar, who resigned as interior minister after the crash, so they can be tried for abuse of position and harboring wanted men.
     Agar's resignation and an unprecedented public outcry raised hopes of a thorough inquiry into alleged state-gangland links.
     But only 10 people, mostly low-ranking policemen, have been charged by an Istanbul court investigating the crash, and the commission draft report only implicated a handful of people -- including one of the 10 charged and two people who are dead.
     The commission, mostly government MPs, voted against questioning Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller and a top general.
     The report says right-wing mobsters were used in the 1980s for state operations at home and abroad, given gun licenses and special passports normally used by top level civil servants.
     These mobsters later began to use the privileges for their own work, including the drug trade, gun-running, money-laundering, armed robbery, extortion, corruption in state auctions, mediating between bureaucrats and the prostitution and gambling sectors and bribery. State workers turned a blind eye or helped them, the report said.
     In the 1990s, organized crime spread to the southeast, taking advantage of a state of emergency and a system of state-paid village guards set up to help the army in its 12-year fight against the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party.
     The report said many state officials have hidden their activities as "state secrets."
     The report's recommendations include sweeping legal reform, limiting MPs' immunity from prosecution, reforming laws that restrict legal action against state employees, abolishing or reforming the village guard system and finding an alternative to emergency rule in the southeast.
     It also calls for a review of methods used to fight the guerrillas in order to prevent criminal gain from the insurgency.
     Parliament, however, is not bound by the commission's recommendations.
  REUTE

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Subject:  LA_02Apr97_UN: Colombia's human rights situation marked by ....
Status: O

	  UN: Colombia's human rights situation marked by ...

OTC  4/2/97 11:49 PM  

 APR  2, 1997, M2 Communications - The human rights situation in  Colombia was marked by abuses from the Government's security forces,  the corrupting power of drug trafficking, frequent violations by  guerrillas groups, and serious criminal acts carried out by  paramilitary forces, the Human Rights Committee's expert member from  Ecuador said this afternoon. He was commenting on Colombia's fourth  periodic report on its compliance with the International Covenant on  Civil and Political Rights. 
   According to the Andean Commission of Jurists, paramilitary forces in  Colombia acted with the acquiescence of State security forces in  carrying out summary executions, disappearances, torture and other  human rights violations, he added. For all practical purposes, there  was no guarantee of the right to life in Colombia. What was the  Government actually going to do to address one of the most serious  problems in Latin America today? he asked. 
   Concern was also expressed about the military justice system in  Colombia. The expert from the United States, for example, said many  instances of killings, disappearances and torture were investigated  very effectively. Yet, just when those efforts seemed to be leading to  results, the cases were transferred to military tribunals, where very  little happened. It seemed to be an institutionalized system to protect  impunity, he said. 
   Addressing the conduct of states of emergency, the expert from  Australia said Colombia's Constitutional Court had found one such state  to have been inconsistent with the Constitution, and that the powers of  arrest without warrant had been unconstitutional. What was disturbing  was that the Government's response had been to aim at limiting the  power of the Court to address such questions. 
   Many experts expressed the view that Colombia's report failed to  adequately reflect the situation in the country or to address the  concerns raised by the Committee in response to the country's prior  report. The expert from Australia said that, while the current report  referred to the Committee's previous recommendations on such issues as  "faceless justice" and the operation of military tribunals, it had  failed to follow up on them. 
   Comments and questions were also presented by the experts from Egypt,  Chile, Germany, India, United Kingdom, Mauritius and Canada. At the  outset of the meeting, representatives from Colombia completed their  replies to questions that had been submitted in writing by the  Committee. 
   The Human Rights Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 1  April, to continue its consideration of Colombia's report. 
          Committee Work Programme 
   The Committee on Human Rights met this afternoon to continue  examination of the fourth periodic report of Colombia (document  CCPR/C/103/Add.3) on its compliance with the International Covenant on  Civil and Political Rights. 
          Response of Colombia 
   Resuming Colombia's response to written questions from the Committee,  CARLOS VICENTI DE ROUX, Presidential Adviser on Human Rights, said that  where there was no agreement on compensation in a human rights abuse  case, the case was liquidated. 
   FELIPE PIQUERO VILLEGAS, Minister Counsellor of Colombia, said seven  out of 18 cases on compensation had been decided upon favourably and  payments of compensation were made in accordance with existing law. The  largest number of complaints were made against the armed forces.  Responding to questions about organizations and agencies concerned  about human rights issues, he said that Colombia had an Office of  Public Defender, headed by a private person, who made recommendations  to the Government on violations or threats to human rights. His  functions were independent, and he could exercise habeas corpus on  behalf of individuals. The Office of Public Defender had dealt with  more than 42,000 cases, of which more than 25,000 concerned violations  of human rights. The Office dealt with all kinds of human rights  violations, including abuse of authority by security forces and  government officials. 
   A Commission on Human Rights was established in 1994 on an  experimental basis following negotiations between the Government and a  guerrilla group that had demobilized its forces. The Commission  included the Presidential Adviser on Human Rights, the Public  Prosecutor, the Attorney-General, the Ombudsman and non-governmental  organizations. Its task was to process and analyse issues and to  recommend programmes and actions. It had worked for more than a year  and developed a number of recommendations, but it ceased functioning  following the withdrawal of its non-governmental organization  representatives, who were protesting emergency measures taken by the  Government at the end of 1995. 
   He said the prosecutor's department had also established the National  Human Rights Procurators Unit, whose purpose was to speed up  investigations into serious human rights violations, such as torture  and extrajudicial executions. The human rights unit had branches  throughout the country and operated on 24-hour basis to hear complaints  and investigate rights violations. A bill had been introduced in the  Colombian Congress to ensure that there were no undue delays in the  adjudication of human rights cases in the Supreme Court. 
          Comments and Questions 
   JULIO PRADO VALLEJO, expert from Ecuador, said he looked forward to  the opportunity to consider one of the most serious problems taking  place in Latin America today. In a situation that was of such a threat  to peace in Colombia, why was it that international mediation had not  been sought? Why was it that internal mechanisms had been unable to  achieve peace through negotiations involving other Latin American  countries? The situation in Colombia was very grave and affected the  entire region, particularly those countries which shared its borders.  All were familiar with the situation in Colombia, which involved  torture, disappearances, summary executions and open violations of  human rights, he said. Particularly striking were the abuses  perpetrated by the security forces, the corrupting power of drug  trafficking, and the frequent violation of international human rights  by the guerrillas. Perhaps most serious were the criminal actions  perpetrated by paramilitary forces. 
   While abuses in the past focused on the security forces, they now  centred on the paramilitary forces, he said. It had been reported that  while 10 per cent of the violations were perpetrated by the military,  60 per cent were by the paramilitary and 27 per cent by the guerrillas.  Many of those murdered by the paramilitary forces were found to have  been the victims of severe torture. However, there had been no  punishment of individuals found guilty. 
   He said special public order security areas had been created within  Colombia, where security forces were authorized to detain people and to  go into their homes without any judicial warrants. As a result, the  military forces could carry out their struggle against the insurgency  without any legal constraints. The absence of such limitations on the  military forces was the key problem Colombia was facing in that sphere. 
   For all practical purposes, there was no guarantee of the right to  life in Colombia, he said. There were some 1,100 kidnappings annually  and they involved the participation not only of the paramilitary  forces, but of the State's own security forces, as well. The Andean  Commission of Jurists had stated that the paramilitary forces acted  with the acquiescence of State security forces in carrying out summary  executions, disappearances, torture and other human rights violations. 
   Since it was the State of Colombia that had signed the Covenant, what  did it plan to do to overcome the current situation? he asked. The  President had put forward a minimum agenda to address the problem.  However, it was one thing to "humanize" war and quite another to  prevent armed forces from being involved with the paramilitary and  fostering its aggressive acts of violence. In view of the close  relationship between the paramilitary and the Government's own security  forces, what was the Government going to do? 
   ELIZABETH EVATT, expert from Australia, said the report of Colombia  was disappointing. Although it was heavy with references to the laws,  it provided too little information on the actual problems being faced  in Colombia. It was also disappointing as a fourth report, conveying no  sense of change, development or continuity. It referred to the  Committee's previous recommendations, but did not follow up on them,  particularly with respect to such issues as "faceless justice" and the  operation of military tribunals. 
   The Committee sought to ensure that Colombia complied with the  provisions governing states of emergency, she said. The Constitutional  Court found one declaration of emergency to have been inconsistent with  the Constitution, and that the powers of arrest without warrant had  been unconstitutional. What was disturbing was that the Government's  response aimed at limiting the role of the Constitutional Court with  respect to such questions. What was being done to ensure that states of  emergency complied with Covenant standards? 
   The report made no mention of the threats to and deaths of trade  union members, said to originate from the paramilitary with support  from the security forces, she said. Also, the report did not address  the Committee's concerns with respect to impunity. Although all  allegations of human rights violations should be brought within the  competence of the ordinary courts, military jurisdiction had expanded  to some extent, so as to include rape and charges of collaboration with  paramilitaries. That was very damaging with respect to accountability.  She also cited a particular case on which the Committee had expressed  its concern, but which was not addressed in Colombia's report. 
   OMRAN EL-SHAFEI, expert from Egypt, said Colombia's reports did not  give adequate information on the results of actions taken to ensure  compliance with Covenant provisions. A great deal of information had  been provided from non- governmental organizations, both within and  outside Colombia, on the situation in the country. The United States  State Department annual report on Colombia had also been quite helpful. 
   He said Colombia's report cited the Government's policy to establish  peace and social harmony and its willingness to conduct negotiations  with armed insurgent groups in the absence of prior conditions. It also  stated that Colombia's human rights commission was in recess owing to  the withdrawal by non-governmental organizations -- an action taken in  protest of government emergency measures. He requested further  information on that matter. 
   While the report indicated that exceptions to the Covenant could be  taken in conditions of foreign war, internal disturbance and states of  emergency, it did not indicate the rights for which derogation was  permitted. He requested further clarification. Information was also  needed on proposed amendments that would strip the Constitutional Court  of its powers to review certain governmental decisions. Was that  proposal still active? He also requested information on a proposal  regarding the issuance of arrest warrants. 
   What measures had the Government taken to ensure that armed forces  within the regional system were not carrying out arrests in violation  of the Colombian Constitution and of the Covenant? he asked. It had  become a matter of practice for the military to detain individuals  within military installations while awaiting transfer to civilian  facilities. There were many reports of intimidation and torture in the  military facilities. Could the Government confirm those reports? 
   THOMAS BUERGENTHAL, expert from the United States, said he agreed  with the criticisms of Colombia's report, as expressed by his  colleagues on the Committee. It was striking that there were a large  number of killings, disappearances and torture that were being  investigated very effectively, but just when they seemed to be leading  to some result the cases were transferred to military tribunals. It  seemed as if some sort of game was being played, since very little  happened once a case reached the military tribunals. It seemed to be an  institutionalized system to protect impunity. Why had the legislature  now made it even easier to refer even more cases to the military  tribunals? 
   He asked for additional information on the constitution of the  military tribunals. The delegations had apparently stated that active  military officers were now permitted to sit on such tribunals, and  could even be in the direct line of command of those being tried. How  could such a practice be compatible with Colombia's Covenant  obligations, when the judges themselves might be found responsible, by  implication, if the officers were convicted? 
   Although it had been stated that there was now a possibility of  appeal to the Supreme Court, it seemed to be a very limited  improvement, he said. How did a civilian who was detained by the  military get to a civilian court to challenge that detention? How did  that work in practice? How many people actually did that and were  successful in doing so? 
   He drew attention to efforts being made to limit the powers of the  Constitutional Court, including its powers to rule on the  constitutionality of a state of siege. How did such a measure ensure  the protection of human rights in Colombia? It had been stated that  disciplinary measures could be taken against a "faceless judge" who  should have removed himself from a case, but did not. How serious a  protection was that when the attorneys did not know the identity of the  judge? 
   That entire method of proceeding was very problematic and should be  very limited, he said. Although the problems that had given rise to it  were understood, serious thought should be given to protecting the  human rights of those concerned. Why were such infamous leaders of  paramilitary units as Carlos Castano still free, even though his  encampment was apparently right next to a military encampment? While  praising Colombia's system of compensation, he asked for additional  information as to whether compensation rulings could be overruled. 
   CECILIA MEDINA QUIROGA, expert from Chile, congratulated the  Government on a number of positive steps, such as the compensation law.  She, however, expressed disappointment with the Colombian report. The  Government had permitted some military personnel guilty of human rights  violations to escape, and she was disappointed with the introduction of  a new military code, noting that there was no need for separate  military justice. Noting the multiplicity of governmental bodies  dealing with human rights issues, she asked how their work was  coordinated and how the public lodged complaints about rights  violations. 
   ECKART KLEIN, expert from Germany, said there were indications that  human rights problems were on the increase, although some positive  gains had been made. He feared the state of law could be dealt a  serious blow in the future. The Colombian report was unbalanced in many  respects. Non- governmental organizations were reporting that Colombia  continued to maintain the worst human rights record in the western  hemisphere. There were certain institutional developments that could  lead to a further erosion of human rights. Violence had contaminated  all parts of society, including the State. 
   He drew attention to the fact that states of emergency were always,  by nature, very unfavourable for the enjoyment of human rights,  notwithstanding provisions in the Constitution about protection of  rights. He called for an explanation about the restriction of the right  of assembly during states of emergency. He said the structure of the  military itself, even if its members were very well-trained, made it  unsuitable for the administration of justice. He had the impression  that the greater the number of institutions working for human rights,  the less those rights were protected. Colombia could be congratulated  for accepting obligations under the Covenant, but it did not seem to be  complying with it. Open criticism of the situation was what was most  needed. 
   PRAFULLACHANDRA BHAGWATI, expert from India, also expressed  disappointment with the report, noting that it did not seem to reflect  the true state of affairs in the country. The Committee had received a  large amount of credible information from non-governmental  organizations, indicating that all was not well in Colombia. There were  reports of arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial executions, and an  inadequate judiciary system, as well as reports on the activities of  paramilitary groups. 
   He was disturbed by attempts to limit the powers of the  Constitutional Court and vesting powers in the President to declare a  state of exception. That power should be limited, he said. The  existence of military courts violated provisions of the Covenant. He  questioned the system of anonymous judges presiding over courts, and  welcomed the statement that it would be reviewed in 1999. He would like  to know whether convicted prisoners could work for private enterprises  and the terms for such activity. He also asked about the requirements  for the establishment of trade unions. 
   Lord JOHN MARK ALEXANDER COLVILLE, expert from the United Kingdom,  said that, admirable though the system of compensation was, he wondered  why it took such a long time for payments to be made. On another  matter, he said that crimes could only be reduced if the potential  criminal expected to be caught, tried and dealt with expeditiously.  Speed was very important in the administration of justice. Was it true  that two months elapsed before cases were brought to trial? Did that  apply, as well, in military courts? He also sought information on the  backlog of cases still outstanding. 
   He suggested that Colombia could learn from the United Kingdom's  experience in the operation of the court martial system. He commended  the new system established by the Government to protect judges. He  would like to see some of the most positive aspects of the Government's  proposals on strengthening human rights put into effect immediately. 
   RAJSOOMER LALLAH, expert from Mauritius, said the report did not  follow the guidelines established for the writing of such reports, and  had not dealt with some of the issues raised by the Committee after the  submission of the third periodic report. Information he had received  showed little or no progress in the human rights situation. If  anything, it was now worse. The military was slowly taking over  civilian judiciary powers. Threats were being made against a number of  institutions and decisions of the courts. He found it unacceptable that  the Government should question the merits of cases dealt with under the  Optional Protocol. 
   MAXWELL YALDEN, expert from Canada, said the multiplicity of  institutions in the area of human rights were impressive, but he  wondered how effective they were in promoting and protecting human  rights. How were members of those organizations appointed and how were  the institutions financed? he asked. There were no indications that  those institutions met the criteria established by international human  rights norms. He also asked what mechanisms existed for dealing with  human rights problems. 
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Subject:  OLA_LA_03Apr97_UN: Magnitude of paramilitary activity in Colombia ....
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	 UN: Magnitude of paramilitary activity in Colombia ...

OTC  4/3/97 12:09 AM  

 APR  2, 1997, M2 Communications - The magnitude of paramilitarism in  Colombia and its barbarism was astounding, Presidential Adviser on  Human Rights Carlos Vicenti de Roux said this morning, as the Human  Rights Committee continued its consideration of his country's fourth  periodic report on its compliance with the International Covenant on  Civil and Political Rights. 
   In Colombia, he said, there was a conflict between two sources of  barbarism -- paramilitarism, on the one hand, and the guerrillas, on  the other. The guerrillas employed such measures as kidnapping,  extortion and robbery to advance their aims. At the same time,  paramilitary groups -- which engaged in massacres and forced  disappearances -- were supported by livestock raisers, ranchers,  landholders and the poor in many parts of the country. 
   The State faced enormous difficulties in guaranteeing the rights and  dignity of the citizens, he said. How could it fight the guerrillas,  who extracted resources from the population in order to build their war  machine, without diverting scarce funds from essential social services?  It needed to fight paramilitarism and ensure security against the  guerrillas. If the authorities could not provide security, the public  would continue to seek protection from the paramilitarists. 
   Among other issues addressed today by Colombia's delegation were  measures that could be taken under states of emergency, the military  justice system, gender equality, remedies for violence against women  and children, the protection of minors, and efforts relating to  Colombia's indigenous populations. 
   The Committee's experts from the United Kingdom, Ecuador, Chile,  Canada, Australia and India posed questions and offered comments on  Colombia's report. 
   The Human Rights Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to  conclude its consideration of Colombia's fourth periodic report. 
          Committee Work Programme 
   The Human Rights Committee met this morning to continue its  consideration of the fourth periodic report of Colombia (document  CCPR/C/103/Add.3) on measures the country has taken to implement the  provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 
          Questions from Experts 
   Lord JOHN MARK ALEXANDER COLVILLE, expert from the United Kingdom,  citing two cases communicated to the Committee under its Optional  Protocol, asked why the Colombian authorities had not acted quickly on  the Committee's recommendations. He noted that it was another example  of delays in the implementation of decisions on human rights issues.  [Under the Optional Protocol of the Covenant, individuals claiming  rights violations could make representations to the Committee.] 
          Response from Colombia 
   FELIPE PIQUERO VILLEGAS, Minister Counsellor of Colombia, responding  to comments and issues raised at the Committee's meeting yesterday,  said that a State body -- the Committee of Ministers -- reviewed cases  in which claims for compensation were made. 
   CARLOS MALAGON, Deputy Minister of Justice of Colombia, said  decisions of regional judges could be monitored by higher judicial  bodies. There would be gradual dismantling of the "faceless courts", he  said. [Judges presiding over those courts were not seen and their names  remained unknown.] 
   He, said states of emergency were governed by constitutional and  statutory law. Many rights, including the right to life, were  considered inviolable in states of emergency. There was also provision  for a suspension of rights, which could not be so serious as to result  in the denial of fundamental rights and freedoms. A state of emergency  decree must clearly state the reason for the measures to be taken. That  made it possible to analyse the relevance and proportionality of those  measures, which were permitted only in order to bring about a return to  normalcy. 
   For as long as the new Constitution has been in force, the measures  adopted during a state of emergency had not gone beyond what would be  considered acceptable, he said. During that period, there had been no  complaints of possible violations of individual human rights resulting  from application of states of emergency. Members of the public forces  were much more cautious, for example, in such matters as seizures and  detentions. Criminal activities had been prevented through the timely  use of states of emergency. 
   KAREN KUFHELDT, Adviser in the Office of the Minister of the  Interior, said judicial monitoring of a state of emergency decree was  not defined as an explicit power under the Constitution. However, it  had become a part of Colombia's jurisprudence. There was no unanimity  in the Constitutional Court on the appropriateness of that power. The  Constitution itself considered the Congress to be the competent body to  review the state of emergency. 
   Addressing the question of impunity, Mr. MALAGON, Deputy Minister of  Justice, cited a study that indicated a high degree of hidden  criminality in Colombia. The Attorney-General's office was doing its  best to ensure that trials presented to it were heard. 
   Expressing concern about the violent situation in his country, CARLOS  VICENTI DE ROUX, Presidential Adviser on Human Rights, said Colombia's  delegation would give serious consideration to the Committee's views.  The magnitude of paramilitarism in Colombia and its barbarism was  astounding. It was supported by livestock raisers, ranchers and  landholders in many parts of the country. It was also supported by the  poor peasantry, and strengthened by the phenomenon of drug trafficking. 
   In Colombia, he said, there was a conflict between two sources of  barbarism -- paramilitarism, on the one hand, and the guerrillas, on  the other. The guerrillas employed such measures as kidnapping,  extortion and robbery to advance their aims. Their activities  represented a blow against nearly all segments of Colombian society. No  other group committed as many kidnappings as did the guerrillas in  Colombia. 
   "Where is the State in all of this"? he asked. The duty of the State  was to guarantee the rights and dignity of the citizens, but the State  had enormous difficulties in attempting to impose social discipline.  How could it fight guerrillas who extracted resources from the  population in order to build their war machine without diverting scarce  funds from essential social services? The guerrillas not only went into  a region and extracted its resources, they also ripped its social  fabric. 
   There were three things that must be done, he said. First, the  Government had to fight back against paramilitarism and its horrible  expressions including massacres and continued forced disappearances.  Second, the outcry for security against the guerrillas must be  addressed. Public safety must be ensured by the public authorities.  Otherwise, the public would seek protection from the paramilitarists.  Finally, pressure must be maintained on the guerrillas, including  international pressure. 
   Commenting on military criminal justice, he said the Government had  problems in dealing with the military justice system in cases of human  rights violations. Unsuccessful attempts were made in the past by some  members of the Colombian Congress to involve civilians in the military  criminal justice system. Attempts were being made to reform the  military criminal code. The Government faced many challenges and had to  approach the problems gradually. It needed the assistance of  international human rights bodies. The established democratic  institutions must be preserved. 
   Turning to the many official bodies dealing with human rights issues  raised by the experts, he said that they were small and more were  required. Those bodies had specific and clearly defined functions. Some  were involved in public education on human rights issues. Military  officers who committed major human rights violations were removed from  office. The Government was trying to pull together all democratic  forces, as well as use international assistance, to move the country  forward in the area of human rights. 
   Questions from Experts JULIO PRADO VALLEJO, expert from Ecuador,  commended the efforts of the Government to break links between the  military and paramilitary forces. He said that having recognized the  competence of the Committee, the Government must uphold the Committee's  decisions on communications brought before it under the Covenant's  Optional Protocol. 
          Colombia's Response 
   Mr. DE ROUX, Presidential Adviser on Human Rights, responding again  to comments on compensation, said the Government was bound by decisions  of the Committee of Ministers regarding payments of compensations. The  Government would act on recommendations of the Committee of Ministers  that compensations should be paid in four of the eight cases referred  to it. 
   Ms. KUFHELDT, Adviser in the Office of the Minister of the Interior,  responding to questions on part two of the list of issues brought up by  the Committee, said that there were provisions in Colombia's laws  guaranteeing real gender equality. Gender perspectives were being  adopted in all aspects of State action. A government study had found  that women were not given favourable sentences in the courts and that  men were given quicker trials than women. Prejudices still permeated  the justice system. There were fewer women judges, and their  participation in the higher courts were low. 
   She said that much remained to be done in introducing a gender  perspective to many areas of Colombian national life. An affirmative  action law had been enacted to improve the situation of women in all  spheres, including those heading households. The latter had been given  priority in access to credit, home ownership and land allocation.  Employment and educational opportunities were also open to them. The  Government was carrying out educational programmes to make the public  and institutions aware of gender equality. School textbooks were being  changed to address the issue of gender equality. In addition, a  national registry had been established to compile information on people  responsible for child support. 
   Mr. MALAGON, Deputy Minister of Justice, said legal aid was provided.  Students from law faculties of the universities were helping to provide  legal aid and free interpretation to those who could not afford legal  representation. 
   Ms. KUFHELDT, Adviser in the Office of the Minister of the Interior,  said remedies were provided for violence in the household against women  and minors. Several institutions had joined to promote the rights of  the child and guarantee and expand the scope of education of children  and adolescents. A national plan of action for children was helping to  protect them and those subjected to high risk. Abused children were  also helped. Regional centres were being set up to help children. A  large number of children were involved in the various armed conflicts  in the country, and attempts were being made to provide them with  alternative interests. 
   Long- and short-term socio-economic programmes had been designed to  provide jobs for displaced children, she said. She had no specific  figures on the number of street children, but said that forced  displacements had increased their number. Most street children were  boys, and many had left at eight or nine years of age. They had no  family bonds. A network of institutions had also been established to  help street children. 
   Mr. DE ROUX, Presidential Adviser on Human Rights, drew attention to  agreements reached with the guerrillas prohibiting their recruitment of  children of thirteen or fourteen years of age. Also, a bill submitted  by the Ministry of Defence would prohibit the recruitment in the  military of minors under the age of eighteen. Currently, a minor must  receive the permission of a family member to work, and that for a  limited number of hours. Employment under the age of twelve was  prohibited. An employer could be punished for hiring a minor without  the required permission, either through a fine or closure of the  business. 
   Ms. KUFHELDT, Adviser in the Office of the Minister of the Interior,  said a great deal needed to be done to address the needs of Colombia's  ethnic communities. There was a programme of education for 80 per cent  of the indigenous population, but it did not take account of their  social and cultural features. There were also very high illiteracy  rates among the indigenous peoples. Efforts were under way to address  that problem and expand education coverage. 
   She said health centres were being established and training provided  on health assistance for indigenous groups. With respect to  landholding, 410 special areas had been established for the indigenous  peoples, but there were some problems associated with those areas.  Indigenous jurisdictions had been recognized and protected by the  courts and were supported by the Government. Actions were being taken  to acknowledge the administrative rights of the indigenous peoples. 
   She said the country had faced difficulties and obstacles with  respect to addressing the needs of Colombia's African communities.  However, progress had been possible in the area of political  representation and the defence of black rights. Nevertheless, a great  deal remained to be done. 
   On a question that had been submitted with respect to question of  stateless children of refugees born in Colombia, Mr. DE ROUX,  Presidential Adviser on Human Rights, said Colombian nationality was  not granted when people were not expected to remain in the country. 
          Experts' Questions and Comments 
   Lord COLVILLE, expert from the United Kingdom, asked whether the  authorities had spelt out the public sectors that could not adopt  strike action. 
   CECILIA MEDINA QUIROGA, expert from Chile, commenting on the response  of the delegation to gender equality issues, said that there should be  campaigns on alternative methods of right to life. She quoted from a  document which said that in 1989, 70,000 women were hospitalized in  Colombia for the purposes of abortion. She noted that non-Catholic  educational institutions were requested to introduce Catholic religious  education before receiving Government grants. 
   MAXWELL YALDEN, expert from Canada, said that cultural factors worked  against women as indicated in the Colombian report. Statistics produced  by the delegation showed some progress in the employment of women. He  would, however, like to know whether affirmative action programmes were  in place to ensure employment of women and to address the problems of  Colombia's black population. He found the problems of the black and  indigenous communities disturbing. The stated objectives and programmes  of the Government would have to be seen in practice before judgements  could be made. 
   ELIZABETH EVATT, expert from Australia, stressed that the Colombian  Government must respect the rule of law, must act in accordance with  international human rights instruments, and apply justice equally to  everyone. She reiterated the points made yesterday; there was a gap  between the promises of action by the Government and the reality of the  situation on the ground. There was no evidence of real changes taking  place in the country. 
   PRAFULLACHANDRA NATWARLAL BHAGWATI, expert from India, asked who  provided the defence lawyer for Colombia's legal aid programme. Did a  person also get aid in civil cases, or only in criminal cases? The  Committee had information that 22 per cent of all recruits in  Colombia's Army were under the age of eighteen. Was that true? The bill  to raise the age for recruitment in the military and the agreement with  the guerrilla groups were welcome. 
   Were children in Colombia being taken in adoption by foreign parents?  he asked. If so, were there any laws to safeguard their interests?  There was a staggering number of child workers -- 15 to 20 per cent of  all children in Colombia. What steps were being taken to implement  Colombia's child labour law through inspections? What fines were being  imposed? Were there any restrictions placed on the activities of trade  unions? 
     M2 COMMUNICATIONS DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR INFORMATION PROVIDED  WITHIN M2 PRESSWIRE. DATA SUPPLIED BY NAMED PARTY/PARTIES.   
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    Copyright 1997

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Subject:  Ecstasy_03Apr97_Rave Crackdown.
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				 Rave Crackdown

APn  4/3/97 8:41 AM   


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By MIKE SCHNEIDER
 Associated Press Writer
   ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- This family friendly tourist city has become a mecca for a more hedonistic group of fun seekers -- young people looking for all-night dance parties where illicit drug use is common.
   Orlando, home of Disney World, is seeing an increase in "raves," thanks to a growing work force of young people who get off late and want some place to party.
   City officials believe things are getting out of hand and have formed a task force to explore ways to keep the party going without the use of LSD, Ecstasy and methamphetamines.
   "Overdoses have become a problem," said Orlando police Capt. Sal Lomonaco, a member of the mayor's Rave Review Task Force.
   Raves drew national attention when dozens of young people were sickened on New Year's Eve after consuming an herbal drink at an all-night party in Los Angeles. The maker of the drink stopped producing the concoction after a warning from federal officials.
   The rave task force in Orlando was to meet for the first time today. Among the suggestions to tame the parties: police-sponsored raves or all-night dances held by churches.
   And Orlando isn't the only Florida city cracking down.
   In Tallahassee, lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit nightclubs and bars from staying open past last call at 2 a.m. Violators could face a misdemeanor charge and lose their liquor license.
   The bill is modeled after an ordinance passed by Tampa last year. The Orlando City Council has endorsed the idea.
   Club owners -- even those who don't hold raves -- are vehemently opposed.
   "A big part of the a dance club attraction is how late we stay open," said John Gardner, owner of Barberella, a downtown club. "Staying open allows our customers extra time to sober up on our dance floor."
   Orlando nightclubs began holding raves about two years ago. Before that, the parties had been held secretly for years at warehouses or open fields.
   "It's dance, dance, dance," said Michael Torres, 28, a graphic designer, who has been to several Orlando raves. "The music and the people are ready to explode."
   Pulsating synthesized music, elaborate lighting and drugs are all part of the scene. Most of the drug activity is done secretly out of fear of undercover cops and security guards.
   Compared to New York and New Jersey, where rave-goers sometimes openly use heroin, the drug usage at Orlando raves is much tamer, Torres said. Ravers in Orlando frequently use LSD, animal tranquilizers, marijuana, Rohypnol and Ecstasy.
   Orlando police have conducted undercover operations at the clubs, making 26 arrests four months ago. But catching people buying and selling drugs is difficult, Lomonaco said.
   "It's done carefully and secretly," he said.
   Club owners said they don't tolerate drug use and have worked with police to combat it.
   However, there is only so much that can be done, said Jon Marsa, owner of the Club of Firestone in downtown.
   "Any nightclub owner on this planet that tells you drugs is absent from his club is lying," he said.
   

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Subject:  Ecstasy_03Apr97_Rave Crackdown.
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				 Rave Crackdown

APn  4/3/97 8:41 AM   


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By MIKE SCHNEIDER
 Associated Press Writer
   ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- This family friendly tourist city has become a mecca for a more hedonistic group of fun seekers -- young people looking for all-night dance parties where illicit drug use is common.
   Orlando, home of Disney World, is seeing an increase in "raves," thanks to a growing work force of young people who get off late and want some place to party.
   City officials believe things are getting out of hand and have formed a task force to explore ways to keep the party going without the use of LSD, Ecstasy and methamphetamines.
   "Overdoses have become a problem," said Orlando police Capt. Sal Lomonaco, a member of the mayor's Rave Review Task Force.
   Raves drew national attention when dozens of young people were sickened on New Year's Eve after consuming an herbal drink at an all-night party in Los Angeles. The maker of the drink stopped producing the concoction after a warning from federal officials.
   The rave task force in Orlando was to meet for the first time today. Among the suggestions to tame the parties: police-sponsored raves or all-night dances held by churches.
   And Orlando isn't the only Florida city cracking down.
   In Tallahassee, lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit nightclubs and bars from staying open past last call at 2 a.m. Violators could face a misdemeanor charge and lose their liquor license.
   The bill is modeled after an ordinance passed by Tampa last year. The Orlando City Council has endorsed the idea.
   Club owners -- even those who don't hold raves -- are vehemently opposed.
   "A big part of the a dance club attraction is how late we stay open," said John Gardner, owner of Barberella, a downtown club. "Staying open allows our customers extra time to sober up on our dance floor."
   Orlando nightclubs began holding raves about two years ago. Before that, the parties had been held secretly for years at warehouses or open fields.
   "It's dance, dance, dance," said Michael Torres, 28, a graphic designer, who has been to several Orlando raves. "The music and the people are ready to explode."
   Pulsating synthesized music, elaborate lighting and drugs are all part of the scene. Most of the drug activity is done secretly out of fear of undercover cops and security guards.
   Compared to New York and New Jersey, where rave-goers sometimes openly use heroin, the drug usage at Orlando raves is much tamer, Torres said. Ravers in Orlando frequently use LSD, animal tranquilizers, marijuana, Rohypnol and Ecstasy.
   Orlando police have conducted undercover operations at the clubs, making 26 arrests four months ago. But catching people buying and selling drugs is difficult, Lomonaco said.
   "It's done carefully and secretly," he said.
   Club owners said they don't tolerate drug use and have worked with police to combat it.
   However, there is only so much that can be done, said Jon Marsa, owner of the Club of Firestone in downtown.
   "Any nightclub owner on this planet that tells you drugs is absent from his club is lying," he said.
   

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Subject:  Central_Asian_Drug_Traffic_Heroin_03Apr97 AFGHANISTAN:  INTERNATIONAL - POPPY HARVEST IS BLOOMING UNDER THE TALIBAN'S RULE.
Status: O

03Apr97 AFGHANISTAN:  INTERNATIONAL - POPPY HARVEST IS BLOOMING UNDER THE TALIBAN'S RULE.
By Ahmed Rashid in Kandahar.
OPIUM production is soaring in Afghanistan as farmers benefit from the relative security that the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement has brought.
The Taliban, which controls two-thirds of the country, has imposed a strict ban on hashish growing. But it has not banned production of the poppies from which opium and heroin are made.
Taliban leaders say hashish is consumed by Afghans and is therefore anti-Islamic. But as opium is exported to the West and there is no cash crop alternative for farmers, there is no urgent need to ban poppy growing.
"We let people cultivate poppies because farmers get good prices," said Abdul Rashid, head of the Taliban's drug control unit at his office in Kandahar. Rashid, who wears a flowing black turban and a long beard, has a 10-man force which was set up a few months ago.
"We cannot push the people to grow wheat," he added. "There would be an uprising against the Taliban if we forced them to stop poppy cultivation."
Mohammed Hassan, the Governor of Kandahar, who is the movement's second-ranking leader, said: "Drugs are evil and we would like to substitute poppies with another cash crop, but it's not possible at the moment."
The Taliban's ban on production of hashish, traditionally consumed by millions of Afghans, already seems to be taking effect. Hundreds of sacks of hashish are stored in two warehouses at the police headquarters after being confiscated from growers and dealers.
The Taliban also has a novel approach to hashish addiction. "When we catch hashish smugglers or addicts we beat them to find out the truth," said Abdul Rashid. "Then we put them in cold water for hours, three times a day. It's a good cure."
In the presence of Mr Rashid, several prisoners readily agreed that the Taliban's shock therapy was effective. "When I am beaten or in the cold water I forget all about hashish," said Bakth Mohammed, a former shopkeeper who is serving three months in jail.
Last year, Afghanistan produced an estimated 2,300 tons of opium, rivalling Burma as the world's largest producer of the raw drug. Afghan dealers as well as those from Pakistan, Iran and Turkmenistan, buy the raw opium and refine it into heroin for export.
Officials of the United Nations Drug Control Programme told of a "staggering increase" in production. For example, in one area, 120 tons of opium was harvested from 874 acres of poppy fields last year. The previous year, 79 tons was produced from 995 acres.
Just two miles from Kandahar city centre, poppy fields stretch as far as the horizon. Farmers have brought in fertiliser and tractors from Pakistan to increase yields. Old irrigation channels, destroyed during the war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s, are being rapidly restored.
"The Taliban has brought us security so we can grow poppies in peace," said Wali Jan, a farmer, as he weeded his field of still-green poppy plants. "How can I support my 14 family members if I don't do it?"
On his small plot of land, Wali Jan produces about 45 kg of raw opium from two crops every year and earns about L850. Refined heroin fetches 50 times that price in London or New York.
Mud homes are being rapidly rebuilt in villages around Kandahar from the proceeds. The trade is a huge incentive after the devastation of 18 years of war.
"I have stopped growing hashish because the Taliban has forbidden it," said another farmer, Abdul Karim. "When the Taliban leaders ask us to stop growing poppies, we will obey their command."
The Taliban is angry that the world has still not recognised its government, even though it controls most of Afghanistan and the capital, Kabul.
Mr Hassan said: "The UN must recognise our government because we control 75 per cent of the country and we respect human rights."
A Taliban soldier, Abdul Mateen, said: "If the West will support the Islamic demands of the Taliban and recognise our government then we can stop this poppy cultivation."
The lack of recognition means that international aid from Western drugs control agencies is virtually non-existent. "This office should be supported with equipment from foreign countries to control drugs," said Mr Rashid. "But I have only 10 men and a scooter to chase hashish smugglers."
The Taliban's refusal to share power with other factions and its discrimination against women has been a major factor in the failure of Western and Muslim countries to recognise it.
But now the growth in opium production is causing concern in Western capitals.
(c) Telegraph Group Limited, London, 1997. 



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Subject:  Asian_Organised_Crime_Cocaine_02Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  AUSTRALIA 'TARGET OF DRUG CARTELS'.
Status: O

02Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  AUSTRALIA 'TARGET OF DRUG CARTELS'.
Original Article By Charles Miranda.
Police agencies have revealed that Australia is being targeted by South American cartels as a base for money laundering and cocaine for the Asian market; the United States Drug Enforcement Agency says that cocaine is been smuggled into Australia in a number of ways, including tractor parts, bicycle frames, false bottomed luggage and horse buggies; in response, the Australian Attorney-General, Darryl Williams, has announced that Australia has taken a leading role in the formation of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering.
 
CORPORATE NAME
UNITED STATES. DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
 
SUBJECT
ORGANIZED CRIME - AUSTRALIA.
 
ABIX. (C) 1997 Business Intelligence Australia Pty Ltd.
 
Information contained in this database consists of abstracts of articles appearing in various publications. Any views expressed in the material contained in the database do not necessarily reflect the views of Business Intelligence Australia Pty Ltd. 



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Subject:  ML_02Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  AUSTRALIA 'TARGET OF DRUG CARTELS'.
Status: O

02Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  AUSTRALIA 'TARGET OF DRUG CARTELS'.
Original Article By Charles Miranda.
Police agencies have revealed that Australia is being targeted by South American cartels as a base for money laundering and cocaine for the Asian market; the United States Drug Enforcement Agency says that cocaine is been smuggled into Australia in a number of ways, including tractor parts, bicycle frames, false bottomed luggage and horse buggies; in response, the Australian Attorney-General, Darryl Williams, has announced that Australia has taken a leading role in the formation of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering.
 
CORPORATE NAME
UNITED STATES. DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
 
SUBJECT
ORGANIZED CRIME - AUSTRALIA.
 
ABIX. (C) 1997 Business Intelligence Australia Pty Ltd.
 
Information contained in this database consists of abstracts of articles appearing in various publications. Any views expressed in the material contained in the database do not necessarily reflect the views of Business Intelligence Australia Pty Ltd. 
ABIX - AUSTRALASIAN BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE 
THE COURIER-MAIL (ABSTRACTS) 2/4/97 


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Subject:  ML_01Apr97 CZECH REPUBLIC:  MYSTERIOUS INVESTOR VYMYSLICKY LIVES IN CANADA.
Status: O

01Apr97 CZECH REPUBLIC:  MYSTERIOUS INVESTOR VYMYSLICKY LIVES IN CANADA.
NEW YORK, April 1 (CTK) - Mysterious investor Pavel Vymyslicky, who has recently raised the Cetrans forwarding company's share capital by Kc680m, has been living in Canada for fifteen years, he told CTK in New York after returning from a visit to the Czech Republic.
He declined to disclose more about himself. He just said he was engaged in trading.
The increase of Cetrans' share capital was investigated by the police, and there were rumours in banking circles that money laundering might be involved. The case aroused suspicions because the Czech National Bank (CNB) recorded no such big transaction at the time when the money was to be sent to Cetrans by Vymyslicky.
In addition, Vymyslicky's compatriots in Kitchener, Ontario, said he could not have possessed such a big sum.
The Kitchener chamber of commerce knows nothing about Vymyslicky, nor does the Czech-Canadian chamber of commerce, which registers 5,000 business people.
Cetrans board chairman Ivan Domecky said recently that Vymyslicky had proved his identity at a notary and had proceeded in harmony with the law. Vymyslicky was also registered by the Central Securities Registry (SCP). Vymyslicky's shares, representing 36-percent of the increased share capital, are registered regularly, Domecky added.
(c) 1997, CTK Business News. Published by Czech News Agency (CTK). 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
CTK-BUSINESS NEWS 1/4/97 


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Subject:  ML_Cyberbanking_03Apr97 SCHWEIZ: VIRTUELL BEZAHLEN - DIGITALES GELD.
Status: O

03Apr97 SCHWEIZ: VIRTUELL BEZAHLEN - DIGITALES GELD.
Von Markus Stolz.
Bargeld wird bald uberflussig: Die Wahrung von morgen besteht aus Bits und Bytes. Die Kunden sind dabei vor allem am Service und der Sicherheit der neuen Zahlungsmethode interessiert.
 
In der Wirtschaft beherrscht bereits heute elektronisches Geld (E-Cash) das Geschaft. Harte Munzen und bunte Scheine machen nur noch einen winzigen Bruchteil der kursierenden Geldmenge aus pro Kopf in der Schweiz nicht mehr als 2500 Fr. im Jahr. Sollte sich nach Direct-Banking auch On-line-Shopping durchsetzen, durfte der elektronische Zahlungsverkehr in Zukunft noch starker uber die Computernetze laufen. Auf mehr als 600 Mrd Dollar schatzt das US-Marktforschungsinstitut Forrester den Handelsumsatz in internationalen Netzen fur das Jahr 2000. Ein allgemein anerkanntes Zahlungsmittel ist alles, was zum digitalen Wirtschaftswunder noch fehlt.
Einer Aufstellung des amerikanischen Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC) zufolge schalt sich dabei eine Struktur heraus, die sich weitgehend an dem etablierten Geldverkehrssystem orientiert: Homebanking ersetzt Schalterauftrage, Electronic-Cash dient zur Barzahlung beim Teleshopping und Kreditkarten-Transaktionen funktionieren wie bisher nur elektronisch. War das Geschaft mit Digitalgeld jedoch bislang die Domane der Banken, rutteln mittlerweile immer mehr Privatfirmen am Finanzmonopol.
 
Katalysator fur den Markt
 
First Virtual, Visa, Mastercard, CyberCash, DigiCash oder Mondex gleich in Scharen strengen sich Unternehmen und Organisationen vor allem in den USA an, um das Netz mit Zahlungsmitteln zu versorgen. <E-cash ist Katalysator zur Schaffung eines ganzen Marktes im Cyberspace. Es macht Datennetze interessant fur einen riesigen Personenkreis. Vorhersagen kann ich nicht treffen. Aber das wird richtig gross>, verkundet David Chaum, Chef der Firma Digicash und Erfinder der Digitalwahrung <E-cash>.
 
Weitreichende Folgen
 
Es gibt viele Ideen fur das elektronische Geld doch grundsatzlich zeichnen sich zwei Formen ab: Computerkonten oder Geld auf Chipkarten. Wahrend die First Virtual Bank ihr System an herkommliche Kreditkarten koppelt, propagieren Firmen wie Digicash und Cybercash frei fliessende Bit-Wahrungen fur das Internet. Welches Geld sich in der virtuellen Welt durchsetzt, hat auch weitreichende Folgen im realen Leben: Fur die Datensicherheit, fur die Kontrolle der Zentralbanken uber die Geldmenge und die Zukunft des klassischen Bankgeschafts.
Beinahe wochentlich verkunden Privatbanken, Softwarehauser und Kreditkartenunternehmen Plane und Entwicklungen fur den elektronischen Geldbeutel und rutteln am monetaren Standard. Und die Konkurrenz wird grosser. <Heute kann sich ein Anbieter von Finanzdienstleistungen schon fur 160 000 Fr. im Internet plazieren>, weiss Volkswirtschaftlerin Christiane Fotschki, wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin des Instituts fur Bankinformatik (ibi) an der Universitat im deutschen Regensburg.
<Digitales Geld steht fur monetare Freiheit. Zum ersten Mal uberhaupt sind Individuen in der Lage, einen neuen Wertstandard zu schaffen>, meint Jon Matonis, Grunder und Direktor der kalifornischen Forschungseinrichtung Private Payment Systems. Alarmzeichen fur Regierungen und Zentralbanken: Stephen Horwitz, Wirtschaftsprofessor an der St. Lawrence University in New York, ist davon uberzeugt, dass Digitalgeld auch nationalen Notenbanken wie der US Federal Reserve den Boden unter den Fussen wegziehen konnte. So bringt die heraufziehende Digitalisierung des Zahlungsverkehrs ebenso eine Globalisierung als auch eine Privatisierung des Geldgeschaftes mit sich. Viele bankspezifische Dienstleistungen konnten kunftig auch andere Unternehmen erbringen, glaubt Howard Anderson, Prasident des US-Beratungsunternehmens Yankee Group: <Banking braucht jeder aber nicht Banken.>
Dennoch sind die Chancen der alternativen Anbieter eher gering, mehr als nur einen Bruchteil des Geldverkehrs auf dem Internet zu kontrollieren. Denn schon heute zahlt die Mehrheit der On-line-Kunden mit Kreditkarte. So ist bei den Verkaufsangeboten im World Wide Web bisher der Kauf per Kreditkarte am weitesten verbreitet, weil er am einfachsten funktioniert. Die Vorteile: Es existiert eine etablierte Infrastruktur der Kartenunternehmen, die Abwicklung ist wahrungsunabhangig und das Zusammenspiel mit den Banken lauft bereits. In Zukunft werden On-line-Handler vermutlich einfach mehrere Zahlungsmittel akzeptieren, und E-cash wird eines davon sein.
 
Brieftaschen-Software fur mehr Sicherheit
 
Doch bis die Konsumentinnen und Konsumenten massenhaft ihre Kreditkarten zucken, muss die Technologie noch benutzerfreundlicher werden. Noch mussen Kunden ihre Kartennummer bei jedem Handler gesondert eingeben. Deswegen haben Visa und Mastercard mit Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) einen gemeinsamen Sicherheitsstandard entwickelt. Wenn sich der SET-Standard durchsetzt, werden die meisten On-line-Shopper ein sogenanntes <wallet> in ihrem PC haben eine Brieftaschen-Software, in der Kreditkartennummern und Kundenadressen abgespeichert sind.
Noch vor Benutzerfreundlichkeit ist jedoch Sicherheit Thema Nummer eins. Denn Hacker konnen im Internet Daten leicht abfangen. Wer seine Kreditkartennummer unverschlusselt ubers Netz schickt, lauft Gefahr, dass sie in falsche Hande gerat. <Die Kundinnen und Kunden haben Angst, die Nummer am Bildschirm einzugeben und in den grossen weiten Cyberspace zu schicken>, erklart Pierre Wolf, Entwicklungschef der On-line-Bank First Virtual, <und diese Angst ist derzeit das grosste Hemmnis fur das On-line-Shopping.>
Um zu verhindern, dass im Internet Transaktionsdaten maniupuliert oder kopiert werden, wird fieberhaft an unterschiedlichen Sicherheitssystemen gearbeitet. Doch <sichere bilaterale Kommunikationsprotokolle reichen nicht aus>, sagt Phil Janson vom IBM Forschungsinstitut Zurich, <was gebraucht wird, sind sichere multilaterale Zahlungsprotokolle>. Und da IBM auch bei SET beteiligt ist, wird wohl alles auf eine einheitliche Losung hinauslaufen.
Fest steht bis dahin, dass der elektronische Zahlungsverkehr in offenen Netzen universell und sicher sein muss. Zudem ist eine einfache Handhabung notwendig und die Kompatibilitat zur vorhandenen Infrastruktur. Solange diese Infrastruktur fehlt, fehlen wohl auch die Konsumentinnen und Konsumenten im virtuellen Shop. 
GERMAN LANGUAGE 
SCHWEIZERISCHE HANDELS ZEITUNG 3/4/97 


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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_Asian_Organised_Crime_Heroin_03Apr97_Guerrillas take over Golden Triangle drug trade.
Status: RO

		Guerrillas take over Golden Triangle drug trade

RTw  4/3/97 12:02 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    MAE HONGSON, Thailand, April 3 (Reuter) - Heroin factories in the Golden Triangle are flourishing again as they once did under now-retired drug warlord Khun Sa -- but this time at the direction of his longtime rivals, ethnic Wa guerrillas.
     Khun Sa's former turf has been taken over by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a splinter group of the Burmese Communist Party in northern Burma's Shan state which maintains a ceasefire with the military government in Rangoon, sources with Thai and U.S. anti-narcotics authorities told Reuters.
     The factories in the state's opium poppy-growing area formerly belonged to Khun Sa, the half-Shan, half-Chinese leader of the now defunct Mong Tai Army (MTA), which controlled the opium trade while fighting the Burmese government for Shan state independence.
     "The information we have is, the United Wa State Army has resumed much of the drugs production and activities from the Shan United Army (MTA)," said a drug enforcement officer with the U.S. embassy in Bangkok.
     Opium is refined into heroin. The Golden Triangle, which straddles the borders of Laos, Thailand and Burma, is said by U.S. drug enforcement officials to supply about 70 percent of the world's heroin.
     Khun Sa surrendered to Burmese authorities in January 1996 and is believed by anti-drug officials to be living in luxury in Rangoon. Burma has said Khun Sa, who is wanted by U.S. authorities, will not be extradited.
     Golden Triangle heroin production went into hiatus during the power vacuum following Khun Sa's surrender.
     But the United Wa State Army had since taken over several former MTA jungle bases in defiance of demands by Burma's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) that it pull out of the area, the Thai sources said.
     "The heroin factories that used to belong to Khun Sa such as Doi Lang and Hauy Maekham are now under the control of the Wa," a Thai narcotics officer told Reuters.
     The Wa took over the heroin factories after Wei Siao Gang, who is wanted by the United States for drug trafficking, was appointed commander of UWSA forces near the Thai border late last year, replacing Tei Kung Ming, who was murdered in China, a Thai police source said.
     Wei Siao Gang and his brother Wei Siao Long are longtime, bitter rivals of Khun Sa in the drug trade.
     "The Wei brothers are the new drug kings in the Golden Triangle," the narcotics officer said.
     Doi Lang is a former Khun Sa stronghold while Hauy Maekhan was believed to have housed one of his biggest heroin factories.
     A journalist who visited the areas last week confirmed heavy deployments of Wa guerrillas in the two places.
     "Every month, the Wa produce at least 140 kg (309 lb) of heroin from these two factories," said another Thai anti-narcotics source based in northern Thailand.
     He estimated that the Wa produced at least two tonnes of heroin annually.
     Khun Sa's former headquarters at Ho Mong in Shan state is now a ghost town. At the height of his power, Ho Mong housed more than 12,000 people who enjoyed such amenities as a school, hospital, electricity and karaoke bars.
  RE

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Subject:  Balkan_Route_Drug_Traffic_Heroin_03Apr97_Bulgarian customs forsake soccer to make drug bust.
Status: O

	   Bulgarian customs forsake soccer to make drug bust

RTw  4/3/97 11:59 AM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    SOFIA, April 3 (Reuter) - When seems a good time to smuggle heroin across the Bulgarian border? - when Bulgaria's World Cup soccer team is in action and customs officers are glued to their television sets.
     Unfortunately for two Turkish smugglers, authorities at the Danube port of Rousse were on alert -- football or no football.
     The men trying to cross into Romania on Wednesday night were stopped and they turned out to have 23 kg (50 lbs) of heroin hidden in the chassis and wheel arches of their Mercedes-Benz, customs spokesman Ivan Kutevski said on Thursday.
     Bulgaria, which is on the "Balkan route" for smugglers bringing drugs into western Europe, beat Cyprus 4-1 in the World Cup qualifier in Sofia.
  REUTER

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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_Heroin_03Apr97_23 Kilogramm Heroin an bulgarisch-rumanischer Gren...
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	  23 Kilogramm Heroin an bulgarisch-rumanischer Gren..

dpa  4/3/97 2:56 PM   


Copyright dpa, 1997
    23 Kilogramm Heroin an bulgarisch-rumanischer Grenze konfisziert 

   Sofia (dpa) - Der bulgarische Zoll hat am Grenzubergang zu Rumanien an der Donau 23,8 Kilogramm Heroin konfisziert. Wie die amtliche Nachrichtenagentur BTA am Donnerstag berichtete, war das Rauschgift bei einer Kontrolle in der Nacht zum Donnerstag in einem Auto mit turkischem Kennzeichen entdeckt worden.

   Zwei turkische Staatsburger wollten mit dem Fahrzeug mit der Donau-Fahre nach Giurgiu in Rumanien reisen. Sie wurden fur Ermittlungen festgenommen. Das Rauschgift war in 44 Packchen in den Schwellen und Kottflugeln des Autos versteckt. dpa el pe

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Subject:  ML_03Apr97_Proze? um BCCI-Pleite endet mit Verurteilung wegen...
Status: O

	  Prozes um BCCI-Pleite endet mit Verurteilung wegen..

dpa  4/3/97 3:43 PM   


Copyright dpa, 1997
    Prozes um BCCI-Pleite endet mit Verurteilung wegen Betrugs 

   London (dpa) - Knapp sechs Jahre nach Schliesung der hochverschuldeten Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) ist am Donnerstag Abbas Gokal aus Pakistan als Drahtzieher des fur die Pleite verantwortlichen Betrugs verurteilt worden. Der 61 Jahre alte Schiffahrtsmagnat wurde im Kriminalgericht Old Bailey in London schuldig befunden. Das Strafmas soll in einem Monat verkundet werden.

   Gokal war 1994 bei einer Zwischenlandung auf dem Flug von Pakistan in die USA in Frankfurt am Main verhaftet und anschliesend an die britischen Justizbehorden ausgeliefert worden. Das bisher groste Betrugsverfahren in Grosbritannien dauerte 122 Tage.

   Gokal und seine zwei Bruder hatten nach Feststellung des Gerichts bei der Bank Schulden in Hohe von 1,2 Milliarden US-Dollar, als BCCI im Juli 1991 auf Betreiben der Bank von England ihre Aktivitaten einstellen muste. Mit dem erschwindelten Geld finanzierte das Trio einen aufwendigen Lebensstil, stellte das Gericht fest.

   Mit Bestechungen, geheimen Bankkonten und gefalschten Unterlagen betrieben sie ihre Geschafte. In der BCCI-Zentrale in London sei ein regelrechtes Falschungszentrum betrieben worden, wurde vor Gericht erklart.

   BCCI war als eine der grosten Privatbanken der Welt in 69 Landern aktiv, ehe sie geschlossen wurde. Ihr Kapital gehorte zu 77 Prozent dem Herrscher des Golf-Emirats Abu Dhabi.

   Von der Schliesung wurden etwa 140 000 Kunden der Bank betroffen. Nach zahlreichen Prozessen und langwierigen Verhandlungen wurde ihnen ein begrenzter Ausgleich fur die Verluste zugesagt. Im Dezember 1996 erhielten die ersten Glaubiger Zahlungen in Hohe von 24,5 Prozent ihrer verlorenen Einlagen. Weitere zehn Prozent sollen ihnen noch gezahlt werden. dpa dt ra

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Subject:  ML_Fraud_Economic_Crime_03Apr97 FOCUS-BRITISH FRAUDBUSTERS WIN 5TH BCCI CONVICTION. 15:33 GMT 
Status: O

03Apr97 FOCUS-BRITISH FRAUDBUSTERS WIN 5TH BCCI CONVICTION. 15:33 GMT 
(Releads, adds background, detail)
By Alexander Smith
LONDON, April 3 (Reuter) - Abbas Gokal, head of the largest single borrower from the failed Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), was convicted on Thursday for his part in the biggest known banking fraud.
Gokal was found guilty at London's Central Criminal Court of conspiring to account falsely and of conspiracy to defraud following a trial lasting nearly five months. He is expected to be sentenced on May 6.
Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said Gokal, 61, had with BCCI officials "masterminded a massive fraud totalling approximately $1.2 billion."
BCCI collapsed in 1991 and thousands of people lost their savings as a result.
The SFO, which investigates and prosecutes major financial fraud in Britain, said the BCCI case was the biggest fraud in banking history and the largest ever fraud trial.
The bank's symbiotic relationship with Gokal's Swiss-based Mideast Gulf shipping and trading group meant the fortunes of the two were inextricably linked.
So far, investigating and prosecuting those responsible has cost around 15 million pounds ($24.6 million), including the four million pound cost of Gokal's case. Some estimates put the total cost of the Gokal trial, including the legal aid he received for his defence, at closer to 10 million pounds.
Chris Dickson, the SFO lawyer heading the BCCI inquiry team, said Gokal's actions had "brought despair to hundreds of thousands of ordinary people who put their savings into BCCI."
Dickson said these people were proof "that human misery is the real cost of fraud." The jury in the case had heard that one of the individual losers was Anant Shah, who lost the money he had been saving for a bone marrow transplant for his son.
The biggest loser from the collapse of BCCI was the Western Isles Council in Scotland which was owed 24 million pounds.
The SFO said it had found documents signed by Gokal in a London safe deposit box which showed that he and his two brothers owned and controlled the companies involved in the fraud.
The prosecution had said that the sums received from BCCI supported Gokal's lavish lifestyle. Gokal travelled by company jet and owned several luxury cars, including two Rolls-Royces.
It said Gokal had needed large sums of money for his ailing business empire when the recession started to bite during the 1980s. BCCI funded him with such large amounts that much of the lending had to be diguised because the bank was breaking guidelines.
Gokal, who denied the charges against him, fled from his company base in Geneva, Switzerland to Pakistan in 1992 after Gulf collapsed. This followed the collapse in 1991 of BCCI.
He was arrested by German police at Frankfurt airport in July 1994 when the plane he was travelling on landed for refuelling on a flight from Karachi to the U.S. He was extradited to Britain and has been in custody since his arrival in December 1994.
The conviction of Gokal, whose trial began last September, will be seen as a much-needed boost to the SFO. The office's record is been under scrutiny following several high-profile cases in which it failed to secure convictions after lengthy and expensive trials.
But the SFO has had considerable success so far with its BCCI cases. Gokal's is the fifth consecutive conviction to result from its BCCI investigations.
"This is a good result for those who say that juries can cope with long trials," said one legal source. There have been calls for scrapping the system of jury trials in financial fraud trials by those who argue that lay jurors cannot get to grips with complex financial cases.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
REUTER NEWS SERVICE
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


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Subject:  ML_02Apr97 EU:  BACKGROUND - SPEECH BY SIR LEON BRITTAN ON THE WORLD BANKING MARKETS [AMENDMENT].
Status: O

02Apr97 EU:  BACKGROUND - SPEECH BY SIR LEON BRITTAN ON THE WORLD BANKING MARKETS [AMENDMENT].
"Opening world banking markets": extracts from the speech by Sir Leon Brittan, Vice-President of the Commission, to the American Enterprise Institute on 23 March 1990. This examines in particular certain features of the United States' market which cause concern, the role of GATT in opening up the financial services market and the problem of money laundering.
Reference: T/16/90 - 5 page document.
Subject: Competition and Trade.
Keyword: Financial Services.
Descriptor: BANK HOLDING COMPANY ACT, BANKS, CHARTERED BANKS, GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE, GLASS STEAGALL MEASURES, INSURANCE, LIBERALIZATION, MCFADDEN ACT, RECIPROCITY
Source: Commission of the European Communities Texts.
 
For a copy of the full text of the official document referred to in this abstract or for further information please contact Consultancy Europe Associates Ltd., tel +44 (0) 1636 610 620,
fax +44 (0) 1636 613 289 or e-mail: doc@spicers.co.uk
Not Available for Re-dissemination.
(c) Consultancy Europe Associates Ltd, 1990. 
EUROPEAN UNION 
SPICERS CENTRE FOR EUROPE 27/3/90 


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Subject:  ML_02Apr97 EU:  BACKGROUND - SPEECH BY SIR LEON BRITTAN ON ACTION AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING [AMENDMENT].
Status: O

02Apr97 EU:  BACKGROUND - SPEECH BY SIR LEON BRITTAN ON ACTION AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING [AMENDMENT].
Extracts from a speech by Sir Leon Brittan, Vice-President of the Commission, concerning Community action against money laundering. The liberalization of the financial system opens new possibilities for its use to launder criminal funds related to drug trafficking, terrorism or other organized crime. Therefore the Commission plans to put forward a package of measures, with the immediate objective of ensuring that money laundering is made a criminal offence throughout the EC.
Reference: IP(90) 16 - 2 page document.
Subject: General and Political Affairs.
Keyword: Money Laundering.
Descriptor: BANKING, CAPITAL MOVEMENTS, COOPERATION, FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE, FINANCIAL SERVICES, INTERNAL MARKET, VIENNA CONVENTION 1988
Source: Commission of the European Communities Spokesman's Service Information Memo.
 
For a copy of the full text of the official document referred to in this abstract or for further information please contact Consultancy Europe Associates Ltd., tel +44 (0) 1636 610 620,
fax +44 (0) 1636 613 289 or e-mail: doc@spicers.co.uk
Not Available for Re-dissemination.
(c) Consultancy Europe Associates Ltd, 1990. 
EUROPEAN UNION 
SPICERS CENTRE FOR EUROPE 11/1/90 


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Subject:  ML_03Apr97_Oceana announces 8th International Money ...
Status: O

		  Oceana announces 8th International Money ...

BW   4/3/97 6:41 PM   

Oceana announces 8th International Money Laundering  and Financial Crimes Crimes Conference, Curacao, May 6-7, 1997 

    Business Editors

    DOBBS FERRY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 3, 1997--Oceana  announced 8th international Money Laundering Conference to be held in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, May 6-7, 1997.  
    The prevention of international money laundering is the common  denominator that will draw senior level bankers, attorneys,  securities officers, corporate executives, government regulators and  law enforcement officials from around the world to the Sonesta Beach  Resort, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles on May 6-7, 1997.  
    The 8th International Conference on Money Laundering: Latin America  & The Caribbean, Cybercrime, Financial Cryptography and International Financial Crimes is being sponsored by Oceana Publications, Inc., the Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies, College of Law,  University of Florida, and The International Bankers Association of  the Netherlands Antilles.  

    Featured topical discussions from a panel of 30 internationally  renowned experts include: 

    The implementation of a compliance program for Mansur Trading  Freezone to effectually prevent and detect money laundering while  doing business in the Caribbean and Latin America, and it's  relationship to U.S.  Prosecution by Lawrence Plave, Financial  Investigator and Consultant, Plave Goldberg and Manten, Inc., Coconut Grove, FL.  
    The threat of organized crime and financial crime in the Caribbean  and Europe by Dr.  Barry Rider (Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London; Fellow in Law of Jesus College,  University of Cambridge; Executive Director of CIDOEC and Barrister  at Law.) 
    The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force's most recent developments by Carlos Correa, Executive Director of the CFATF.  
    The impact of the relocation of Holding/Financial Companies from  Hong Kong and Taiwan to the Caribbean by Dr.  Trevor Carmichael  (Barrister, Chancery Chambers, Bridgetown, Barbados) and Dr. Peter  D. Maynard (Counsel & Attorney at Law, former Legal Advisor,  Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahamas).  
    Cybercrime - the next defense is now: Financial encryption,  Cyberpayments and Electronic Warfare for international bankers by  Alan Brill, Managing Director, Kroll Associates, and Manager of  Kroll's Global Information Security and High-Technology  Investigations Group.  
   
   Other featured speakers include:

    Fernando Capablanca, President of the Florida International Bankers  Association; 
    L.M. Overmars, Managing Director of the Dutch Banker's Association;
    FLetcher Baldwin, Professor of Law, University of Florida, and  Director of the Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies.  

    For further information regarding conference registration, you may  contact Karen Vangor at Oceana Publications Inc., 75 Main Street,  Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522, USA, Telephone: (914) 693-8100 or Fax: (914)  693-0402, or visit our home page at http://www.oceanalaw.com/semin ar/mltoc.htm.  

    --30--cf/ny*

    CONTACT:  Oceana Publications Inc. 
              Karen Vangor, 914/693-8100
              Fax: 914/693-0402

    KEYWORD:  NEW YORK 
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD:  PUBLISHING

Copyright 1997 Business Wire. All rights reserved.

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Subject:  Ecstasy_03Apr97_Orlando Sees Increase in ? Raves'.
Status: O

			Orlando Sees Increase in `Raves'

APO  4/3/97 7:28 PM   


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By MIKE SCHNEIDER
 Associated Press Writer
   ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- This family friendly tourist city has become a mecca for a more hedonistic group of fun seekers -- young people looking for all-night dance parties where illicit drug use is common.
   Orlando, home of Disney World, is seeing an increase in "raves," thanks to a growing work force of young people who get off late and want some place to party.
   City officials believe things are getting out of hand and have formed a task force to explore ways to keep the party going without the use of LSD, Ecstasy and methamphetamines.
   "Overdoses have become a problem," said Orlando police Capt. Sal Lomonaco, a member of the mayor's Rave Review Task Force.
   Raves drew national attention when dozens of young people were sickened on New Year's Eve after consuming an herbal drink at an all-night party in Los Angeles. The maker of the drink stopped producing the concoction after a warning from federal officials.
   The rave task force in Orlando was to meet for the first time today. Among the suggestions to tame the parties: police-sponsored raves or all-night dances held by churches.
   The state is considering a crackdown, too
   Lawmakers in Tallahassee, the state capital, are considering a bill that would prohibit nightclubs and bars from staying open past last call at 2 a.m. Violators could face a misdemeanor charge and lose their liquor license.
   The bill is modeled after an ordinance passed by Tampa last year. The Orlando City Council has endorsed the idea.
   Club owners -- even those who don't hold raves -- are vehemently opposed.
   "A big part of the a dance club attraction is how late we stay open," said John Gardner, owner of Barberella, a downtown club. "Staying open allows our customers extra time to sober up on our dance floor."
   Orlando nightclubs began holding raves about two years ago. Before that, the parties had been held secretly for years at warehouses or open fields.
   "It's dance, dance, dance," said Michael Torres, 28, a graphic designer who has been to several Orlando raves. "The music and the people are ready to explode."
   Pulsating synthesized music, elaborate lighting and drugs are all part of the scene. Most of the drug activity is done secretly out of fear of undercover cops and security guards.
   Compared with New York and New Jersey, where rave-goers sometimes openly use heroin, the drug usage at Orlando raves is much tamer, Torres said. Ravers in Orlando frequently use LSD, animal tranquilizers, marijuana, Rohypnol and Ecstasy.
   Orlando police have conducted undercover operations at the clubs, making 26 arrests four months ago. But catching people buying and selling drugs is difficult, Lomonaco said.
   "It's done carefully and secretly," he said.
   Club owners said they don't tolerate drug use and have worked with police to combat it.
   However, there is only so much that can be done, said Jon Marsa, owner of the Club of Firestone in downtown.
   "Any nightclub owner on this planet that tells you drugs is absent from his club is lying," he said.
   
   

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Subject:  ML_LA_04Apr97_Swiss See Drug Links To Salinas, $84M In Frozen Account.
Status: O

	 Swiss See Drug Links To Salinas, $84M In Frozen Account.
DJ   4/4/97 7:07 AM   


   By Joel Millman and Dianne Solis
   Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal
  MEXICO CITY -- Swiss law enforcement officials said they are firming up evidence that some of the $84 million frozen in Raul Salinas de Gortari's Swiss bank accounts comes from drug traffickers.
  A team headed by Swiss Attorney General Carla del Ponte is scheduled to conclude a week of interviews here today with potential witnesses in the case. Raul Salinas, a brother of former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, is in prison here facing trial on corruption and murder charges, which he has denied.
  The Miami Herald reported yesterday that Ms. del Ponte, in a letter to Mexican Attorney General Jorge Madrazo last month, wrote that the Swiss have obtained evidence that Raul Salinas "received enormous sums of money for his help in connection with drug trafficking." The letter cites testimony from an unnamed Mexican narcotics trafficker who claimed to have worked for Raul Salinas and for convicted drug kingpin Juan Garcia Abrego. The trafficker also said he made a large payment to Carlos Cabal Peniche, a fugitive Mexican financier who is facing bank-fraud charges in Mexico. Mr. Cabal has denied drug links.
  People familiar with the investigation confirmed that the assertions were contained in the Swiss letter.
  Still, some Mexican officials said they doubt the Swiss government's case is very strong. The Swiss, they note, may be biased because they will be able to keep the money if they prove it comes from drugs. The purported witnesses, says one Mexican police official, "are reading from a script made in Hollywood."
  The Swiss investigation also holds great importance in the U.S. A federal grand jury is investigating whether Citibank broke U.S. money-laundering laws by helping Raul Salinas move his money abroad. Citibank has denied wrongdoing. Carlos Salinas hasn't been accused of wrongdoing.
  It isn't clear how much progress the Swiss have made during their visit here. Raul Salinas declined to respond to nearly two dozen questions, according to one of his attorneys. He repeated his assertion that his money came from legitimate businesses and from rich Mexican friends who wanted him to form an investment fund.
  One such friend is Carlos Peralta, heir to a manufacturing fortune who declared he gave nearly $50 million to Mr. Salinas to invest in undisclosed business interests.
  This week, a lawyer for Mr. Peralta announced he would make a formal petition to unfreeze his client's cash and that he will present documents proving that at least this portion of Mr. Salinas's accounts didn't come from illicit activities. "We are going to ask that the Swiss find no link to drugs and release the funds," the attorney said.
  During their visit here the Swiss also have sought to interview a who's who list of convicted drug traffickers, including Hector Palma, Joaquin Guzman and Francisco Arellano. It wasn't clear whether they obtained the interviews, although they did speak with Oscar Malherbe, an alleged lieutenant in Mr. Garcia Abrego's former cartel.
  ---
  Jose de Cordoba contributed to this article.
  (END) DOW JONES NEWS 04-04-97
   0 07 AM

Copyright 1997 Dow Jones & Co., Inc.  All rights reserved.

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Subject:  LA_04Apr97 USA: DEMOCRATS ASK CUBAN DRUG SMUGGLER FOR MONEY - TIMES. 06:25 GMT 
Status: O

04Apr97 USA: DEMOCRATS ASK CUBAN DRUG SMUGGLER FOR MONEY - TIMES. 06:25 GMT 
NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuter) - Congressional investigators have learned a prominent Democratic fund-raiser sought campaign donations from drug smuggler Jorge Cabrera in Cuba, the New York Times reported on Friday.
The fund-raiser, identified as Vivian Mannerud, a Cuban-American businesswoman from Miami, told Cabrera at a meeting in a Havana hotel he would be invited to a dinner honouring Vice President Al Gore in exchange for a contribution, the paper said, citing investigators.
The meeting took place in November 1995, the Times reported.
When Cabrera returned to the United States, he wrote a check for $20,000 to the Democratic National Committee from an account which included cocaine-smuggling proceeds, the paper said, citing investigators who wished to remain anonymous.
Within two weeks of the contribution, Cabrera met Gore at a dinner in Miami, the paper said. He also attended a Christmas reception at the White House hosted by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the paper said.
Cabrera, who is in prison in Miami for drug-smuggling, had two felony convictions from the 1980s, the paper said.
The White House said it had returned Cabrera's donation in October, according to the Times.
Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Amy Weiss Tobe was quoted by the Times as saying: "Once we found out about Mr. Cabrera's past, we immediately returned the money, and we feel we have put this behind us."  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


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Subject:  OLA_LA_EU_Press_04Apr97 EU:  EU/LATIN AMERICA - RIO GROUP.
Status: O

04Apr97 EU:  EU/LATIN AMERICA - RIO GROUP.
SEVENTH RIO GROUP/EU MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE TO BE HELD NEXT MONDAY AND TUESDAY IN NOORDWIJK - MEETINGS WITH MEXICO, MERCOSUR, CHILE, ANDEAN PACT.
 
Brussels, 03/04/1997 (Agence Europe) - The seventh Rio Group/EU ministerial conference is to be held on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 April in Noordwijk (Netherlands). It will bring together twelve foreign ministers from Latin America and the fifteen European foreign ministers, under the presidency of Dutch Minister Hans van Mierlo and the minister for Paraguay, Ruven Melgarejo Lanzoni. The European Commission will be represented by its vice-president Manuel Marin.
The main themes of discussion, to be reflected in the final declaration, are:
1) Political developments in Europe and in the eastern hemisphere;
2) Sustainable development in its political, economic, social and environmental aspects. The Dutch Council Presidency attributes special importance to this point.
3) Economic and commercial relations in both regions. Trade barriers, the use of the generalised system of preferences challenged by certain countries of the Rio Group (mainly Brazil and Argentina which consider it discriminatory), relations in the context of the WTO, etc., will be discussed in this context.
4) The fight against terrorism, organised crime and drugs trafficking, in the light of "shared responsibility" between producer and consumer countries, as adopted at the last Rio Conference.
One specific and particularly significant point is not on this traditional agenda of EU/Rio Group meetings: the idea of creating a summit between the European Union and Latin America defended by France and Spain. Launched in 1990, the Rio Conference each year brings together the European ministers of the Rio Group, which was formed in 1986 by all the South American countries of the Association for Latin American Integration ("Aladi"). This political dialogue is the widest discussion forum between the European Union and Latin America. Representatives of the European Parliament (Mrs Miranda de Lage), the European Investment Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank are also expected to be present.
Several major bilateral meetings are organised on the fringe of the conference between the EU and:
- the four Mercosur countries (common market of the South American cone: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay) that the Fifteen will meet on Monday to update on the implementation of the cooperation framework agreement signed in December 1995. Since this date, both parties have set up the joint committee managing the agreement, the commercial sub-committee as well as its working groups on norms, services and commercial disciplines, responsible for preparing the ground for future liberalisation of trade. The recent remarks by French Minister Herve de Charette calling on the EU to "pause" in negotiations of the free trade area could give rise to questions from Mercosur ministers to whom the EU promised it would envisage liberalising trade after the end of the century. The two parties could discuss the possibility of negotiating a cooperation agreement on the control of the trade in chemical precursors used to manufacture drugs.
- the five Andean Pact countries. On Tuesday morning the Fifteen will meet the ministers from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia for an exchange of views on: the regional integration process and political developments in the Andean region; the functioning of the cooperation agreement signed in 1993, as well as that of the agreement on the control of drug precursors signed in November 1995 and of the system of generalised preferences (which mainly grants large tariff preferences to the Andean Pact countries in order to promote the growing of crops to replace the growing of drugs).
- Mexico. The European Troika headed by Hans van Mierlo will update on Monday with the Mexican foreign minister, Jose Angel Gurria, on the state of progress of negotiations for a new cooperation agreement providing for the liberalisation of trade. The Europeans informally presented a negotiating line to the Mexican ambassador in Brussels (see EUROPE of 28 March, p.7), who judged this strategy of interest but incomplete. The negotiation formula must be examined next week by the Permanent Representatives of Member States in Brussels before being submitted to the EU Council at the end of April. In this perspective, the meeting in Noordwijk could make it possible to clarify the intentions of the negotiating line which is, to say the least, complex as defined by the Fifteen at technical level.
- Chile. On Monday the troika will meet the Chilean foreign minister, Jose Miguel Insulza, to assess the first stages of implementation of the cooperation framework agreement signed in June 1996. The joint committee managing the agreement met for the first time in December 1996 and the trade sub-committee is expected to hold its first meeting on 11 and 12 June this year. Chile is expected to present the state of its relations with Mercosur, with which a free trade agreement entered into force in October 1996, and with the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA: United States, Canada, Mexico), with which negotiations for a free trade agreement are blocked, since the American Congress has refused to give the Clinton government the right to use the so-called "fast track" negotiation procedure. The commercial dispute on alcohol could also be discussed. During his official visit to Chile on Tuesday, the Commission vice-president, Sir Leon Brittan, increased pressure by declaring that the legislation prepare
d by the Chilean authorities in order to reduce tax discrimination regarding European alcohol imports does not live up to the expectations of the European Union, which envisages filing a complaint with the World Trade Organisation.
Not Available for Re-dissemination.
(c) Agence EUROPE, Brussels 1997. 
EUROPEAN UNION 
AGENCE EUROPE 4/4/97 


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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_Heroin_04Apr97 VIETNAM: TWO NETTED IN GROWING VIETNAM POLICE DRUGS SCANDAL. 08:15 GMT 
Status: O

04Apr97 VIETNAM: TWO NETTED IN GROWING VIETNAM POLICE DRUGS SCANDAL. 08:15 GMT 
HANOI, April 4 (Reuter) - Two more policemen have been arrested in connection with a widening drugs scandal involving members of the country's powerful security apparatus, local authorities in northwest Vietnam said on Friday.
An official in the mountainous Lai Chau province, which borders China and Laos, told Reuters the two men had used official cars last year to ferry five- and six-kg (11- and 13-pound) packages of heroin between the area and Hanoi.
They were caught in a joint operation in late March involving local security officers and police investigators from Hanoi, he said.
The arrests mark a further expansion of a scandal that surfaced last year when a convicted Laotian drugs trafficker broke down in front of a firing squad and begged for his life to be spared in return for information.
Since then some 30 people have been arrested, including senior police officials at Hanoi's Interior Ministry, border guards and others.
The case is expected to come to trial soon.
Vietnam's security apparatus may be the most powerful agency in the communist country, with many of its officers having received training in former Soviet-bloc countries prior to the collapse of East Europe's communist governments.
The government says it is concerned that Vietnam is being targeted by international drugs rings as a conduit and market for illegal narcotics from Laos and China.
Two Hong Kong men and a Canadian woman have been sentenced to death in recent weeks for trafficking heroin.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


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Subject:  OLA_LA_ML_04Apr97_PANAMA-POLITICS:  RELATIONS COOL WITH UNITED STATES.
Status: O

	  PANAMA-POLITICS:  RELATIONS COOL WITH UNITED STATES

OTC  4/4/97 3:11 AM   

PANAMA CITY, (Apr. 3) IPS - The government of Panama has protested  charges that Panama is deeply involved in laundering drug money,  and relations between the two countries remain distinctly chilly. 
   The dispute stems from a report by Robert Gelbart, U.S.  Under-Secretary of State, that despite Panama's certification as  a country collaborating in the war on drugs, it continued to  tolerate the laundering of narco-dollars. 
   Panama's ambassador to Washington, Eduardo Morgan, lodged a written  protest with the United States State Department, and labelled  Gelbart's report a "gross exaggeration." The protest, a copy of  which was also sent to Gelbart, declared that "if Gelbart's office  has evidence to substantiate this allegation, Panama would like to  see it." 
   In his report to Congress, Gelbart alleged that $10 billion is  laundered each year in Panama's free trade zone through Panamanian  banks and business dealing with drafts wired from Mexico. 
   Gelbart's report declared that "the local factors which facilitate  money laundering include secret banking, Colon's international free  zone, and inadequate control of monetary transactions and of  imports/exports passing through Panama." 
   Gelbart declared that during the 1994 presidential election  campaign here President Ernesto Perez Balladares received a  donation from Colombian narco-trafficker Jose Castrillon Henao that  was used to finance his campaign. 
   The official Panamanian protest emphasized that Gelbart's "two-  year-old allegations -- in spite of their improbability -- are both  worrisome and undeserved...and affect Panama's reputation." 
   Concerning Gelbart's allegation that Castrillon Henao donated funds  to Perez Balladares' presidential campaign, Morgan's letter  insisted that the episode had been taken "out of context." 
   After recalling that the donation was originally red-flagged by  Perez Balladares himself, the ambassador pointed out that following  "extensive investigation conducted by the Public Ministry, it has  been determined that no crime was committed." 
   In mid-1996, Perez Balladares admitted that Castrillon Henao, who  was arrested in April 1996 for drug trafficking, donated $54,000  to a fund managed by current second Vice-President Felipe Virzi.  The fund was used to finance the electoral campaign of the  governing Democratic Revolutionary Party (DRP). 
   However the Gelbart report, coupled with recent criticism by U.S.  Ambassador William Hughes over the alleged blockage of U.S.  participation in Panamanian public works bidding, has cooled all  dealings between Washington and Panama City. 
   Perez Balladares declined to attend the latest summit of U.S. and  Latin American leaders held in Costa Rica, and Panamanian Foreign  Minister Ricardo Alberto Arias was not among the group of Central  American Foreign Ministers who met today with U.S. Secretary of  State Madeleine Albright. 
   The chilly political climate has also stalled exchanges between  Panama and the United States on a proposed multilateral center to  combat narco-trafficking, presumably be built in the Canal Zone,  says Panamanian negotiator Jorge Ritter. 
    Copyright 1997

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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_03Apr97_UN: United Nations Narcotics Commission sets ....
Status: O

		UN: United Nations Narcotics Commission sets ...

OTC  4/3/97 11:27 PM  

 APR  3, 1997, M2 Communications - Representatives of 108 governments  have set a far-reaching agenda for an international meeting on the  global drug problem, to take place in June 1998 as a special session of  the General Assembly. 
   During a two-day preparatory session here last week, the Commission  on Narcotic Drugs, which was requested by the General Assembly to make  arrangements for the session, decided that the 1998 meeting would focus  on four major issues: the growing trend towards abuse of synthetic  stimulants, including "Ecstasy" and "Speed"; proposals for tighter  controls over the chemicals used in producing illicit drugs  (precursors); efforts to combat money laundering; and ways to promote  international cooperation in law enforcement and court proceedings. 
   At the special General Assembly session, governments are expected to  reaffirm their commitment to existing international drug control  treaties and to issue a declaration on agreed principles for reducing  demand for illicit drugs. The meeting will also discuss eradication of  illegal crops and alternative development. 
   In order to speed up the preparatory process, Member States have  agreed to consult informally in Vienna in July and October on money  laundering, judicial cooperation, precursors, stimulants and  alternative development, and to meet again in December to assess  progress made. 
   The Commission elected the following officers to administer  preparations for the special session: Chairman, Alvaro Mendonca e Moura  (Portugal); First Vice-Chairman, Alberto Scavarelli (Uruguay); Nozipho  Joyce Mxakato-Diseko (South Africa), Daniela Rozgonova (Slovak  Republic), and N.K. Singh (India), Vice-Chairmen. Mr. Singh will also  act as Rapporteur. 
   The Commission will hold a further preparatory session in Vienna in  February 1998. 
     M2 COMMUNICATIONS DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR INFORMATION PROVIDED  WITHIN M2 PRESSWIRE. DATA SUPPLIED BY NAMED PARTY/PARTIES.   
   -0- 
          (C)1994-97 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD 
    Copyright 1997

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Subject:  OLA_LA_04Apr97_CENTRAL AMERICA:  PANAMA MARS AIMS FOR REGIONAL ....
Status: O

	  CENTRAL AMERICA:  PANAMA MARS AIMS FOR REGIONAL ...

OTC  4/4/97 3:16 AM   

PANAMA CITY, (Apr. 2) IPS - Panama's refusal to attend the Central  American Summit on May 7 in San Jose, in which President Bill  Clinton will also take part, has frustrated aims to present a  unified image of the region in future relations with Washington. 
   After a meeting this week with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine  Albright in preparation for the Summit, spokespersons for the other  Central American governments said the absence of Panamanian  President Ernesto Perez Balladares would not help negotiations with  Washington. 
   Guatemalan Foreign Minister Eduardo Stein told the local press here  that the governments in the region would attempt to convince Perez  Balladares to participate in the Summit. 
   The president told a local TV station on the evening of April 1  that Panama's Council of Foreign Relations had recommended he  refrain from attending the Summit because Panama's agenda "is very  different" from that of the rest of Central America. 
   The Caribbean Basin Initiative that went into force in 1981 under  former President Ronald Reagan, on the basis of which the rest of  Central America is interested in negotiating trade preferences,  does not interest Panama, which has a service-based economy, said  Perez Balladares. 
   "We are interested in a bilateral relationship with the United  States, the execution of the canal treaties, and the creation of  a multilateral anti-drug center, which are different" than the  issues the other nations will tackle at the Summit, he added. 
   Central American ministers of the economy and foreign relations  are meeting here April 3 and 4 to discuss the social, political and  economic impact of regional integration, and the institutional  aspect. 
   The accords to come out of that meeting will be submitted to a  Central American Summit set for early May, prior to the San Jose  meeting, in the Panamanian capital. 
   Stein said that at the Summit with Clinton, the governments of  Central America would attempt to demonstrate strong regional unity. 
   Honduran Foreign Minister Delmer Panting said the other countries  were not interested in obstructing Panama's special economic and  political ties with the United States. He stressed that Panama's  absence at the Summit would scuttle aims to present Washington with  a harmonious image. 
   The daily El Universal wrote that Perez Balladares may be annoyed  at Clinton's refusal to attend a September canal congress convened  by Panama. 
   Relations between the two countries have been cool lately, with  messages of protest from the United States over the exclusion of  U.S. companies from public bidding processes in Panama, and an  official protest by Panama over a drugs report issued by  Washington. 
   According to that report, presented to the U.S. Congress by  Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters  Robert Gelbard, Mexican bankers launder some $10 billion a year in  Panama's international banking center and the Colon duty-free zone. 
   The report drew an official protest from the Panamanian Foreign  Ministry, and a demand that the State Department provide evidence  backing Gelbard's allegations. 
    Copyright 1997

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Subject:  Cannabis_03Apr97_Club cuts deals with pot growers.
Status: O

			Club cuts deals with pot growers

UPn  4/3/97 11:47 PM  


Copyright 1997 United Press International. All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of United Press International.
  
   SAN FRANCISCO, April 3 (UPI) -- San Francisco's Cannabis Cultivators Club has signed contracts with nearly 200 marijuana growers in northern California's so-called Emerald Triangle to produce high-quality pot for medicinal use.
   John Entwistle, legislative advocate for the club, says today (Thursday) that hundreds of pounds of pot are needed to provide for the nearly 4,000 members who have joined the club since it reopened in January.
   Entwistle says the club has contracted specialists in Mendocino and Humboldt counties who will not sell their marijuana to anyone else, in an effort to comply entirely with Proposition 215, a statewide measure approved by voters last November that legalized marijuana for medical purposes.
   "(Growers) are an industry coming out of the closet," Entwistle says. "They're small now, but the future of marijuana cultivation is large, so we're teaching them to focus on production rather than hiding. "
   The Emerald Triangle produces potent pot in operations that are heavily guarded and moved often. There have been several incidents of violence -- both between rival growers and the growers and the cops.
   Club officials believes the contracts give legal protection to growers because they have been assigned "caregiver rights" as outlined in the state measure, and recognized two months ago by a Superior Court judge.
   But state authorities, regional prosecutors and local law enforcement agencies say they are ready to crack down on the pot growers.
   Before the club was temporarily shut down last year by state Attorney General Dan Lungren, it was reportedly serving an estimated 12,000 pot smokers who had permission from their doctors to use marijuana to ease pain, curb nausea, increase appetite and treat glaucoma.
   The club reopened in January when a judge allowed it to dispense pot as long as it doesn't make a profit and provides marijuana for medical purposes only.
 ---
   Copyright 1997 by United Press International.
   All rights reserved.
   
   
 

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Subject:  Cocaine_Drug_Seizures_04Apr97_Alabama troopers find $23 million in cocaine NBC.
Status: O

		Alabama troopers find $23 million in cocaine NBC

RTw  4/4/97 12:21 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuter) - A cocaine haul valued at $23 million was found in a load of bananas at a routine truck inspection near Evergreen, Ala., NBC television reported on Friday.
     An estimated 1,100 pounds (1.1 short tons) of cocaine, Alabama's largest drug seizure ever, was discovered after traffic control officers were alerted by a drug-sniffing dog, NBC said.
     Narcotics officers were then called in. The driver of the vehicle, a semi-trailer which was carrying about 30,000 pounds (15 short tons) of bananas, had been detained but had not been charged early on Friday, NBC said.
     An Alabama State Police dispatcher in Evergreen was unable to provide additional details.
  REUTE

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Subject:  ML_Money Laundering Conference_May 6-7, 1997.
Status: O



About the Money Laundering Conference
May 6-7, 1997
Sonesta Beach Resort and Casino Curacao
Curacao, Netherlands Antilles


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Colleague,

This is a formal invitation to you to attend the upcoming 8th International Oceana Conference on Money Laundering, The Caribbean & Latin America, Cybercrime, Financial Crytography and International Financial Crimes on May 6-7, 1997 at the Sonesta Beach Resort and Casino Curacao, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. This conference sponsored by Oceana Publications, Inc. in cooperation with the Association of International Bankers of the Netherlands Antilles (IBNA), The Association of the Compliance Officers of the Netherlands Antilles (CONA), and the Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies, College of Law, University of Florida will provide global and regional coverage of Money Laundering and International Financial Crimes. 

Money laundering, asset forfeiture and freezes at both the national and international levels will be the issues for the legal and financial world for the rest of the decade and into the 2000s. If you are a Banker or an International Banker, an Investor or Counsel to Investors, Compliance Officer, a Law Enforcement Official, Accountant, Attorney, or a Securities Broker, this conference is critical to you as it is a unique opportunity to interact with a distinguished faculty of over 35 national and international decision-makers who are acknowledged experts with real and practical experience in the world of money laundering, asset forfeiture, white collar crime and international financial crimes. This conference is being brought to you by the Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies, University of Florida and by Oceana Publications, Inc. who have traditionally provided legal, banking, finance, business, government and law enforcement executives with cutting-edge seminars.

This two-day conference will feature substantive sessions of speakers, panel discussions and audience questions as follows:



*Global Money Laundering *Alternative Perceptions of the Caribbean Banking Industry *Comparative Evaluations of Bank Secrecy *Suspicious Transaction and Knowing Your Customer *Anti-Money Laundering Measures to Date and Experiences *International Financial Crimes Part 1: The Role of the Caribbean International Financial Crimes Part 2: Cybercrime, Latin America, Canada 


Attending this conference means an opportunity to develop a network of national and international contacts that would otherwise be very difficult to duplicate. You will meet leaders in the world of National and International Banking, U.S. Prosecutors and Defense Counsels, Criminal Defense Attorneys, Bank Auditors, Officials from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, FinCEN and the Federal Reserve System.

We have designed our conference so that you and other registrants will have full access to the distinguished speakers not only during the substantive sessions, but at the special functions and luncheons. We have also built into several of the panels dedicated time for questions and answers to allow an "open forum" format.

We have applied for CLE credits with the Florida State Bar Association, and our application is pending. If you desire CLE credits from any other state, please contact Robert Munro at (352) 392-0417. We have also applied for credits with the Bank Administration Institute, the English Law Society, and the National Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Please inform us prior to the conference as to your interest in CLE or CPE Credits.

We hope that you will join us for a fascinating examination of these issues and opportunities.

Sincerely,



  
Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr.                        Robert J. Munro  
Professor of Law                                Program Coordinator  
Director of the Centre for                      Co-Director of the Centre for   
International Financial Crimes Studies          International Financial Crimes Studies 
                                                Phone: 352-392-0417 
                                                Fax: 352-392-8727  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Curacao Conference Program

Money Laundering, The Caribbean & Latin America,
Cybercrime, Financial Cryptography, and
International Financial Crimes

May 6-7, 1997
Sonesta Beach Resort and Casino Curacao
Curacao Netherlands Antilles

in cooperation with
The Association of International Bankers
Netherlands Antilles (IBNA)
and
The Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies
College of Law, University of Florida 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This conference has been designed so that each speaker panel consists of the world's top decision-makers who have both a real and practical experience in their topic areas. A question and answer period will be a part of each panel. Registrants may submit questions in advance of the conference to ensure specific interests are addressed. Please address questions to Dr. Robert J. Munro, Co-Director of the Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies at the College of Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 (Fax: 352-392-8727) or to John Downey, Vice President and Director, International Seminars Division, Oceana Publications, Inc. (Fax: 914-693-0402). All questions will be answered with respect to your anonymity: confidentiality is guaranteed. 

Registrants requiring English-Spanish translation services should note this on the registration form which appears on a separate sheet in this program.

NOTE: PLEASE REGISTER EARLY AS SEATING IS LIMITED. 

Program Schedule and Faculty

Monday, May 5, 1997

Arrive Sonesta Beach Resort & Casino Curacao.
Check-in 15.00.
Pre-Conference Registration and Openning Reception 18.00-20.00.

The Caribbean Basin is not only Offshore Financial Centers! Curacao and The Sonesta Beach Resort offer an ideal setting to enjoy with friends, spouses and family. We encourage you to consider bringing them along. (Click here for more information on Curacao and The Sonesta)

Tuesday, May 6, 1997

07.30-08.00

Registration and Continental Breakfast

08.00-08.15 

Welcoming Remarks

Professor Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr., Conference Chairman, S.T. Dell Research Scholar, Professor of Law & Director of the Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies, College of Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Co-author of Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture and International Financial Crimes, three volumes, Oceana Publications, Inc., 1993-Current

Mr. Willem Wagner, Chairman, Association of International Bankers in the Netherlands Antilles (IBNA); General Manager, Rabobank, Curacao, N.V.

His Excellency Jaime Saleh, Governor General, Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles.

08.15-09.15

Global Money Laundering:

Panel Chairman: Dr. Robert J. Munro, Conference Co-Chairman and Co-Director of the Centre for Financial Crimes Studies, College of Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida; Director of Research (North America), CIDOEC, Jesus College, Cambridge University, England; Co-author of Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture & International Financial Crimes, three volumes, Oceana Publications, Inc., 1993-Current.

*Global Perspectives: Dr. Barry A.K. Rider, Moderator, Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London; Fellow in Law of Jesus College, University of Cambridge; Executive Director of CIDOEC and Barrister at Law *Global Perspectives: Professor Ronald K. Noble, Professor of Law, New York University, New York, NY; Former Undersecretary for Enforcement, U.S. Treasury, Washington, DC; Former President, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) *United States Perspective: Professor Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr., Conference Chairman, S.T. Dell Research Scholar, Professor of Law & Director of the Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies, College of Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL *Caribbean Perspective: Dr. Trevor Carmichael, Barrister, Chancery Chambers, Bridgetown, Barbados 

Alternative Perceptions of the Caribbean Banking Industry:

Panel Chairman: Professor Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr.

09.15-09.45

The U.S. Government's Perceptions

Panelists:

Mr. Wilmer "Buddy" Parker, Assistant U.S. Attorney & Chief, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force -- Southeast Region, Atlanta, GA

Mr. Thomas V. Cash, Managing Director, Kroll Associates, Miami, FL; Former Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Agency, Miami, FL.

09.45-10.00

Coffee/Tea Break

10.00-10.30

The European Governments' Perceptions

Panelists:

Dr. Barry A.K. Rider, Moderator, Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London; Fellow in Law of Jesus College, University of Cambridge; Executive Director of CIDOEC and Barrister at Law 

Professor Ronald K. Noble, Professor of Law, New York University, New York, NY; Former Undersecretary for Enforcement, U.S. Treasury, Washington, DC; Former President, Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

10.30-11.00

The Perceptions of an U.S. Legal Advisor

Panelist:

Mr. Charles S. Saphos, Formerly General Counsel, National Central Bureau-INTERPOL, U.S. Justice Department, Washington, DC; Currently Attorney at Law, Fila & Saphos, Columbia, MD 

11.00-11.30

The Perceptions of European Bankers and Attorneys

Panelists:

Mr. Andreas Hubschmid, First Secretary, Swiss Bankers Association, Basel, Switzerland

Mr. H.A.C. Smid, Public Prosecutor, Financial Economic Crime, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Mr. L.M. Overmars, Managing Director, Dutch Bankers' Association, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

11.30-12.30

Offshore Financial Centers, 
The Caribbean and The Far East:
The Relocation of Holding/Financial Companies from
Hong Kong & Taiwan to the Caribbean

*Legal establishment of holding and finance companies *Limited regulatory intervention *Changing Status: Hong Kong and Taiwan 

Panelists:

Dr. Barry A.K. Rider, Moderator, Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London; Fellow in Law of Jesus College, University of Cambridge; Executive Director of CIDOEC and Barrister at Law

Dr. Trevor Carmichael, Barrister, Chancery Chambers, Bridgetown, Barbados

Dr. C.M.C. Montes, Executive Director, Financial Economic Affairs, Central Bank, Curacao, N.A.

Mr. L.M. Overmars, Managing Director, Dutch Bankers' Association, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

12.30-13.30

Luncheon

13.30-14.15

Keynote Address

Introduction: Professor Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr.

Keynote Speaker: Mr. Fernando Capablanca, President and CEO, Banco Exterior de Los Andes Y de Espana; Former President, Florida International Bankers Association, Miami, Florida.

Comparative Evaluations of Bank Secrecy:

Panel Chairman: Dr. Robert J. Munro

14.15-14.45

The Cayman Islands

Panelist:

Mr. Ian Paget-Brown, Attorney, Cayman Islands

14.45-15.15

Switzerland

Panelist:

Mr. Andreas Hubschmid, First Secretary, Swiss Bankers Association, Basel, Switzerland

15.15-15.30

Coffee/Tea Break

15.30-16.00

The United States Federal Reserve System

Panelists:

Mr. Richard A. Small, Special Counsel, Division of Banking, Supervision and Regulation, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC

Ms. Suzanna J. Costello, Assistant Vice President, International Division, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia

16.00-16.30

U.S. and Global Bankers

Panelists:

Ms. Susan Galli, Vice President, Office of Legal Affairs, Citibank, N.A., New York, NY

Mr. Peter R. Fowler, President, Riggs International Banking Corporation, Miami, FL

Suspicious Transaction and Knowing Your Customer:

Panel Chairman: Professor Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr.

16.30-17.30

Interactive Panel
For Bankers and Money Transmitters:
Handling of Suspicious Money Laundering Transactions

*Identification of Suspicious Activity
*Regulatory Reporting Requirements
*A Banker's Perspectives on Defining, Identifying, and Reporting of
*Suspicious Transactions
*Suspicious Activity Reporting Process for Financial Institutions

Panelists:

Ms. Susan Galli, Vice President, Office of Legal Affairs, Citibank, N.A., New York, NY

Ms. Suzanna J. Costello, Assistant Vice President, International Division, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia

Mr. Kirke W. Munroe, Attorney at Law, of Counsel, Richey & Diaz, Miami, FL; Attorney at Law, Windsor, Canada

Mr. Dan Soto, Senior Special Examiner, Division of Banking, Supervision and Regulation, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC

Wednesday, May 7, 1997

07.30-08.00

Continental Breakfast

08.00-08.15 

Welcoming Remarks

Mr. Willem Wagner, Chairman, Association of International Bankers in the Netherlands Antilles (IBNA); General Manager, Rabobank, Curaco, N.V.

Professor Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr., Conference Chairman, S.T. Dell Research Scholar, Professor of Law & Director of the Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies, College of Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Co-author of Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture and International Financial Crimes, three volumes, Oceana Publications, Inc., 1993-Current

Anti-Money Laundering Measures to Date and Experiences:

Panel Chairman: Dr. Robert J. Munro

08.15-09.15

Caribbean Financial Task Force (CFATF)

Panelists:

Mr. Frank Correa, Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, Port of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies

Professor Ronald K. Noble, Professor of Law, New York University, New York, NY; Former Undersecretary for Enforcement, U.S. Treasury, Washington, DC; Former President, Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

09.15-09.45

The Cayman Islands

Panelist:

Mr. Ian Paget-Brown, Attorney, Cayman Islands

09.45-10.00

Coffee/Tea Break

10.00-10.30

The Netherlands Antilles

Panelists:

Dr. C.M.C. Montes, Executive Director, Financial Economic Affairs, Central Bank, Curacao, N.A.

Mr. Willem Wagner, Chairman, Association of International Bankers in the Netherlands Antilles (IBNA); General Manager, Rabobank, Curacao, N.V.

Mr. L.M. Overmars, Managing Director, Dutch Bankers' Association, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

10.30-11.00

The Bahamas and Barbados

Panelists:

Dr. Peter D. Maynard, Peter D. Maynard & Co., Bahamas; former Legal Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas

Dr. Trevor Carmichael, Barrister, Chancery Chambers, Bridgetown, Barbados

Fraudulent Activities in International Banking and Trade:

Panel Chairman: Professor Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr.

11.00-12.00

Fraudulent Activities in International Banking and Trade

Panelists:

Mr. Ross M. Gaffney, Supervisory Special Agent, FBI, Washington, DC

Mr. Timothy Wagner, U.S. Customs, Office of Financial Investigations, U.S. Customs, Miami, FL

Mr. Gary D. Malfeld, Attorney at Law, Coral Gables, FL

12.00-13.00

Luncheon

13.30-14.00

Keynote Address

Introduction: Professor Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Barry A.K. Rider, Moderator, Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London; Fellow in Law of Jesus College, University of Cambridge; Executive Director of CIDOEC and Barrister at Law

International Financial Crimes Part 1: 
The Role of the Caribbean:

Panel Chairman: Professor Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr.

14.00:14.30

Caribbean Investigations

Panelists:

Mr. Lawrence S. Plave, Financial Investigator & Consultant, Plave, Goldberg & Manten, Inc. Coconut Grove, FL

Mr. Charles S. Saphos, Formerly General Counsel, National Central Bureau-INTERPOL, U.S. Justice Department, Washington, DC; Currently Attorney at Law, Fila & Saphos, Columbia, MD

Mr. Thomas V. Cash, Managing Director, Kroll Associates, Miami, FL; Former Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Agency, Miami, FL.

14.30-14.45

Coffee/Tea Break

14.45-15.15

Patterns of Payments:
How to Recognize Abuses and Trends; How Offshore Businesses can be at Risk; Scrutinizing Transactions; Account Opening Due Diligence; Transaction Profiles

Panelists:

Mr. Richard A. Small, Special Counsel, Division of Banking, Supervision and Regulation, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC

Ms. Suzanna J. Costello, Assistant Vice President, International Division, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia

Mr. Dan Soto, Senior Special Examiner, Division of Banking, Supervision and Regulation, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC

Dr. C.M.C. Montes, Executive Director, Financial Economic Affairs, Central Bank, Curacao, N.A.

International Financial Crimes Part 2:
Cybercrime and International Financial Crimes -- Regional Considerations

Panel Chairman: Dr. Robert J. Munro

15.15.15.45

Cybercrime, Banking and Computer Forensics

Panelists:

Mr. Thomas V. Cash, Managing Director, Kroll Associates, Miami, FL; Former Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Agency, Miami, FL.

Mr. Alan Brill, Managing Director, Kroll Associates, New York, NY; Mr. Brill is an international authority on the information superhighway and computer crimes; Manager of Kroll's Global Information Security and High-Technology Investigations Group.

15.45-16.15

Latin American Perspectives:
Money Laundering and International Financial Crimes

Panelists:

Mr. Michael B. Sullivan, Legal Counsel, Secretariat for Legal Affairs, Organization of American States, Washington, DC

Mr. Fernando Capablanca, President and CEO, Banco Exterior de Los Andes Y de Espana; Former President, Florida International Bankers Association, Miami, Florida.

Mr. Gary D. Malfeld, Attorney at Law, Coral Gables, FL

16.15-16.30

Canadian Perspectives:
Money Laundering and International Financial Crimes

Panelist:

Mr. Kirke W. Munroe, Attorney at Law, of Counsel, Richey & Diaz, Miami, FL; Attorney at Law, Windsor, Canada

16.30-17.00

Concluding Remarks

Mr. Willem Wagner, Chairman, Association of International Bankers in the Netherlands Antilles (IBNA); General Manager, Rabobank, Curacao, N.V.

Professor Fletcher N. Baldwin, Jr., Conference Chairman, S.T. Dell Research Scholar, Professor of Law & Director of the Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies, College of Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Co-author of Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture and International Financial Crimes, three volumes, Oceana Publications, Inc., 1993-Current

------------------------------------------------------------------------


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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_Drug_Seizures_04Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  POLICE HAIL MASSIVE DRUG SWOOP.
Status: O

04Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  POLICE HAIL MASSIVE DRUG SWOOP.
By JASON KOUTSOUKIS.
One thousand people, including 15 high-profile traffickers, had been arrested after one of the state's biggest drug operations, police said yesterday.
Operation COMO focused on areas surrounding Springvale, Footscray and parts of the central business district over six months. Heroin worth millions of dollars was seized.
Police now fear that the shortage of heroin in those areas will force traffickers to establish markets elsewhere.
But Commander Rod Lambert, who heads the state's crime squads, said the momentum achieved under Operation COMO would continue. "We're now looking at Box Hill, which is becoming a bit of a problem, and so is Geelong," he said.
Mr Lambert said laboratory analysis showed that the purity of street-level heroin had dropped dramatically during the past six months and was a strong indication of the operation's success.
He said the most crucial result of the operation was the arrest of 15 traffickers close to the underworld bosses who controlled Melbourne's heroin trade.
"They're probably sitting just underneath the so-called Mr Bigs ... and we're very pleased to have removed them from the scene.
"We don't know how many people are involved in drug dealing at the higher level. All we can say is that the removal of these people has reduced the amount of drugs and that is gauged by the quality of drugs on the street."
Mr Lambert acknowledged that most of the offenders were of Asian origin, but said police were not concentrating unfairly on Asians.
"We're not suggesting it's ethnically based, but certainly the Asian community have been featuring fairly highly, as you would imagine, because Footscray and Springvale are predominantly Asian areas," he said.
Mr Lambert said police were working closely with the Australian Federal Police to try to crack the importation rings, but he said New South Wales was the main source of the drug.
DRUG CHARGES
* 15 for trafficking and conspiracy to import a drug of dependence.
* 173 for trafficking.
* 221 for possession.
* 180 for theft.
* 513 for other offences related to trafficking. 
AGE (MELBOURNE) 4/4/97 P4 


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Message-Id:  <"/GUID:B470D89801ACD0118BF800A024A41787*"@MHS>
Subject:  ML_UK_Press_04Apr97 UK:  HOW CROOK OF THE CENTURY WAS CAUGHT.
Status: O

04Apr97 UK:  HOW CROOK OF THE CENTURY WAS CAUGHT.
By Dan Atkinson.
NUMBER 12, one of the smaller Old Bailey courtrooms, has, since September, housed a single defendant, a sober-suited Pakistani in his early sixties facing charges of false accounting. The atmosphere has been low-key and purposeful; the casual observer may have assumed Abbas Gokal to be a prosperous accountant from the Asian heartlands of Middlesex, someone accused of a technical breach of the law.
But appearances are deceptive. Gokal is the biggest single fraudster to stand trial anywhere on Earth. At $1.2bn (L750m), his swindles dwarf those of Robert Maxwell, Bernie Cornfeld or any of the other giants of fraud. Three years before 2000 we have our "crook of the century", and his name is Abbas Kassimali Gokal. Thief, forger, smuggler of nuclear-weapon components, bedmate of the cocaine barons' favourite bank ... the rap sheet exhausts several typewriter ribbons.
One of three brothers, the former Karachi shipping tycoon rode the commodity boom of the early 1970s, cuddled up to Pakistan's strongman General Zia and hosted big parties for the great and the good at international hot-air conventions such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Respected as one of the new wave of Third World moguls, able to turn his ethnic background and religion to good account in dealing with Asian and African "commodity nationalists", Gokal appeared to be the first merchant prince to emerge from a Pakistan recovering from the 1971 war with India and consequent loss of Bangladesh. But all the time he was, as the other half of the $13bn theft and plunder machine called Bank of Credit and Commerce International, a key player in history's biggest fraud.
BCCI and Gokal's Gulf transport group were two sides of the same counterfeit coin. Neither had any money of its own, indeed both were insolvent many times over. But in the hall of mirrors that is banking, Gulf was just what BCCI needed. These two bankrupt shells maintained each other's illusion of solvency.
It worked like this: BCCI was able to show all its dud loans to Gulf front companies as solid assets, while Gulf was fraudulently kept afloat by the injection of cash, some real, some illusory, from BCCI. And, according to Peter Truell and Larry Gurwin in their book BCCI (Bloomsbury; 1992), the illusion may have had an even deeper layer. "Some of the seed capital [for BCCI] may have come from - or via - the Gokals." Not only were the Gokals the biggest customers, not only did they and BCCI prop each other up, but the Gokals may have been BCCI shareholders all along.
Such elegantly symmetrical documentary fraudulence can take you only so far, however, on your road to the world's biggest swindle; to go that extra mile you need to steal - big.
Fortunately, BCCI had a large, juicy 13lb turkey ready for the plucking in the shape of its key shareholder, the hugely rich Sheikh of Abu Dhabi. Half a billion of his dollars were stolen to help keep Gulf's ships afloat from the late 1970s to early 1990s.
But to what end? SFO investigators, while conceding BCCI's founder Agha Hasan Abedi became entranced by his own mystical mumbo-jumbo, insist Gulf was always a commercial proposition. But "commercial" in the Pakistani context has its own meaning: Abbas's brother Mustapha (along with Abedi) was an adviser to General Zia. He is also the only British subject to have served in a Pakistani government (as minister of shipping).
Beyond that, Gulf was a sanctions-buster par excellence. Truell and Gurwin write: "Mustapha Gokal ... was a financial adviser to the Ayatollah Khomeini, according to a former BCCI official. The Gokals' companies were among the most important shippers and suppliers to Iran during its war with Iraq, supplying most non-military goods ... but also war materiel and military clothing. A former manager of the Gokals' Karachi office said: 'We did everything for Iran. Everything' ".
More serious still was Gulf's role in the procurement of nuclear technology. In 1991, the Guardian told the world BCCI had bankrolled a secret three-nation consortium (Libya, Pakistan and Argentina) seeking to assemble atomic weapons. What the Guardian couldn't say, because of libel danger, was that Gulf was suspected of providing the transport.
It was this suspicion that helped prompt the US authorities to propose a deal with Gokal in July 1994. He would leave the sanctuary of Karachi, fly to New York and name any US subjects involved in nuclear wrongdoing; in return, not only would charges be dropped in the US but, the suggestion was, Cousin Brit would also be elbowed into grudging acceptance that Gokal made a better witness than defendant.
The cosmopolitan Gokal spied his ticket from Karachi back to the international business circuit and acceptance. Five days before Gokal's scheduled Karachi-New York flight, the Manhattan district attorney's office telephoned Detective Sergeant Douglas Reeman at the SFO. Gokal was winging in; any questions the British would like put to him? Det Sgt Reeman gave a hurried "No", got off the telephone and alerted his seniors. By Friday, a warrant had been issued.
Gokal's flight had to refuel at Frankfurt, the same airport that was to prove the undoing of rogue trader Nick Leeson in the following year. The Germans agreed to evacuate the aircraft "for security reasons"; Gokal, presumably smelling a rat, stayed on board with his wife. He was found and arrested.
Too late, the Manhattan DA had discovered Britain - still smarting from the spectacular fall-out from BCCI's Fortress of Fraud, 100 Leadenhall Street - was in no mood to play US geo-politics with the crook of the century.
Det Sgt Reeman was to prove Gokal's nemesis; assistant SFO director Chris Dickson described him as "one of the best police officers I've come across", with a "huge capacity for work and for ... inquiry". At one point, Det Sgt Reeman was working a day watch with his home force, the City of London Police, and repairing to SFO HQ in Elm Street for a night on the Gokal case.
This industriousness - combined with what investigators knew already from the BCCI side of the crooked equation - helped the SFO piece together the extraordinary confidence trick whereby two penniless behemoths fooled, and plundered, the world for more than 10 years.
As the Crown argument had it, Gokal/Gulf had enjoyed a dishonest relationship with BCCI dating back to the 1970s: "Within that dishonest relationship, AKG [Gokal] and the Gulf Group received secretly millions upon millions of dollars from BCCI from at least the mid-1980s. The exact sum may never be known."
Further: "As part of the relationship, he and others agreed to falsify documents on a vast scale."
As Truell and Gurwin suggest: "Abedi was extremely impressed by the Gokals. They were cosmopolitan men, thoroughly experienced in western ways, who carried themselves with style. Abbas Gokal was something of a dandy. He sported a goatee and usually had a square silk handkerchief poking out of the breast pocket of his double-breasted suit from London's Savile Row. The Gokals' offices were plushly appointed. In Geneva, for example, their base was a plush building on the Cours de Rive, with expensive Italian marble even on the back stairs."
Picking up the bill for all this were, of course, the victims of BCCI-Gulf. The Crown stated that "from 1985 through to 1992 at a time when ... [Gokal] knew perfectly well that the Gulf Group, we allege, was insolvent, he lived a lavish lifestyle around the world". He and his immediate families benefited from the frauds and "greed rather than any restraint marked AKG's lifestyle in the relevant years and he dishonestly used BCCI funds to live in the style he became accustomed to".
Loans - vast loans - were approved without documentation. This mattered little in the early 1970s, when Gulf rode a worldwide shipping boom, itself a by-product of the last heady surge of growth as the post-war trente annees de gloire drew to a close. It mattered rather more as world shipping hit the downturn of the late 1970s; "Instead of cutting his losses and turning off the spigot, Abedi continued lending to his friends. In so doing, he tied BCCI's fate ever more closely to that of the Gokals"(Truell and Gurwin).
As the Crown put it: "Each of their fortunes was linked to that of the other and ... if one slipped, both would fall." Needless to say, commitment on such a scale to a single borrower violated every principle of sound banking.
Multinational BCCI-Gulf was able to avoid exposure by ensuring no one bank regulator would see the whole picture. Even so, a few rays of light broke into the crazy house of BCCI, one of them a confidential report by the US bank regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in February 1978. At that time, BCCI's lending to Gulf amounted to three times its total capital and 30 times the accepted ratio.
Worse, $122.5m of the bank's $185m of BCCI loans were graded substandard by the OCC.
This aspect of the fraud - the keeping afloat of Gulf Group at all costs - formed Count One against Gokal, a false-accounting charge in that he had forged huge numbers of letters, guarantees and minutes of meetings to make possible the loans. Millions were secretly pumped into the group by BCCI; simultaneously, the bank was able to book vast, fictitious profits from the "interest" on the loans. Gulf gobbled cash; eventually a new source of funds was needed. The SFO said: "In order to satisfy Gulf's huge demands, BCCI had to find more money from its depositors and, when even more money was needed, from another source. This was ... the private funds of ... the Sheikh ... over whose funds ... BCCI had control and of which they stole in excess of $500m in relation to the Gulf Group alone."
Auditors, of course, are put on Earth precisely to spot such chicanery, one good reason why BCCI took care to have separate auditors for its two main arms, BCCI SA and BCC (Overseas), ensuring no one firm would have oversight of the bank's tangled affairs.
But that changed in 1987, after a wild spree in foreign-exchange, commodities and options markets left the bank "little more than an empty shell" (Truell and Gurwin). BCCI had gambled recklessly on these markets, and looted genuine deposits to cover colossal losses.
Abbas Gokal had joined in the fun: "A veteran of the Chicago futures business traded frequently with the Gokals. He remembered the sang-froid with which Abbas Gokal would receive news of massive losses ... Abbas 'loved the game, he loved currencies ... [he] was addicted to it'." (Truell and Gurwin).
Bank regulators in Britain and Europe heard rumours of huge losses; the affair allowed them to tighten their grip on BCCI. Henceforth, the whole bank would be audited by a single firm of accountants, Price Waterhouse.
This development led directly to the allegations in Count Two against Gokal: "the setting up of a huge false financial structure in 1987". Whereas Count One alleged fraud designed to keep Gulf in business, Count Two alleged a "mirror" fraud to keep BCCI from going under. At all costs, the truth had to be hidden from Price Waterhouse; auditors had to believe the loan book was spread prudently among many different borrowers.
Offshore companies (Liberia, Panama, the Caribbean), were provided with directors from among the clerks and typists of Gulf's Geneva offices. "These employees were told to sign any false documents which were necessary". Bank accounts in New York were used, together with the sham offshore companies and regular Gulf companies, "to make it look as if real commercial activity was taking place when, in reality, millions of dollars were going round in a circle every day" according to a route planned by Gokal and the other conspirators.
By the late 1980s, however, BCCI had made a fatal mistake. Hungry for yet more deposits to fill its yawning black holes, the bank had turned to servicing the needs of the drug barons. In so doing, it had aroused US anti-narcotics crusaders; a conviction in 1990 for drug-money laundering in Florida began the year-long slide to the shutdown of July 1991.
Today, both Gulf and BCCI lie level with the sands of Abu Dhabi; nothing remains of these vast twin engines of fraud.
To an orthodox economist, their fall marks payback for the long, post-war inflation and the funny-money years. To the Muslims from whom they stole so much, it is perhaps a fitting judgment on usurers and thieves. To conspiracy theorists, Gulf-BCCI was a tool of US intelligence that became a redundant embarrassment with the end of the cold war. To the dwindling band of Abedi supporters, western strong-arm tactics destroyed the first global "Third World bank".
As to which of these interpretations is correct, Abbas Gokal has now been given the opportunity to reflect long and hard on that question. 
UNITED KINGDOM 
GUARDIAN 4/4/97 P24 


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Subject:  LA_ML_04Apr97 MEXICO:  SWISS LINK SALINAS'S BROTHER TO ENORMOUS 'DRUG' FORTUNE.
Status: O

04Apr97 MEXICO:  SWISS LINK SALINAS'S BROTHER TO ENORMOUS 'DRUG' FORTUNE.
By Phil Gunson in Mexico City.
RAUL Salinas, brother of the former Mexican president Carlos Salinas, received "enormous sums of money" from the so-called Gulf cartel, one of the country's biggest drug trafficking organisations, according to yesterday's Miami Herald newspaper, which quoted Switzerland's attorney-general, Carla del Ponte.
The Swiss authorities are investigating the source of about $100m ( L60m) deposited in their country by Raul Salinas under a false name.
The former president's brother has been in a maximum security prison in Mexico since February 1995, charged with planning the murder of leading politician Jose Francisco Ruiz Massieu and with corrupt practices while employed as a government official.
Mexican prosecutors have so far failed to prove a drugs connection in the case, despite reports linking Mr Salinas's name with that of Juan Garcia Abrego, the former head of the Gulf cartel, who is now serving a life sentence in a United States jail.
Now, in what could prove the connection sought by the authorities, a letter from Ms del Ponte to her Mexican counterpart says that another jailed trafficker has admitted working for Mr Salinas and for Garcia Abrego.
On one occasion, the informant is said to have handed millions of dollars to the former president's brother personally.
Mr Salinas continues to claim that the money is an investment fund to which various Mexican businessmen contributed. 
UNITED KINGDOM 
GUARDIAN 4/4/97 P9 


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Subject:  ML_Balkan_Route_Drug_Traffic_04Apr97_Turkey scandal inquiry blames coalition MPs.
Status: O

		  Turkey scandal inquiry blames coalition MPs

RTw  4/4/97 3:13 PM   


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    By Hidir Goktas
     ANKARA, April 4 (Reuter) - A parliamentary inquiry into a security scandal accused two Turkish government MPs on Friday of deep involvement in a network of shadowy links between top officials and right-wing gangsters.
     "As far as politicians are concerned, Mehmet Agar and Sedat Bucak have been brought to light," chairman Mehmet Elkatmis told a news conference called to announce the inquiry's findings.
     The deputies, members of the Islamist-led coalition's right wing, face charges over the scandal. But a court's bid to lift their parliamentary immunity has been delayed for more than two months by Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan's office.
     An inquiry was set up after a senior policeman and a fugitive gangster died in the same car in a traffic accident last November. Guns and silencers were found in the wreckage.
     Bucak, who also heads a Kurdish anti-rebel militia, was a passenger.
     The crash and its aftermath revealed an intricate web of drug smuggling, arms trafficking and illegal killings, said Elkatmis, a deputy from Erbakan's Welfare Party.
     "There is dirty money, smuggling, terror and an international dimension," he said. Inquiry members said drug smuggling and organised crime were worth $50 billion in Turkey every year.
     Elkatmis accused Bucak and Agar of being "politically responsible" for official ties to crime gangs.
     The inquiry said in a final report that right-wing militants contracted by Turkey after a 1980 coup to carry out political dirty work at home and abroad used official protection to smuggle drugs, murder business opponents and launder money.
     "Illegal organisations with their own interests in mind have relations with the state and efforts have been made to organise them within the state," it said.
     The inquiry's report is due to be heard in parliament but MPs do not have to act on any of its findings.
     Elkatmis said that Abdullah Catli, the gangster who died in the crash, had been given 13 different passports over the years and was able to leave Turkey 142 times despite being wanted for the mass killing of seven leftists in the late 1970s.
     Bucak and Agar, who deny any wrongdoing, face more than five years in jail for forming a criminal gang and sheltering Catli.
     An attempt by an Istanbul court to lift the pair's immunity from prosecution has been caught up in red tape in what government critics say is a deliberate bid to cover up the affair.
     The report said organised crime spread through southeast Turkey in the 1990s under the cover of the fight against the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party. Many pro-government Kurdish village guards are involved in common crime, it said.
     "The state's relations with village guards, dirty money and the drug trade should be thoroughly investigated," it said.
     Elkatmis said the four-month inquiry had covered only some of the scandal and had been hindered by a split along party lines.
     Some opposition MPs stayed away from the inquiry's final meetings in a row over its failure to interview Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller and a leading general.

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Subject:  Yugoslavian_Albanian_Balkan_Route_Drug_Trafficking_20Mar97_[Istanbul Milliyet ?(Internet version?)] TURKEY, ALBANIA: Albanians A
Status: O

Title: TURKEY, ALBANIA: Albanians Allegedly Growing Poppies  

Document Number: FBIS-WEU-97-063
Document Type: Daily Report
Document Date: 20 Mar 1997
Division: TURKEY 
Sourceline: 97E09020A Istanbul Milliyet (Internet version) in Turkish, 20 Mar 
97 
AFS Number: 97E09020A 
Citysource: Istanbul Milliyet (Internet version) 
Language: Turkish 
Article Type: CSO
Subslug: [From the column "Fax" by Nilgun Cerrahoglu: "Is There
Hope for Albania?"] 

[FBIS Translated Excerpt] [passage omitted] 
Colombia in the South 
The country [Albania] remains divided. The "liberated
south" remains in the lap of the Greek and Italian mafias.
Indeed, there are those who wonder whether the mafia
organized the rebellion in the south. In this connection,
one cannot help recalling the words of prosecutor Roberto
Scarpinato, a mafia expert who visited Turkey recently. The
Italian prosecutor said: "The mafia's new strategy is to
break up states. They take advantage of local and ethnic
conflicts to attain that goal. They fan such conflicts." 
The Italian Mafia is in full control of the city of
Vlora, which is separated from Brindisi by the Otranto
Strait in the Adriatic. Similarly, the Greek mafia is active
in Saranda, near the Greek border, across from the island of
Corfu. 
Parallels are often drawn between the hills of Saranda
and the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. The Albanians, who are
willing to risk everything to make a living, grow poppies
here unfettered by any type of control or authority. 
It is rumored that the region between Saranda and Vlora
operates as something like a branch of the "Medellin cartel"
in Colombia. There is an intense traffic in narcotics and
arms between this region and Italy. 
The speedboats that leave Vlora at nights "with cargoes
of narcotics" charge $5,000 per crossing. These boats also
carry migrant workers who want to enter Italy illegally.
Turks, Indians, and Pakistanis are the chief customers of
the "illegal worker traffic." 
This is the real reason for the unbelievable numbers
involved in the banking crisis in Albania. Nearly $2 billion
was lost in this impoverished country of 3.5 million people
because the mafia used money brokers here to launder illicit
money. 
Now the arms market that has opened on the Greek border
has joined these activities. On this market one can buy
Kalashnikov rifles for as little as $10 to $15 from street
vendors as well as "bargain-priced" tanks for $3,500. 
The mafia also trades in the market of lives. Mafiosos
who control the harbor in Vlora, the only exit point from
the south to Italy, extort money from the refugees. The
price for crossing into Italy is "$1,000 per person." This
is a huge fortune for destitute people who have lost
everything they own. Only babies and young children are
exempt from this levy on lives. [passage omitted] 

FBIS 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_04Apr97 UE:  UE/AMERIQUE LATINE. 
Status: O

04Apr97 UE:  UE/AMERIQUE LATINE. 
LA VIIeme CONFERENCE MINISTERIELLE GROUPE DE RIO/UE SE TIENT LUNDI ET MARDI PROCHAINS A NOORDWIJK - REUNIONS AVEC MEXIQUE, MERCOSUR, CHILI, PACTE ANDIN
Bruxelles, 03/04/1997 (Agence Europe) - La VIIeme conference ministerielle UE/Groupe de Rio reunira, les lundi 7 et mardi 8 avril a Noordwijk (Pays-Bas), douze ministres des Affaires etrangeres d'Amerique latine et les quinze ministres europeens, sous la presidence du ministre neerlandais Hans van Mierlo et du ministre du Paraguay Ruven Melgarejo Lanzoni. La Commission europeenne sera representee par son vice-president Manuel Marin.
Les principaux themes de discussion, qui seront refletes dans la declaration finale, sont:
1) les developpements politiques en Europe et dans l'hemisphere Est;
2) le developpement durable dans ses aspects politiques, economiques, sociaux et environnementaux. La presidence neerlandaise du Conseil attribue une importance particuliere a ce point;
3) les relations economiques et commerciales entre les deux regions. Les obstacles aux echanges, l'utilisation du systeme de preferences generalisees conteste par certains pays du Groupe de Rio (notamment le Bresil et l'Argentine qui le jugent discriminatoire), les relations dans le cadre de l'OMC, etc. seront evoques dans ce contexte; 4) la lutte contre le terrorisme, le crime organise et le trafic de drogue, dans l'optique de la "responsabilite partagee" entre pays producteurs et consommateurs adoptee lors de la derniere Conference de Rio.
Un point particulier et politiquement significatif ne se trouve pas a l'ordre du jour de cet agenda traditionnel des rencontres UE/Groupe de Rio: l'idee de creer un Sommet entre l'Union europeenne et l'Amerique latine defendue par la France et l'Espagne. Lancee en 1990, la Conference de Rio rassemble chaque annee les ministres europeens et du Groupe de Rio, groupe forme en 1986 par l'ensemble des pays sud-americains de l'Association d'integration latino-americaine ("Aladi"). Ce dialogue politique est le plus large forum de discussion entre l'Union europeenne et l'Amerique latine. Des representants du Parlement europeen (Mme Miranda de Lage), de la Banque europeenne d'investissement et de la Banque interamericaine de developpement devraient egalement etre presents.
Plusieurs rencontres bilaterales importantes sont organisees en marge de la conference entre l'UE et: - les quatre pays du Mercosur (Marche commun du cone sud-americain: Argentine, Bresil, Uruguay, Paraguay), que les Quinze rencontreront lundi pour faire le point sur la mise en oeuvre de l'accord-cadre de cooperation signe en decembre 1995. Depuis cette date, les deux parties ont mis en place la commission mixte gerant l'accord, la sous-commission commerciale ainsi que ses groupes de travail sur les normes, les services, les disciplines commerciales, charges de preparer le terrain pour une future liberalisation des echanges. Les propos recents du ministre francais Herve de Charette demandant que l'UE marque une "pause" dans la negociation des zones de libre-echange pourraient susciter des questions de la part des ministres du Mercosur, a qui l'UE a promis d'envisager une liberalisation des echanges apres la fin du siecle. Les deux parties pourraient evoquer la possibilite de negocier un accord de cooperation
 sur le controle de la circulation des precurseurs chimiques servant a la fabrication de drogues;
- les cinq pays du Pacte andin. Les Quinze rencontreront mardi matin les ministres de Venezuela, Colombie, Equateur, Perou et Bolivie, pour un echange de vues sur: le processus d'integration regionale et l'evolution politique de la region andine; le fonctionnement de l'accord de cooperation signe en 1993, de l'accord sur le controle des precurseurs de drogue signe en novembre 1995 et du systeme de preferences generalisees (qui accorde notamment d'importantes preferences tarifaires aux pays du Pacte andin pour favoriser les cultures de substitution a la culture de drogues);
- le Mexique. La Troika europeenne menee par Hans van Mierlo fera le point lundi avec le ministre mexicain des Affaires etrangeres Jose Angel Gurria, sur l'etat d'avancement des negociations pour un nouvel accord de cooperation prevoyant la liberalisation des echanges commerciaux. Les Europeens ont presente informellement une ligne de negociation a l'ambassadeur du Mexique a Bruxelles (voir EUROPE du 28 mars p. 7), qui a juge cette strategie interessante mais incomplete. La formule de negociation doit etre examinee la semaine prochaine par les Representants permanents des Etats membres a Bruxelles avant d'etre soumise au Conseil de l'UE fin avril. Dans cette perspective, la reunion de Noordwijk pourrait permettre de clarifier les intentions de la ligne de negociation pour le moins complexe definie par les Quinze au niveau technique.
- Le Chili. La Troika rencontrera lundi le ministre chilien des Affaires etrangeres, Jose Miguel Insulza, pour evaluer les premieres etapes de la mise en oeuvre de l'accord-cadre de cooperation signe en juin 1996. La commission mixte gerant l'accord s'est reunie pour la premiere fois en decembre 1996 et la sous-commission commerciale devrait tenir sa premiere reunion les 11 et 12 juin prochain. Le Chili devrait presenter l'etat de ses relations avec le Mercosur, avec qui un accord de libre-echange est entre en vigueur en octobre 1996, et avec l'Association de libre-echange nord-americaine (Alena: Etats-Unis, Canada, Mexique), avec qui des negociations pour un accord de libre-echange sont bloquees, puisque le Congres americain a refuse de donner au gouvernement Clinton le droit d'utiliser la procedure de negociations rapides dite "fast track". Le contentieux commercial sur les alcools pourrait egalement etre evoque. En visite officielle au Chili ce mardi, le vice-president de la Commission, Sir Leon Brittan, 
a fait monter la pression en declarant que la legislation preparee par les autorites chiliennes pour reduire les discriminations fiscales a l'egard des importations d'alcools europeens ne correspond pas aux attentes de l'Union europeenne, qui envisage de deposer une plainte a l'Organisation mondiale du Commerce.
Not Available for Re-dissemination.
(c) Agence EUROPE, Brussels 1997. 
FRENCH LANGUAGE 
AGENCE EUROPE (FRENCH LANGUAGE) 4/4/97 


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Subject:  OLA_LA_04Apr97 COLOMBIA:  COMMUNIQUE CIRCULATED BY "THE EXTRADITABLES" REPORTED.
Status: O

04Apr97 COLOMBIA:  COMMUNIQUE CIRCULATED BY "THE EXTRADITABLES" REPORTED.
Source: Inravision TV1, Bogota, in Spanish 1730 gmt 2 Apr 97
Text of report by Colombian TV on 2nd April
The recent communique that has been reported by several media - supposedly signed by The Extraditables - has made Colombian authorities launch an investigation. The group, which has been characterized by the most violent terrorist acts, had not spoken out since 1991. According to preliminary inquiries, this new message is very different from the ones issued during the time of [Pablo] Escobar.
The letter, which has been in circulation for two weeks, was received by several media representatives and business leaders. In the letter, a group calling itself The Extraditables, declares that all who favour extradition are military targets. The communique varies in certain aspects to those sent in the Pablo Escobar period:
First, the logo has been changed and now appears on the right hand side.
Second, previously the communiques said: We prefer a tomb in Colombia than a jail abroad. Now they say prison.
Third, the old communiques had a date and city of origin. Now they do not.
Fourth, previously, demands were numbered.
The new threats coincide with the murder of journalist Gerardo Bedoya in Cali. The theory regarding the identity of the communique's writers points to arrested drug traffickers requested by the United States, narco traffickers who are still at large and former members of Pablo Escobar's group.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: LATIN AMERICA 4/4/97 


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Subject:  OLA_LA_04Apr97 COLOMBIA:  PROSECUTOR UPHOLDS PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AGAINST INTERIOR MINISTER.
Status: O

04Apr97 COLOMBIA:  PROSECUTOR UPHOLDS PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AGAINST INTERIOR MINISTER.
Source: `El Tiempo' (Internet version), Bogota, in Spanish 2 Apr 97
Text of report by Colombian newspaper `El Tiempo' on 2nd April
Prosecutor-General Alfonso Valdivieso yesterday upheld the precautionary measure that includes a warning that he ordered 60 days ago against Interior Minister Horacio Serpa Uribe, who is being investigated for illicit gains. He made that decision in view of the petition filed by Serpa's lawyers to reverse the 30th January order.
For that reason, Serpa has to comply with the order imposed by the investigating officers, such as appearing periodically before the corresponding judicial office, requesting prior authorization to leave the country and reporting a change of residence.
The interior minister is being investigated for concealing the alleged funneling of funds from drug traffickers into the "Samper for President" campaign. In December 1996, Prosecutor Valdivieso formally reopened the criminal investigation on Serpa, who testified before a prosecutor delegate [fiscal delegado] to the Supreme Court of Justice [CSJ].
The proceedings against Serpa had to start from scratch after the CSJ ruled that only the prosecutor-general was empowered to decide summons and inquiries, order precautionary measures and decide to bring to trial officials protected by constitutional immunity.
After that, the prosecutor upheld the validity of the testimonies and documents that had been gathered as part of the proceedings, which were regarded as evidence.
The main proofs included in the proceedings are testimonies from former Defence Minister Fernando Botero and former Samper campaign treasurer Santiago Medina.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: LATIN AMERICA 4/4/97 


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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_LEN_04Apr97 USA: US CALLS FOR ACTION AS CRIME GANGS TARGET SHIPPING.
Status: O

04Apr97 USA: US CALLS FOR ACTION AS CRIME GANGS TARGET SHIPPING.
THE US authorities are becoming increasingly concerned about the realised, as well as expected, rise in the use of merchant vessels for a slew of criminal endeavours, not the least of which is cocaine smuggling.
Washington insists, however, that the larger part of the effort of controlling and, hopefully, decreasing criminality on the high seas is the job of the maritime industry and leading world port authorities, rather than strictly of US and other law-enforcement agencies (involved as they nonetheless are in maritime interdiction).
The US Maritime Administration (MarAd), in its new quarterly Maritime Security Report, warns: "Vulnerabilities in shipping international freight containers are being exploited by transnational organised crime groups to commit a variety of cargo-related crimes."
Companies up and down the food-chain in shipping are more often becoming unknowing and unwitting accomplices in such criminal acts as illicit narcotics and stolen goods shipment, customs and shipping frauds, and money laundering.
"Victimised firms are sustaining significant financial losses, erosion of operating integrity, and diminished corporate reputation," warns MarAd.
America wants the world to step in, abandon traditional jealousies, and help the industry - in a partnership arrangement - to ward off such rapidly-growing threats to survival.
As MarAd head Vice-Admiral Albert Herberger insisted at the Transportation Research Board's annual meeting two months ago: "If we are to establish more secure trade corridors in global maritime commerce, we need an alliance of national governments with the maritime industry.
"We strongly urge all countries to commit themselves to a policy of substantially improving the security of their ports and trade corridors."
The sort of arrangement he has in mind is demonstrated by the international freight-forwarding association Fiata.
This is now working closely with Interpol to combat strong concerns about newly-emerging organised crime groups in eastern Europe and the now independent republics of the former Soviet Union, which it appears are infiltrating legitimate trade activities.
This strong concern over organised crime on a rapidly spreading international level has also resulted in a call-to-arms for international maritime companies to strive harder to ascertain who their clients, business partners, and even employees, really are.
"Intelligence pertaining to the reputation and creditworthiness of prospective clients, joint ventures and investment, employees, and suppliers is essential," insists MarAd.
"With it, honest firms can make decisions that avoid engaging in transactions with individuals and companies which may be fronts for organised criminal enterprises."
US law enforcement agencies and others are uncovering increasingly frequent instances of organised crime using what appear to be legitimate businesses to smooth the way for money laundering, trafficking in stolen goods, and smuggling of weapons, narcotics and illegal immigrants.
The ultimate victim can be the unknowing shipping firm, MarAd notes: "The fraudulent interaction of these front companies with the legitimate commercial sector often causes unsuspecting firms to incur various forms of financial loss, legal jeopardy and risk for their personnel."
The agency, as a good example of how to cope with this, cites the newly formalised British Ports Association/HM Customs & Excise co-operation pact that protects against offences involving the use of port, transport and cargo handling facilities.
MarAd notes: "The two organisations believe that the co-operation between port operators and customs can significantly assist in the gathering of information applicable to countering customs offences such as drug smuggling."
A key focal point for launching intelligence exchanges for countering cargo-related crimes is port security, where the `co-operative partnering' of the maritime industry and government authorities is needed if intelligence-sharing is to be applied effectively to counteract the various `security threats' to global maritime commerce.
What US authorities refer to as "organised criminal groups" are having increasing success in infiltrating maritime enterprises "to effect internal conspiracies that facilitate their criminal enterprises," according to MarAd.
Segments that have been targeted include shipping companies, warehouse operators, stevedoring firms and longshore unions, exporters and importers, freight forwarders, port authorities and intermodal transporters.
Ensnaring workers in such endeavours to induce their collusion in the illicit activities is accomplished via such means as bribery and extortion.
Meanwhile, US authorities are also warning of the probability that cocaine smugglers will continue to convert ever larger portions of their cargoes to commercial maritime cargo containers.
The US Defence Department is convinced that the sole effective means of segregating most marine-smuggling targets from normal maritime commerce is through intelligence activities that will allow tip-offs and interceptions at sea.
There are literally thousands of vessels of all types to be found any day of the year in the Caribbean Sea - a major highway for drug smuggling to both North America and Europe.
So only intelligence is up to the job of controlling this growth industry, warns the Pentagon.
In-port inspection of containers may impress some, but law enforcement authorities know that the job is great and the actual risk to smugglers and their collaborators of being detected is statistically quite low.
The odds simply run against success in box inspections.
More that 7m containers are moving about the planet in maritime and intermodal trades at any given time, and an average of 2.5 consignments per box.
Manual searches can occupy four persons for up to eight hours to unload, search and reload just a single 40 ft container.
The industry can aid the effort, as well as help protect itself by carefully scrutinising cargo documentation.
As MarAd notes: "Intelligence derived from cargo documentation is essential to recognising patterns in the shipping cycle that may be spurious, and can provide indications of smuggling which facilitate selection of suspect containers for inspection."
The long-standing practice of interception on the high seas is far less effective than most believe.
Drug traffickers in particular can respond quickly to such threats by altering their delivery routes and methods of transport.
An example of this was uncovered early last year by the UK's International Narcotics Control Board.
It alerted the world to the fact that a shift in cocaine transhipment routes from the northern Caribbean to its eastern rim had been detected as authorities were pressing interceptions in the sea's northern sector.
In the same vein, Washington now reckons that more cocaine shipments from the South America-Mexico-US overland routes will soon shift to lower-risk maritime transit routes through the Gulf of Mexico and eastern Caribbean.
(c) of Lloyd's of London Press Limited 1997. 
INSURANCE/INVESTMENT 
LLOYD'S LIST 4/4/97 


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Subject:  ML_Economic_Crime_Fraud_03Apr97 UK:  CHASING THE MONEY CHEATS.
Status: O

03Apr97 UK:  CHASING THE MONEY CHEATS.
See no evil, hear no evil will no longer be a defence for accountants caught in the firing line as governments everywhere turn tax evasion into a money-laundering crime. Phillip Inman reports.
 
Money laundering is the kind of crime that makes people think of drug barons, international terrorists and other shady underworld villains.
But recent changes in UK and international legislation have transformed it into a broad set of catch-all regulations taking in every form of financial crime. And a growing band of money laundering experts believe that accountants will be hit hard in the new climate.
The profession should be concerned, these experts say, because bread-and-butter tax advice business is rapidly becoming the number-one target of governments from South Africa to the US. National treasuries all over the world are struggling to maintain their tax revenues and one reason is the increasing use of offshore havens by companies and individuals to limit their tax bills. It is this problem which lay behind Chancellor Kenneth Clarke's blurring of the lines between tax evasion and avoidance in the last Budget.
Accountants may joke about Clarke's determination to clamp down on 'evoidance' (which, along with 'avoision', has become a popular term for the Government's interpretation of tax fiddles) but there can be no doubting his seriousness.
Tax evasion has become a money-laundering crime and the police are in hot pursuit.
The situation is now so hazardous for accountants that those caught advising a client on the use of money which has obviously evaded taxes in any jurisdiction - not just in the UK - will find themselves in the dock. Even if the alleged offence occurred overseas, the prosecution will be conducted by UK authorities as if the crime had happened here. Equally, foreign police forces can prosecute UK citizens they believe have laundered money through their jurisdiction no matter where the criminals and victims are based.
US leads the fight
The US authorities have become particularly aggressive in their pursuit of money laundering. In February, a case in the New York courts - the first of its kind - highlighted the kind of issues accountants are likely to face. Manhattan district attorney Robert Morganthau successfully prosecuted three Venezuelan businessman for defrauding a group of fellow South Americans whom they had persuaded to deposit $55m in a bank they controlled in Puerto Rico with false claims that it was closely regulated. The accused, according to prosecutors, used the money to prop up their business empire and lavish lifestyles. All three will be sentenced next week and face jail terms of between 4 and 40 years.
Rowan Bosworth-Davies, head of fraud investigations at City solicitor Titmuss Sainer Dechert and a former detective at the Metropolitan Police Fraud Squad, is bringing Morganthau's right-hand man John Moscow over to London this month in an effort to persuade professional advisers that tax evasion is a key target of the US authorities. 'Governments are running out of money. They have lost control of money as it transfers around the world and, with the introduction of digital technology, they have also lost control of information flows. They don't even know how much money is out there,' he says.
'It is vital,' Bosworth-Davies adds, 'that accountants realise the implications associated in dealing with possible tax-evasion proceeds.
If they facilitate the movement of funds which have evaded taxes in another jurisdiction, they will make themselves liable to be investigated for money laundering.'
Of course, much of the money that travels offshore is transferred legitimately.
But a significant proportion illegally evades tax laws at the country of origin and makes its way specifically to be laundered. The US Federal Reserve has estimated that at least $500m of the L5 trillion held in offshore deposits represents either the proceeds of tax evasion or drug money.
Illicit gains travel, generally, to a haven that not only refrains from charging tax but also one which maintains a high degree of secrecy.
Section 93A of the 1988 Criminal Justice Act was the first serious attempt by the UK Government to tackle money laundering. As Deloitte & Touche partner Martyn Bridges wrote last year in a groundbreaking article for the Journal of Financial Crime: 'If anyone has any illusions that the phrase "proceeds of criminal conduct", as defined in Section 93A, is not intended to deal with tax evasion and to be used primarily to punish those professionals who it is perceived facilitate the activities of tax evaders or other fiscal criminals, then they are greatly mistaken.'
He points to the adoption and implementation of the European Directive on Money Laundering in 1993 which brought under legal control the activities of those who advise and assist the fiscal criminal. The directive argues that: 'Since money laundering can be carried out not only through credit and financial institutions but also through other types of professions and categories of undertakings, member states must extend the provisions of this directive ... to include those professions and undertakings whose activities are particularly likely to be used for money-laundering purposes.'
And there is more. Not only have the activities of accountants and other professional advisers who get mixed up with tax evaders been brought under the law, but investigations of these activities have been made much easier.
Global investigations
The extension in 1995 of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (1990 International Co-operation) Act allows the director of the Serious Fraud Office to get involved in international investigations if he gets a request for assistance from a foreign government. For this purpose he can use his powers to compel the production of information under Section 2 of the 1987 Criminal Justice Act. The only barrier to the SFO getting involved is the rule that losses from the fraud must exceed L1m.
Chris Dickson, senior assistant director at the SFO, insists that the level of co-operation afforded it by overseas authorities is going to grow. The process will also work in reverse, with the SFO investigating crimes on behalf of foreign governments. In fact, it has 50 international cases on its books already, with at least one centred on tax fraud. Dickson says there is still a popular belief that cross-border crime of this sort is beyond the scope of the police. But there is no rule of international law prohibiting the giving of assistance in tax investigations, he says.
In fact, Dickson says: 'Far from being prohibited, the UK is, in certain circumstances, obliged to do so.'
Bridges gives one example of the sort of crime which would prompt a formal request for assistance to the SFO. Typically, the foreign government may have uncovered a criminal tax evasion/capital flight laundering scheme, involving a group of its nationals using specific 'tax-efficiency' vehicles created by a firm of professional advisers in London.
The scheme uses companies with nominee directors created in various offshore jurisdictions but with appointed 'managers' in London. The foreign government alleges that a concerted over-invoicing exercise is being carried out and the additional cash is being held in bank accounts outside its jurisdiction.
As a result, it has been defrauded of taxable revenue or capital which has been illegally exported.
The widening scope of UK law to catch money launderers and their professional advisers so frightened the English ICA that its Technical and Practical Auditing committee was asked to examine the changes and produce a set of guidelines for its members.
The document looks specifically at the responsibilities of auditors: it sets out the law and outlines when and how they should report their suspicions that some form of money laundering has taken place. When it was released last July, the chairman of the working party which drafted the document, Coopers & Lybrand partner Tony Bingham, said: 'Although in the normal course of an audit money laundering should rarely become a matter of concern for auditors, the consequences of inaction or unwise action when the relevant circumstances do arise could be extremely serious.'
Reporting suspicions
The guidelines omit any mention of tax evasion. They focus instead on the specific requirement to report to the authorities any knowledge or suspicions of drug-money laundering or financial arrangements that facilitate terrorism. But they do recognise the need for auditors to report their suspicions of 'other criminal conduct'.
Sue Thornhill, assistant director of the British Banker's Association, told an audience of certified accountants last month that her association wanted to include the issue of tax evasion in a set of revised guidance notes produced by its joint money laundering steering committee (which has banks, insurers and professional representatives included) but the Treasury had refused to endorse the move. Thornhill argues that professionals should have an idea of the advice they can give clients on avoiding tax without falling foul of the money-laundering regulations.
But the Treasury believes it would condone specific forms of avoidance if it allowed such a document to be published. The head of its financial crime branch, Simon Willis, simply recommends that accountants relay their suspicions of any financial crime to the National Criminal Intelligence Service. NCIS receives and analyses an average of 17 reports of suspicious transactions by accountants each quarter.
The Treasury's difficulties are not restricted to guidance published in this country. At the same time as the UK has developed a set of laws to tackle a wider range of money-laundering crimes, it has maintained the secrecy laws of its 30 dependent offshore islands, many of which are used regularly to launder 'dirty' money.
Caribbean havens
In this sense, the UK has traditionally been one of the laggards in the fight against money laundering. The former legal adviser to MI5 and MI6, David Bickford, has documented this country's appalling record on international co-operation. He points out that in 1994 the Government commissioned the Gallaher report to help British Caribbean offshore territories to become more self-reliant and less dependent on aid from the UK. At the time, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and many of the other 30 dependencies were already facing a barrage of criticism from US senators, one of whom, John Kerry, said they were 'inherently corrupt and corruptible'.
'Despite this damning indictment, which was endorsed by a Treasury official,' says Bickford, 'the UK Government cynically caved in to the demands of the dependent territories and failed to insist on the termination of bank secrecy.'
Most of the UK dependencies have passed some form of anti-money-laundering laws but the secrecy they afford clients still makes them attractive to financial criminals. And though places like Bermuda say they will give full access to police authorities that convince them there is a case for an island-based organisation to answer, the suspicions of Senator Kerry and others still appear valid.
Thornhill says the Government remains determined to force Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man to pass 'all-crimes' money-laundering legislation.
But Guernsey's authorities have recently told her they will not draft new regulations unless the Caribbean islands follow the same timetable.
She believes this ruling will delay the introduction of all-crimes legislation for UK dependencies until the middle of 1998 at the earliest.
Bickford argues that the UK Government's heart is not really in the pursuit of international crime. He says the chronic underfunding of the NCIS is a major barrier in the fight against money laundering. And the Government's refusal to join the Schengen agreement on border controls, operated by the majority of European Union countries, is another obstacle. 'The UK continually objects to the harmonisation of criminal laws and procedures which do not suit its common-law principles,' Bickford claims.
He adds: 'In the Bank of Nova Scotia/Cayman case, the US forced us to accept the concepts of extra-territorial legislation after a bitter battle which went all the way to the Supreme Court. That was 10 years ago and even now extra-territorial legislation remains anathema to our legislators.'
Bickford is also cautious about the creation of the National Police Agency (NPA), part of Home Secretary Michael Howard's new initiative aimed at tackling organised crime. He warns of the danger of it becoming yet another underfunded authority lacking the legislative support it needs to operate effectively. He suggests, among other things, that the NPA be given powers to use telephone intercept and GCHQ information as evidence in court.
But whatever happens to the NPA, the drive in the Treasury must be to look at offshore dependencies and the tax evasion scams operated between them and London. Because at the very least, says Thornhill, the US authorities will shut out dubious havens from the US monetary system. And, she believes, the Americans will need little more than a suspicion that offshore companies or trusts are breaking the law before they make their bank clearing system off limits.
The US is in the vanguard. The government there has gone so far as to write tax evasion into its money-laundering laws. And the Venezuelan case highlights the lengths to which the US authorities are prepared to go in their pursuit of offenders. At worst, accountants who fail to blow the whistle on a financial scam involving tax evasion could find themselves in a US court facing a very long stretch in jail. 
BANKING/FINANCE 
ACCOUNTANCY AGE 3/4/97 P16 


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Subject:  ML_Economic_Crime_04Apr97 KYRGYZSTAN:  USA TO HELP IN FIGHT AGAINST ECONOMIC CRIME.
Status: O

04Apr97 KYRGYZSTAN:  USA TO HELP IN FIGHT AGAINST ECONOMIC CRIME.
Source: Kyrgyz Radio first programme, Bishkek, in Russian 1400 gmt 26 Mar 97
The United States has offered to provide Kyrgyzstan with technical assistance to curb the growth of economic crime and money-laundering in the republic, Kyrgyz radio reported.
The radio said that a group of visiting US government representatives had told Kyrgyz National Bank specialists during a meeting in the capital, Bishkek, that "given Kyrgyzstan's small financial system, efforts to reform and stabilize the economy would be in vain unless something was done to stop economic crime and legalize incomes".
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: FORMER USSR 4/4/97 


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Subject:  ML_Fraud_03Apr97 UK:  FRAUD REPORTS JUMP TO ALL-TIME HIGH.
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03Apr97 UK:  FRAUD REPORTS JUMP TO ALL-TIME HIGH.
By Phillip Inman.
The number of accountants worried that their clients are involved in financial crime jumped dramatically last year, according to the latest figures produced by the National Criminal Intelligence Service.
Reports of suspicious transactions filed by accountants and solicitors to the Economic Crimes Unit at NCIS increased by over a half from 237 to 375 between 1995 and 1996.
A spokeswoman for NCIS said the bulk of the 16,125 reports filed last year were submitted by banks and building societies, but an increasing proportion were coming from the professions and other groups such as financial advisers.
This disclosure comes in the wake of criticism by banks and other City institutions submitted to the Treasury of NCIS and other government crime units, including the Serious Fraud Office. They claim a lack of trained staff and modern technology at NCIS has lead to hundreds of money laundering and other financial crimes going unnoticed.
A Treasury spokesman admitted it had received complaints that NCIS was unable to analyse its burgeoning database of reports before passing information to the police or other investigation agencies. It received the complaints as part of a wide-ranging consultation process on the best way to deal with financial crime. The consultation period was interrupted by the election and ministers were never presented with its findings.
A spokeswoman for NCIS denied that the service was unable to process suspicious transaction reports, but she said heavy investment in technology had been earmarked in the current budget.
NCIS was set up in 1992 when it brought together police records on subjects as diverse as football hooligans and international crime, previously handled by Interpol.
See feature on page 16. 
BANKING/FINANCE 
ACCOUNTANCY AGE 3/4/97 P1 


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Subject:  ML_Organised_Crime_03Apr97 POLAND:  MONEY-LAUNDERING AND ORGANISED CRIME - A MOUNTING PROBLEM.
Status: O

03Apr97 POLAND:  MONEY-LAUNDERING AND ORGANISED CRIME - A MOUNTING PROBLEM.
Police experts estimate that organised crime is thriving throughout the world, and Poland is no exception. Money-laundering remains the mafia's number one source of income, which means its increasing presence on the capital market, in finances and banking, and some specialists believe that Poland has recently become one of Europe's leading money-laundering centres. In a Zycie Gospodarcze special report compiled on the basis of police statistics and expert analyses, criminologist Jerzy W. Wojcik examined the implications of a more marked presence of organised crime in Poland along with the chief sources of illegal incomes.
The problem of illegal incomes in Poland is closely connected with the second economy as well as rising crime statistics. A steady rise has been noted in violent common crimes, economic offences and organised crime, while detection is impeded by the increasingly professional nature of crime. Consequently, organised crime is growing stronger, expanding its international contacts, and this in turn will boost petty crimes, which will more and more frequently be committed by professionals as well. @BTCENTRE = Crime Categories
Criminal offenders are highly professional and function in organised groups characterised by determination and ruthlessness. In mid-90's, organised gangs centred first and foremost on the following categories of crime:
*production, trafficking and distribution of drugs, both manufactured locally and smuggled from the Golden Triangle, with over 40 such groups uncovered;
*smuggling and illegal sale of weapons (over 20 groups);
 
*contract murders, kidnappings, assault and battery. From among 1,134 murders committed in 1995, as many as 50 were attributed to feuding gangs and some were committed by hired assassins. Over the past years, the police has been able to gather sufficient evidence to bring offenders to justice in the case of just six contract murders and 24 kidnappings attributed to feuding gangs, while as many as 20 organised groups are believed to be coercing payments in return for "protection;"
*raids on travellers, with 2,009 car passengers falling victim in 656 such attacks in 1994. In 161 cases, the assailants threatened to use firearms, and they spoke Russian on 412 occasions;
*production of explosives and use thereof in battles between gangs, with 122 such explosions noted in 1994. Their number has been rising steadily since then, and those responsible are rarely found;
*contraband (liquor, tobacco products), organised and controlled expropriation of property in various sectors, large-scale fraud and tax evasion (excise taxes, VAT), with 60 such groups uncovered in 1994;
*hiring "avengers" to intimidate judges and prosecutors investigating economic gangs;
*car theft and smuggling, with 20 such gangs busted in 1994;
 
*forgery and distribution of forged bills, securities and bank documents;
*smuggling works of art;
*smuggling radioactive substances;
*illegal transfer of foreigners from the East to European Union countries.
In 1995, crime statistics rose by 7.8 percent (from 906,000 incidents in 1994 to a total of 975,000), including a 7 percent increase in criminal offences, although the rise was much steeper in the case of some violent crimes, especially whenever firearms were used (an increase by as much as 52 percent in the case of armed robbery). Economic offences went up by 11.9 percent, with expropriation of property up by 19.5 percent and rising steadily. Meanwhile, infringement upon excise tax regulations went up by 46.6 percent, forgeries by 26.3 percent and fiscal offences by 32.2 percent, with total losses ensuing from economic offences reaching PLN 570 million. @BTCENTRE = Basic Hazards
Police experts believe that the banking system is the most prone sphere of the national economy for the following reasons:
*the banking administration's disrespect for the provisions of the banking act, which results in credits granted to companies and individuals offering fictitious guarantees;
*credits granted to non-existing companies and individuals;
*fictitious bank guarantees offered to boost companies that are going bankrupt;
*putting earmarked credits to another use, also to finance illegal operations or repay loans owed to other banks;
*use of assets expropriated earlier to obtain loans;
*cooperation between bank personnel and the economic underground;
*forgery of banking documents.
In other spheres of the economy, the following mechanisms can frequently be observed: expropriation of assets or money by employees working as an organised group, extortion through failure to pay producers or wholesalers for goods shipped prior (e.g., coal) as well as failure to repay retailers for articles purchased in instalments, payment evasion through phony bankruptcies. Such offences committed by fictitious companies and individuals pose a serious threat to small and medium-sized firms, and this group of offences is thriving thanks to modern equipment that is making forgery of all documents a much easier task. Offences connected with ownership transformations are also hazardous, including:
*corruption of the representatives of parent bodies;
*deliberate undervaluation of enterprises in anticipation of their sale;
*sale of property components of privatised companies;
*forgery of tender documents to eliminate competitive bidders;
*overestimation or undervaluation of contributions in kind.
Customs offences in turn now centre on: fictitious transit of goods through Poland, fictitious export of domestic products, fictitious re-export of imported articles, lower value of imported goods declared and imports by fictitious importers. Contraband goods are usually those with the highest customs rates as well as those whose imports or exports are restricted or banned, e.g., cars, works of art, weapons, fuels, some consumer goods, tobacco and liquor. It is significant that contraband is to a large extent accompanied by the corruption of customs officers, and its scope and intensity are rooted in its organised and international nature, so effective police operations would require coordinated action undertaken by police forces in several countries at the same time.
Tax offences have also been escalating in recent years, and irregularities are perceptible in particular in the case of personal and corporate income taxes, VAT and excise taxes. Infringements upon the copyright act are another problem, although ensuing losses are hard to estimate. In general, no reliable estimates are available except in the case of offences embraced by police statistics, while such estimates would be vital to examining the scope of money-laundering in Poland.
Accompanying Crimes
Those responsible for organised economic offences are seeking maximum profits. With this objective achieved, they soon reach for power by any means possible, including corruption. Therefore, organised economic crime is frequently accompanied by common crimes, such as the corruption of civil servants, presence of gangs protecting illegal shipments or fighting competition, blackmail, intimidation, kidnappings, killings, bomb blasts to eliminate competitors or debtors, extortion or assaults on law-enforcement officers. Moreover, many former police and security service officers trained to fight organised crime are now on the underground's payroll after they have failed the screening process, and the number of specialists cooperating with gangs is rising, with experts as well as academics known to be offering their professional advice on forgery, the law or gaps in tax regulations.
In 1994-96, the police discovered over 300 gangs embracing nearly 5,000 professionals, including many repeat offenders. Polish organised crime has links to similar organisations in 28 major countries (with the exception of Australia), and over 30 mafia-style groups are now operating in Poland. A meeting of the cabinet has even been devoted to connections between businessmen and politicians on the one hand and organised crime on the other, and contacts between criminals and opinion-forming circles have also been uncovered. At the same time, international organisations are known to be fighting for Eastern European markets, with mafias from the East especially active in Poland, including Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian, Chechen and even Vietnamese.
Meanwhile, domestic mafias have also been gaining fame recently, in particular those from Pruszkow and Wolomin (both outside Warsaw) specialising in paid protection and extortion. While it remains unclear if those are truly mafia-style groups, there is no doubt that domestic organised crime is learning from professionals in the U.S., Russia, Germany and other countries, although the organisation and functioning of Polish organised crime is bound to differ from traditional Italian or Asian organisations due to socio-cultural differences as well as distinct traditions and mores governing the criminal underground in Poland. @BTCENTRE = Drugs: Primary Source of Income
Although the sources of income acquired by organised crime seem fairly obvious, the ingenuity of gangs is infinite in this respect, especially that they immediately adjust to the demand in a given country or region, supplying radioactive materials or non-ferrous metals whenever necessary or offering to ship illegal immigrants. Traditionally, drug trafficking remains the primary source of revenue, however, yielding approximately $120-250 billion a year from hard drugs alone, with Western experts estimating that drugs are behind 80 percent of the world's dirty money.
In the early 70's, when the problem of drug abuse began to grow in Poland, Western specialists warned against a trail leading from the Golden Triangle (Burma, Laos, Thailand) via Poland to Western Europe, but Polish law-enforcement agencies centred instead on tracking petty domestic producers manufacturing narcotics from poppy. Meanwhile, rapidly rising drug abuse statistics in Poland are alarming and include addiction to hard drugs as well.
The warnings offered earlier by Western experts have since been confirmed, and we know now that drug trafficking routes lead through Poland, and even cross here. Heroin, for instance, is trafficked not only from the Golden Triangle, but also from the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran) through the former USSR or North Africa. The chief route leads from Asia via Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to Germany, Denmark and Sweden, where police and customs officers are uncovering not kilograms but tons of narcotics.
Around 700 tons of heroin are believed to have been manufactured throughout the world in 1995, including 300 tons in the Golden Triangle, and some of it reached Western Europe via Poland. In a report on drug trafficking published by the U.S. State Department, Poland is described not only as Europe's leading amphetamine producer, but also as an important transit point for heroin and cocaine shipped to Western Europe. According to the report, drug syndicates from Colombia, Nigeria, India and Pakistan operate in Poland, organising their own transfer routes, for instance by plane via Prague/Warsaw and Gdynia/Gdansk to Western Europe and Scandinavia, while Colombian narcotics are trafficked through Poland to Italy.
Poland is now believed to be among the key transit points for the world's narcotics, with over 70 tons of drugs discovered by customs officers in 1992-95, including marijuana (35 tons), hashish (24 tons), cocaine (3.5 tons), heroin (450 kilograms) and amphetamines (200 kilograms). Meanwhile, customs officers are known to be capable of checking only 20-30 percent of the goods crossing the border.
At the same time, the number of laboratories manufacturing synthetic drugs, primarily amphetamines, is known to be rising, and secret laboratories throughout Poland specialise in producing high quality amphetamines subsequently dispatched from Warsaw and Szczecin to the island of Ruegen and on to Germany or Sweden. Police and Office of State Security (UOP) experts believe that amphetamines are also manufactured in legal laboratories run by research and industrial institutes, with production by researchers and their assistants discovered in some academic centres such as Poznan, Wroclaw and Warsaw.
According to Western analysts, Poland has strengthened its position among the world's leading producers of amphetamines and its derivatives, and the supply is so high in the West that the wholesale price of amphetamine has been dropping systematically (from $8-10,000 per kilogramme in 1993 to around $3,500 in 1994 and $2,500-2,800 in 1995). Retail prices are obviously much higher, and amphetamine production is so profitable that some signs indicate that foreign capital might be investing in the business, with laboratories moved from other countries to Poland. A professional laboratory can manufacture up to 15 kilograms of amphetamine per day, and the organisation as well as methods employed by gangs producing and trafficking it suggest that the business is controlled by professionals.
The scale of amphetamine production, trafficking and the profits involved are not known, but Western specialists believe over 200 laboratories are now functioning in Poland, including numerous high capacity facilities in the vicinity of Warsaw, Lodz and Szczecin. It is clear that only small fry were caught and brought to trial in recent police busts, while the big fish continue amassing huge profits. At the same time, the media are speculating about at least three drug syndicates functioning in Poland, devoting a lot of attention to such problems as police impotence and corruption embracing diplomats, law-enforcement officers and even Interpol functionaries. Police units from different countries are joining forces in the fight against drugs, but to no avail so far, because all attempts to curb drug abuse are thwarted due to the persisting high demand for narcotics.
Other Sources
Drugs are obviously not the sole source of income for organised gangs, and illegal arms sales are controlled by specialised corporations and international firms. Some are set up with this objective in mind, occasionally for a single transaction only. In most cases, they are seemingly innocent consulting firms, sometimes with just a post office box or one secretary, and they frequently vanish as soon as the deal is completed. Weapons sales are becoming more and more specialised as the offer is expanded to include not only pistols or grenades, but also tanks, fighter planes, missile launchers, uranium or plutonium, and shipments to countries embargoed by the U.N. mean extra profits.
According to German police sources, arms dealers from the Eastern bloc traditionally meet with buyers in Berlin and Vienna. While some doubt that components for nuclear warheads can really be purchased there, Poland is known to be the only country to have introduced radioactive checks at its borders not long ago. Previously, radioactive substances were able to cross Polish borders freely en route to the West, meaning more dirty money for gangs specialising in the business. Stolen and smuggled cars are another source of big money. Traditional trails for stolen vehicles used to lead from France to North Africa, but now vehicles are predominantly shipped from Western to Central and Eastern Europe. More and more "car mafias" are been discovered and those specialise in stealing luxury vehicles (Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari, Bentley and even Rolls-Royce) in Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Belgium. The cars are then sold in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and even the United Arab Emirates. Car trafficking
 gangs are powerful and influential, usually running their own chop-shops to change the colour of vehicles, serial numbers and forge registration documents. Moreover, they are continually growing stronger and extending their spheres of influence. Even police officers specialising in organised crime are sometimes taken in, as they are occasionally found to own a stolen car, which policemen in several countries are known to be looking for.
Over the past few years, several groups engaged in the sale of women abroad for prostitution have been brought to trial in Poland, and organised gangs of Poles cooperating with foreign criminals are usually involved. Many Polish children sold abroad have also been traced in the past three years, and Interpol believes around 1,500 Polish women are sold abroad each year and forced to work as prostitutes. On the other hand, it is difficult to establish the precise number of women willingly working in brothels and deciding to report a crime once determined to quit, and it is just as hard to determine how many have been lured by the prospect of easy money made abroad.
Organised transfer of illegal immigrants is a significant source of dirty money too, with fictitious tourist agencies using forged documents to smuggle illegal immigrants from Asia and Africa across Poland's Eastern border. The immigrants, who most frequently come from Iraq, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia, have to pay up to $4,000 to cross the border on foot, hidden behind cargo shipments or fly over it in a helicopter. Police and border guards in Poland and Germany are known to detain several thousand illegal immigrants from Asia each year, while the world's total profits from smuggling illegal immigrants are now estimated at $5-7 billion.
New sources of dirty money have also been discovered in recent years, including colossal fortunes made by organised groups engaged in illegal sales and transfer of non-ferrous metals, especially copper, nickel, aluminium and titanium. Non-ferrous metals are most frequently smuggled from Russia via Latvia to Third World countries or from Russia to Germany through Poland, and Polish customs officers are uncovering tons of non-ferrous metals smuggled across the border. @BTCENTRE = Financial Scandals and Second Economy
In Poland, a considerable amount of dirty money has additionally emerged as a consequence of major financial scandals and affairs, to mention only the leading ones, such as the Foreign Debt Servicing Fund (FOZZ), Art. B (banking) or Schnapsgate (liquor). The press has also reported about other less spectacular scandals, and in the case of some (e.g., fuels) the ensuing losses are hard to estimate, while information about many others has not yet reached the public or even law-enforcement agencies. Some publicised affairs have not been followed by indictments, with businessmen, customs officers and lower-ranking bank employees prevailing among the suspects, and occasionally former high state administration and banking officials as well. The Polish public is not being informed about the scale of economic, financial and credit scandals. For the time being, law-enforcement experts have no in-depth knowledge of their mechanisms either, and the same can be said about forgeries of bills, banking documents or excise 
bands.
We do know for a fact, however, that consumer durables crossing the border sometimes miraculously change into spirits or tobacco once cleared through customs, while liquor and tobacco products allegedly shipped through Poland in transit leave the country no more than sporadically. Under the circumstances, police and customs officers have to devote a lot of time and demonstrate their inventiveness if they want to emerge as winners from this game of hide-and-seek with the smugglers, whose ingenuity is close to perfection, while the profits made by their bosses surge.
The scale of organised economic crime on Poland's Eastern border is continually on the rise too, and hundreds of thousand of zloty as well as millions of dollars are involved here. Illegal flights are even organised to bring contraband from neighbouring countries to Poland, and revenues from smuggling and other forms of organised crime clearly boost the sums funnelled for laundering.
The second economy, which is now estimated at between PLN 21 and 38 billion, also plays a crucial role, and the value of the black economy's goods and services has risen by 10 percent over the past two years, which means it now accounts for around 16-19 percent of the GDP. It undoubtedly has a stimulating impact on the economy, offering jobs to thousands of people, especially skilled and unskilled workers and foreigners, with an estimated 2 million people employed in the shadow economy in 1995, when unemployment exceeded 2.5 million. Illegal jobs are the sole source of income for over 1 million Poles and no national insurance contributions are paid on an estimated 22-35 percent of pay in private companies. The second economy also helps buffer the consequences of market economy introduction, while its development is undoubtedly prompted by high taxes. On the other hand, ensuing losses in unpaid taxes and insurance contributions are hard to estimate, but it is obvious that tax evaders are left with more dirty 
money.
According to Interpol estimates, some $2-4 billion annually was laundered in Poland a few years ago, but experts believe this amount has since risen to around $8 billion each year. The scale of illegal profits remains a blank, and there are many areas for financial experts, customs officers, lawyers and law-enforcement agencies to examine. No statistics are available on estimated profits from prostitution, gambling, expropriation, tax evasion, crimes contracted with gangs or fraud, and experts should also hammer out new crime-detection and research methods. Meanwhile, some businessmen known for their shady dealings earlier are no longer worried about an influx of cash, centring instead on a search for new and swift money-laundering measures and profitable investments. It is also clear that more and more Polish dirty money is transferred abroad to be laundered.
Prognostics and Prevention
Research work on crime projections has essentially come to a standstill in the past decade and, therefore, reliable prognoses as well as prevention projects are practically non-existent. A report by Szczecin University criminologist, Professor Karol Slawik, seems to be the sole exception here, and his analysis based on crime statistics as well as socio-economic and population studies indicates that the following tendencies can be expected in the coming years:
*the number of murders will continue to rise, and those will be rooted in traditional motives as well as in feuds between gangs;
*the number of terrorist attacks might increase as a result of warfare between gangs;
*politically-motivated terrorist attacks cannot be ruled out either, and those are likely to be connected with Middle East terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, post-Soviet nationalism, etc.;
*assault and battery, larceny and robbery (including robbery with violence) will be mounting, with the following among the primary targets: wealthy individuals, money transported in convoys, banks, currency exchange counters, taxi drivers, filling stations, etc.;
*more private homes and facilities as well as warehouses and expensive stores are expected to be burglarised;
*larceny will be on the rise, including pick-pockets as well as car theft by organised international groups;
*fraud will climb, with individuals as well as insurance companies among its chief victims;
*more forgeries will be attempted by organised groups;
*economic offences will go up, in particular those connected with capital transactions and banking, ownership transformations, customs, taxes and the ecology. Mismanagement and misappropriation are also expected to mount in companies, foundations and associations;
*the number of computer-related offences will grow, and criminals will be drawing more extensively on modern science and technology;
*the practice of laundering profits from all kinds of illegal transactions will escalate, and it is likely that groups of banking and financial experts will be trained with this objective in mind.
Crime-detection prognoses are alarming too, as impunity is expected to mount, especially in big cities. Slawik's report also predicts a rise in the number of offences connected with business dealings, corruption related to government orders, customs and tax concessions, information about new legislation and pressures exerted upon law-enforcement functionaries and the judiciary.
For the time being, police experts recommend utmost caution to safeguard against economic offences. They suggest that firms carefully screen their clients, collecting information and verifying their credibility before contracts are signed. Choice of renown business partners is recommended, and only original financial documents should be accepted.
Purchases should only be made from reliable suppliers that guarantee the quality of the product and its legitimate source, and attempts should be continued to set up national registers of credible firms and insolvent debtors. Those practical guidelines are clearly sketchy and fragmentary, however, while systemic proposals have been lacking for years, confirming that the task of drafting a comprehensive crime-prevention programme is a major challenge for researchers and for law-enforcement agencies alike. (Based on Zycie Gospodarcze No. 11, p.VI, 14 March 1997).
 
Polish News Bulletin
The PNB is a non-profit organisation publishing a daily digest of the Polish press. No legal responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions or misleading statements, however caused, in either source or final texts. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
POLISH NEWS BULLETIN OF BRITISH & AMERICAN EMBS. 3/4/97 


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Subject:  OLA_LA_04Apr97 COLOMBIA: POLICE ARREST WIFE OF TOP COLOMBIAN DRUG KINGPIN. 15:02 GMT 
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04Apr97 COLOMBIA: POLICE ARREST WIFE OF TOP COLOMBIAN DRUG KINGPIN. 15:02 GMT 
BOGOTA, April 4 (Reuter) - The wife of Colombia's No. 1 drug trafficker still on the run was arrested on suspicion of links to massive money laundering operations, police said on Friday.
Luz Adriana Luz, a former beauty queen, is the wife of Justo Pasto Perafan, a former army sergeant said to have built a $12 billion fortune through drug trafficking.
She was arrested with false papers and carrying more than $14,000 cash in the northwest city of Medellin on Thursday afternoon, a police spokesman said.
The Colombian authorities are offering a $500,000 reward for the capture of Perafan, who has businesses in Colombia, Madrid, Rome and Moscow. Police say Luz claimed to represent one of Perafan's businesses, the geological surveying company Inversismica, which carried out work for foreign multinationals and the state oil company Ecopetrol.
Last month, Defence Minister Guillermo Alberto Gonzalez was forced to resign after it was revealed he had received a check for $3,000 from Perafan in the early 1990s.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_Heroin_07Apr97 KUWAIT: KUWAIT AIRPORT HEROIN HAUL DOUBLES IN 1996.
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07Apr97 KUWAIT: KUWAIT AIRPORT HEROIN HAUL DOUBLES IN 1996. 07:44 GMT 
KUWAIT, April 7 (April) - Kuwait airport authorities seized 60 kg (132 lb) of heroin in 1996, double the amount detected the previous year, an official was quoted on Monday as saying.
Khaled al-Mousa, head of Airport Customs Administration, told the Arab Times newspaper that heroin smuggling was now the biggest concern for authorities at the Gulf Arab state's only international airport.
Drug smuggling was made a capital crime in Kuwait in 1995 but no related executions have been reported.
Moslem conservative Kuwait, which bans alcoholic beverages, has a population of some two million people, including about 1.2 million foreign residents.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
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Subject:  LA_07Apr97 BRAZIL: BRAZIL WORST FOR POLICE VIOLENCE IN AMERICAS - PAPER. 00:19 GMT 
Status: O

07Apr97 BRAZIL: BRAZIL WORST FOR POLICE VIOLENCE IN AMERICAS - PAPER. 00:19 GMT 
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 6 (Reuter) - Brazil's record of police violence in cities is the worst in the Americas, according to a book to be published soon in the United States, local Jornal do Brasil newspaper said on Sunday.
The book, "Edge of the Knife - Police Violence in the Americas," examines the work of police forces in New York, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Jamaica.
New York University law professor and the book's author, Paul Chevigny, told the paper there was minimal respect for the lives of the lower classes in Brazil.
Police in Sao Paulo state killed 2,544 civilians in 1991 and 1992. In 1992 alone, some 1,470 people were killed, almost four times more than during 15 years of the country's military dictatorship, Jornal do Brasil said.
In 1991, 898 civilians were killed by police in the city of Sao Paulo compared with 178 the same year in Jamaica and 27 in New York.
Sao Paulo police are "very, very violent" and this was partly due to a widespread belief among Brazilians that criminals had to die, Chevigny said.
"For the sake of public relations, the military police says that the majority of civilian deaths are legally justified as they are due to shoot-outs or other potentially fatal situations," Chevigny said.
"The data supplied by the police indicate however that in the majority of instances this is not correct. The number of deaths is so much higher than the number of injured which seems to indicate that many of these killings are intentional," he added.
The issue of police violence was forced brutally into the Brazilian public eye after national television last week aired a videotape showing shocking images of Sao Paulo military police beating and extorting money from civilians, allegedly killing one.
The images have sparked revulsion throughout the country and protests from human rights groups.
In an interview published on Sunday with weekly Veja magazine, Brazil's President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said the problem with police violence was a cultural one.
"We are in a country which has always tended to accept police violence. There is no law that can change this," Cardoso said.
While training of officers was reasonable, recruitment among the lower ranks did not appear to be good, resulting in the entry of louts and psychopaths, he said.
The military police also has a strong lobby in Congress, particularly among parliamentarians who have also been state governors, he added. "All this makes it difficult to make any changes."
Virtually one-in-four people in Sao Paulo fear the police more than they fear criminals, while 33 percent believe police and criminals are equally dangerous, according to a poll in Sunday's Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


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Subject:  OLA_LA_ML_06Apr97 MEXICO: DRUG TRADE SUSPECTED IN TOP MEXICAN CASES - REPORT.
Status: O

06Apr97 MEXICO: DRUG TRADE SUSPECTED IN TOP MEXICAN CASES - REPORT. 23:52 GMT 
By Dan Trotta
MEXICO CITY, April 6 (Reuter) - Authorities say there are increasings signs that drug traffickers were involved in two high-profile criminal cases linked to the most powerful circles of Mexican politics, a newspaper roeported on Sunday.
The Mexico City daily El Financiero said officials were building a case linking drugs to the March 1994 assassination of ruling party presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, in part because of contacts Colosio may have had with particular drug barons.
"We have to investigate whether the policies that Luis Donaldo Colosio was trying to implement could have affected certain drug cartels," El Financiero quoted the special prosecutor in the case, Luis Raul Gonzalez Perez, as saying.
According to the El Financiero report, investigators have established that Colosio had contacts with the Juarez-based Gulf cartel. Gonzalez alluded to an incident in which Colosio barred a known leader of the Gulf cartel from attending a campaign party, cancelling his invitation at the last minute.
The report comes two days after the Swiss government said it suspected that drug money has flowed into the Swiss bank accounts of Raul Salinas de Gortari, the brother of former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.
Raul Salinas was arrested in 1995 for the 1994 killing of Jose Francisco Ruiz Massieu, secretary general of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He later was charged with illegal enrichment after authorities discovered the Swiss bank account, which contained $84 million.
The recent disclosures add to increasing anecdotal evidence that the Colosio assassination and case of Raul Salinas's millions were both intertwined with the drug trade.
U.S. officials say international drug cartels spend $6 billion a year bribing Mexican officials for safe passage of their illicit product to the lucrative U.S. market.
Colosio was gunned down at a campaign rally in the northern border city of Tijuana on March 23, 1994. So far only one man, confessed gunman Mario Aburto, has been definitively linked to the crime after a lengthy probe in which four special prosecutors have pursued 27 lines of investigation.
Colosio was forced to cancel the party invitation of Humberto Garcia Abrego, brother and lieutenant of Juan Garcia Abrego, the one-time chief of the Gulf cartel, El Financiero said. Juan Garcia Abrego was caught in 1996 and deported to the United States, where he was sentenced to life in prison by a federal court.
According to one unproven theory, the Tijuana-based Pacific drug cartel may have wanted Colosio dead for fear that he was too close to the rival Gulf cartel and might side with them in order to crack down on Tijuana.
"We can't count out that narco-traffickers are involved (in the Colosio murder)," El Financiero quoted Gonzalez as saying.
In the second case, PRI secretary general Ruiz Massieu was shot and killed outside a Mexico City hotel on Sept. 28, 1994. In Feburary 1995, Raul Salinas was arrested on suspicion of ordering the murder.
After Raul Salinas was jailed, his wife was caught attempting to withdraw money from a secret Swiss bank account that her husband controlled under an assumed name.
The Swiss government, which since has frozen the $84 million pending an investigation, issued a statement on Friday saying witnesses in the United States have tied him to drug traffickers.
Raul Salinas, questioned by Swiss prosecutors last week, has claimed the money came from an investment scheme involving some of Mexico's richest men.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


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Subject:  Drug_Seizure_06Apr97 PAKISTAN: PAKISTANI AUTHORITIES SEIZE 80 KG OF HEROIN. 05:58 GMT 
Status: O

06Apr97 PAKISTAN: PAKISTANI AUTHORITIES SEIZE 80 KG OF HEROIN. 05:58 GMT 
QUETTA, Pakistan, April 6 (Reuter) - Pakistani authorities have seized 80 kg (175 lb) of heroin from smugglers in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, government officials said on Sunday.
They said the Frontier Corps of Baluchistan found the heroin on Saturday in a smugglers' hideout in the remote Chagai district, 350 km (220 miles) southwest of the provincial capital Quetta.
There was no immediate report of casualties or arrests.
The Frontier Corps did not give a value for the seizure, but customs authorities say 80 kg of heroin has an estimated street value of about $28 million in the West.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


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Subject:  OLA_LA_EU_Press_06Apr97 NETHERLANDS: TRADE, DRUGS TOP EU-LATAM FOREIGN MINISTERS' TALKS.
Status: O

06Apr97 NETHERLANDS: TRADE, DRUGS TOP EU-LATAM FOREIGN MINISTERS' TALKS.
By David Fox
NOORDWIJK, Netherlands, April 6 (Reuter) - European Union attempts to forge closer links with Latin America will be given fresh impetus on Monday when its foreign ministers meet 11 of their Latam counterparts for wide-ranging talks.
The seventh EU/Rio Group ministerial conference aims to tackle trade, drugs, political links and environmental issues, but also includes meetings that could underline how regionalism is still obstructing world free trade.
The EU will hold separate meetings with the four Mercosur countries -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay -- and the five Andean Pact nations -- Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuala -- as well as bilateral talks with Chile and Mexico.
Some EU countries, chiefly France. have indicated that they want to see fewer free-trade areas being negotiated by its executive Commission.
French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette, warning that Europe was in danger of being swamped by cheap imported goods, has called for European Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan to stop what Paris sees as an unneccessary profligation of trade deals with non-EU countries.
With economic and monetary union (EMU) fast approaching, many EU countries are desperately scrambling to meet the criteria for membership and they fear cheaper imports could close local factories and therefore increase public spending.
But many less developed nations, such as those in South America, have made significant and often unpopular adjustments to their economies on the back of promises of lucrative trade deals.
The EU has made significant progress with several Latin American countries towards harmonising inspection standards and customs procedures to facilitate trade.
Trade will also features prominently when the ministers review efforts made to stamp out drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe.
The EU has offered enticing generalised system of preferences (GSP) privileges to Latin American countries which scrap drug crops in favour of food production.
But many EU countries are unconvinced that this has had much impact on drug trafficking and cite figures showing increasing addiction particularly in southern Europe, where the bulk of the smuggled drugs arrive.
Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Angel Gurria will be hoping for some movement on a bogged-down cooperation agreement with the EU when he meets the so-called troika of past, current and future EU presidents.
Mexico hopes an agreement can be finalised by the end of the month but negotiations are still locked at ambassador level in Brussels.
 
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


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Subject:  OLA_LA_05Apr97 COLOMBIA: U.S. STRIPS COLOMBIAN DRUG LORDS' ENTRY VISAS.
Status: O

05Apr97 COLOMBIA: U.S. STRIPS COLOMBIAN DRUG LORDS' ENTRY VISAS.
BOGOTA, April 5 (Reuter) - U.S. State Department officials said on Saturday some of Colombia's top drug lords and their relatives had been stripped of their U.S. entry visas.
The State Department issued a list of more than 250 Colombians -- most of them with proven or suspected links to the infamous Cali drug cartel -- now officially declared persona non grata in the United States.
The document features billionaire Cali mob capos Gilberto and Rodriguez Orejuela, even though both are serving time for drug trafficking and illicit enrichment in Bogota's maximum, high-security La Picota jail. Even when freed, they would be unlikely to head to the United States, which has made a string of unsuccessful requests for their extradition to face trail in a U.S court.
Another senior cartel member, Helmer "Pacho" Herrera, also behind bars in Colombia, made the list alongside the late drug lord Jose "Chepe" Santacruz Londono, who was shot dead by police in March 1996, after escaping from prison.
"The United States Department of State has revoked any and all visas which may be held by Colombian specially designated narcotraffickers ... The revocation of visas is effective immediately," a statement from the United States Embassy in Bogota said.
The list of "non-desirables" includes Miguel Rodriguez's wife, his son William and scores of businesspeople suspected of running shell companies used to launder Cali cartel funds.
But the document does not include individuals such as Justo Pastor Perafan, said to be Colombia's No.1 drug kingpin still on the run, nor the heads of the fast-expanding Norte del Valle drug cartel.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_Cannabis_05Apr97 CAMBODIA: SEVEN TONNES OF MARIJUANA SEIZED IN CAMBODIA.
Status: O

05Apr97 CAMBODIA: SEVEN TONNES OF MARIJUANA SEIZED IN CAMBODIA.
PHNOM PENH, April 5 (Reuter) - Seven tonnes of marijuana bound for Sri Lanka have been confiscated in Cambodia's southern port city of Sihanoukville, a chief drug official said on Saturday.
Heng Pou, Phnom Penh's chief of anti-drug police, said one Cambodian man had been arrested in connection with the case and more individuals were being investigated.
Police seized the marijuana on April 2 when it was about to be shipped to Sri Lanka, he said.
Heng Pou would not provide further details about the detained man.
A law signed by King Norodom Sihanouk on January 24 provides jail terms for trafficking in marijuana.
Police and customs officers in Europe, Africa and Australia last year seized almost 60 tonnes of marijuana in containers that came from Cambodia.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


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Subject:  Ecstasy_Drug_Abuse_05Apr97 SINGAPORE: FEWER DRUG ADDICTS BUT MORE ECSTASY IN SINGAPORE.
Status: O

05Apr97 SINGAPORE: FEWER DRUG ADDICTS BUT MORE ECSTASY IN SINGAPORE.
SINGAPORE, April 5 (Reuter) - The number of drug addicts in Singapore has dropped since hitting an all-time high in 1994, but Ecstasy has become increasingly popular among young people, a government official said on Saturday.
The number of drug addicts dropped to 5,740 in 1996 from 6,170 in 1994 thanks to vigorous law enforcement and effective treatment programmes, Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng told Singapore's 1997 national seminar on drug abuse.
Over the same period, the average daily population in Singapore's Drug Rehabilitation Centres (DRCs) slipped to 6,990 from 8,700 and the relapse rate fell to 73 percent from 81 percent, Wong said.
"Although these are encouraging, (ethnic) Malay and Indian drug addicts in the DRCs are still over-represented," he said.
Ethnic Malay and Indian drug addicts accounted for 52 percent and 16 percent respectively of the total DRC admissions in 1996.
But ethnic Chinese, accounting for 77 percent of Singapore's population, are not spared the drug abuse problem.
After Ecstasy first surfaced in Singapore in 1995, it quickly became popular among young people, and official data showed that 98 percent of the 661 arrested for Ecstacy abuse in 1996 were Chinese, Wong said.
Singapore recorded the first death from Ecstasy in September 1996 when Chinese actress Tay Teow Li died from an overdose of the drug, the Straits Times newspaper reported on Saturday.
"The emergence of such psychotropic drugs emphasises the need for all agencies involved in the anti-drug fight to be alert to new trends," Wong said.
"We can not afford to let up on this," he said.
Under Singapore's tough anti-drug laws, anyone over 18 years of age found guilty of possessing more than 15 grams (half an ounce) of heroin, 30 grams (an ounce) of morphine or 500 grams (18 ounces) of cannabis faces a mandatory death sentence.
More than 280 people have been hanged in Singapore for various offences over the past 20 years. More than half of those hanged were convicted of drug trafficking.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


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Subject:  ML_LA_05Apr97_Swiss Official Probes Drug Link.
Status: O

			Swiss Official Probes Drug Link

APO  4/5/97 1:56 AM   


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By ANITA SNOW
 Associated Press Writer
   MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Switzerland's attorney general questioned the brother of a former Mexican president Friday amid reports that she was zeroing in on drugs as a possible source for millions of dollars in his Swiss bank accounts.
   Carla del Ponte ignored questions by reporters as she entered a maximum-security prison outside Mexico City for a four-hour interrogation of Raul Salinas de Gortari, Television Azteca reported.
   It was the second time in a week that Del Ponte had questioned Salinas, brother of former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Raul Salinas, jailed since 1995 on charges of illegal enrichment and plotting a political assassination, denies any link with drug traffickers.
   A 16-month investigation, led by Del Ponte, has concluded that perhaps as much as $100 million that Raul Salinas held in Swiss accounts came from drug trafficking, according to a PBS television "Frontline" report.
   Excerpts of the broadcast, to be aired Tuesday, were released this week.
   Swiss authorities are preparing to seize the money, Swiss National Police Chief Valentin Roschacher says in the interview.
   Separately, the Mexico City daily Reforma reported that Del Ponte had traveled Thursday to Guadalajara to interview jailed drug lords Hector Palma Salazar and Joaquin Guzman, two of Mexico's reputed drug kingpins.
   But neither Swiss nor Mexican authorities would confirm Reforma's report.
   In a letter seeking permission from the Mexican Attorney General's office to interview suspects, Del Ponte underscored the belief that Raul Salinas had received "enormous amounts of money" from drug trafficking, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.
   The Mexican agency has confirmed that the letter was received, but refused further comment.
   The Herald said the Swiss investigation is based on depositions by about 15 witnesses who claim Salinas met with convicted drug boss Juan Garcia Abrego and other drug traffickers.
   Salinas' bank accounts in Switzerland were frozen in November 1995 when his wife and her brother were detained while trying to withdraw money, allegedly using documents bearing Salinas' photo and a false name.
   Raul Salinas has denied any links to drug traffickers and said the money was an investment fund pooled by several wealthy friends.
   If authorities prove the money came from drug trafficking, there could be serious implications for Citibank and several other U.S. banks that helped Salinas transfer funds out of Mexico and into Swiss accounts.
   Since last year, U.S. federal investigators have been scrutinizing Citibank's handling of Salinas' funds. Citibank maintains that none of its employees violated any laws in connection with the money.
   Mexican authorities have accused Raul Salinas of illegal enrichment in connection with his mysterious European bank fortune, but have not opened an investigation into possible drug ties.
   Salinas is accused in the 1994 assassination of his former brother-in-law, Jose Francisco Ruiz Massieu, then No. 2 man in the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. Officials have had trouble mounting clear evidence in the case. however.
   

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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_Cocaine_05Apr97_$24 million cocaine stash turns up on banana truck.
Status: RO

	   $24 million cocaine stash turns up on banana truck

RTna 4/5/97 12:07 AM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
 (New throughout)
     EVERGREEN, Ala. (Reuter) - Alabama police said Friday they released a New York trucker after questioning him about $24 million worth of cocaine that turned up inside his banana-laden 18-wheeler.
     Labeling their find the biggest drug haul in the state's history, police said the 1,100-pound stash of cocaine was hidden behind nearly 30,000 poundsof bananas in a separate compartment of the semi-trailer.
     A drug-sniffing dog named Kimi led state troopers to the cocaine during a routine traffic check Thursday evening, at a rest stop 60 miles north of the port city of Mobile.
     The stash of drugs was big enough to nearly fill the back of a pickup truck.
     "It's by far the largest seizure in Alabama," said Martha Earnhardt, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety.
     Police detained the trucker for several hours before finally releasing the man. Officers refused to disclose his name or provide any details about his background.
     The trucker's log showed the shipment originated in Slidell, Louisiana, and was heading for an unnamed destination in New Jersey. The trucker had a New York driver's license, police said.
     State troopers who found the cocaine were assigned to a special police unit monitoring safety standards on commercial vehicles.
     Once officers with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation had confiscated the cocaine, police had a job trying to figure out what to do with the bananas. They finally decided to give some of the fruit to a food bank in Montgomery and the rest to the state prison system.
  
 REUTER

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Subject:  OLA_LA_04Apr97_Austria, Bolivia Sign Accord on Investment Protection.
Status: RO

	 Austria, Bolivia Sign Accord on Investment Protection

OTC  4/4/97 5:35 PM   

 VIENNA (April 4) XINHUA - Austria and Bolivia signed here today an  agreement on the protection of investments. 
   The document was inked by Austria's State Secretary of Foreign Affairs  Benita Ferrero-Waldner and visiting Bolivian Foreign Minister Antonio  Aranibar Quiroga. 
   The two discussed possibilities of improving bilateral economic ties  and cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking. Enditem 
   04/04/97 15:32 GMT 
    Copyright 1997

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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_06Apr97_Iran Seizes 1.5 Tonnes of Narcotics.
Status: O

		  Iran Seizes 1.5 Tonnes of Narcotics

OTC  4/6/97 9:31 AM   

 TEHRAN (April 6) XINHUA - Iranian security forces confiscated 1,464  kilograms of narcotics in the northwestern cities of Torbat-e  Haidariyeh, Taibab and Fariman, Khorrasan province, the official Iran  News Agency IRNA reported today. 
   The IRNA report said that the haul included 1,310 kilograms of opium  and one kilogram of heroin seized Friday after clashes with an armed  group of drug traffickers in Torbat-e Haidariyeh. 
   The security forces also seized seven Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG)  shells, five pieces of military grenades and 375 rounds of cartridges  from the gang. 
   However, the report did not mention if any casualty was caused in the  clashes. 
   Iran seized 175 tonnes of narcotics and arrested 12,000 drug  traffickers during the last Iranian calendar year ending March 20,  1997. 
   Iran is a transit route for drugs coming from Pakistan and Afghanistan  destined for Europe.  Enditem 
   06/04/97  8:22 GMT 
   =04060829 06/04/97 08:28 GMT 
    Copyright 1997

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Subject:  ML_Organised_Crime_07Apr97_Italy Urges International Efforts Against ...
Status: RO

		 Italy Urges International Efforts Against ...

OTC  4/7/97 6:31 AM   

 ROME (April 6) XINHUA - Italy today underscored the importance of  pushing ahead with international moves to combat organized crimes by  easing banking secrecy laws worldwide. 
   At a U.N. meeting on crime sponsored by the Falcone Foundation, in  Palermo, Italy, Interior Minister Gjorgio Napolitano today said a  Polish proposal on tracing Mafia money through bank accounts should  prove useful in combating money laundering as the end of the Mafia is  closely linked to the end of banking secrecy. 
   Italy is in a position to lead the fight against organized crimes and  has much to teach other countries in the fight against Mafia and its  banking practices, he said. 
   The minister pointed out that his country is working to harmonize  national laws, especially those on organized crimes. Enditem 07/04/97  02:10 GMT 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  ML_Cyberbanking_04Apr97_US lawmaker wants study of online banking security.
Status: RO

	   US lawmaker wants study of online banking security

RTf  4/4/97 10:58 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuter) - House Banking Committee chairman Jim Leach asked the General Accounting Office on Friday to investigate the vulnerability of electronic banking, including the Federal Reserve System's Fedwire, to potential or actual abuse.
    "It is crucial to assess whether depository institutions and the Federal Reserve have implemented adequate firewalls to protect their electronic payment operations from unauthorized access through Internet connections," the Iowa Republican said in a letter to the GAO, the research arm of congress.
    The Fed transfers, on average, $1 trillion a day among financial institutions over its Fedwire electronic payments systems, Leach noted. Most banks also have their own electronic transfer systems for moving funds between branchs.
    Banks are a prime target for criminal computer hackers. In a well-publicized incident in 1995, a Russian hacker broke into Citicorp's computers and stole $2.8 million before being apprehended. While some computer specialists have said such crimes are not unusual, banks generally are loath to publicize the incidents.
    The GAO report could lift the veil of secrecy from bank hacking incidents. Leach asked the GAO to investigate whether the Fed and banks have experienced any successful attacks on their electronic payments systems, including any damage that may have resulted.
    --Aaron Pressman
 REUTER


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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_UK_Press_Cannabis_05Apr97_POLICE DRUGS.
Status: RO

				  POLICE DRUGS

PA   4/5/97 7:48 PM   


Copyright 1997 PA News.  Copying, storing, redistribution, retransmission, publication, transfer or commerical exploitation of this information is expressly forbidden.
   13 ARRESTED OVER  4m DRUGS BUST
   By Jo Butler, PA News.
   Police have intercepted a bid to smuggle more than a tonne of cannabis resin, worth an estimated  4m, into the country.
   Ten people were arrested near Exeter yesterday following an undercover operation by customs and police officers in Devon and Cornwall.
   Three more people were arrested later in Plymouth and Torquay and a yacht is being searched in Torquay.
   Police say the operation, codenamed Barbeque, was triggered by the suspicious movements of an inflatable boat in Plymouth. 
 


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Subject:  ML_LA_07Apr97_Trafficker Is Key In Swiss Probe Of Salinas.
Status: RO

		  Trafficker Is Key In Swiss Probe Of Salinas

DJ   4/7/97 3:55 AM   


   By Wall Street Journal Staff Reporters
   Peter Fritsch in Houston
   And Joel Millman and Laurie Hays in Mexico City
  As U.S. and Swiss prosecutors press their high-stakes probes into possible drug ties to former Mexican first-brother Raul Salinas de Gortari, much seems to hinge on the story of one otherwise unremarkable cocaine trafficker: Marco Enrique Torres-Garcia.
  Mr. Torres, who is in jail in Houston pending sentencing next week on drug trafficking charges, has told investigators in sworn depositions that he worked for several years as a liason between Mr. Salinas and convicted cocaine kingpin Juan Garcia Abrego and that he smuggled 40 to 50 tons of cocaine for Mr. Garcia Abrego, according to people familiar with the investigation.
  Those allegations were cited in a letter from Swiss Attorney General Carla del Ponte to her Mexican counterpart in February that spelled out the Swiss case against Mr. Salinas. While Mr. Torres wasn't named in the letter, people familiar with the investigation said that he was behind the allegations. Mrs. del Ponte led a team of investigators to Mexico last week to interview potential witnesses in the 16-month-old case. The Swiss government has frozen about $120 million in bank accounts controlled by Mr. Salinas, and will keep the money if it proves to be the product of narcotics trafficking.
  Mr. Salinas, who is in a Mexican prison facing murder and corruption charges, has denied any wrongdoing and vehemently rejects that he had ties to drug trafficking. He has said his money came from legitimate business interests and from rich Mexican friends who wanted him to establish an offshore investment fund. Under questioning by the Swiss last week, Mr. Salinas declined to respond with Mexican officials present, but said he would provide the names of his investors directly to the Swiss.
  Carlos Salinas de Gortari hasn't been charged with wrongdoing, and has denied knowledge of his brother's financial affairs.
  U.S. officials and others are watching the Swiss investigation carefully. If the Swiss can prove Raul Salinas's money came from drug traffickers, it could have significant implications for a Justice Department investigation into possible money laundering by Citibank, where Mr. Salinas had some of his accounts. Citibank, a unit of Citicorp, has denied any wrongdoing.
  Mrs. del Ponte acknowleged in an interview that her investigation has been difficult at times. Although her team has obtained sworn statements linking Raul Salinas to drugs, "the problem is that they come from criminals" so they have to be verified, she said.
  One such potential witness is Marco Torres, a 47-year-old Mexican national from Matamoros currently awaiting sentencing for a drug-trafficking conviction in Houston. In that case, Mr. Torres agreed to cooperate and give testimony in future drug cases in exchange for a government recommendation that he receive a reduced sentence.
  Mr. Torres couldn't be reached for comment. His attorney, C.J. Quintanilla, failed to return several telephone calls seeking comment.
  Mr. Torres's name first hit the headlines earlier this year in connection with a civil case in which U.S. prosecutors sought to seize $9 million from the Houston bank account of Mario Ruiz Massieu, a former deputy Mexican attorney general. A Houston jury in March determined that nearly $7.9 million of the money came from bribes paid by drug traffickers, allowing the U.S. government to keep the money.
   U.S. prosecutors had considered using Mr. Torres as a witness at that trial. According to a government memorandum filed under seal but later leaked to the press, Mr. Torres was present at a 1993 meeting at a Mexican ranch belonging to Raul Salinas during which Mr. Ruiz Massieu purportedly received $4 million. The payoff, according to the memorandum, was to ensure Mr. Ruiz Massieu's help in keeping Mr. Torres's name from emerging in connection with 1.2 tons of cocaine that had been seized at the Gulf port of Tampico.
  Mr. Ruiz Massieu, who is fighting a U.S. effort to deport him, has denied any drug links and testified that the bulk of his money came from members of his politically prominent family.
  It isn't clear why Mr. Torres failed to testify at the Ruiz Massieu trial.
  Mr. Torres's history, as disclosed in court documents and interviews with people who know him, suggests he started small. As a young man, he was arrested in the U.S. and deported three times for a variety of minor offenses. In 1978, he was arrested, tried and convicted for re-entering the U.S. He somehow managed to escape from Leavenworth penitentiary after serving a month of a one-year sentence. In 1990, he was arrested for that escape and served a year in prison before being deported yet again.
  But Mr. Torres didn't stay down for long. By mid-1992, according to a 1994 indictment filed in Houston federal district court, Mr. Torres was living in La Blanca, Texas, and had opened the New Roadhouse Entertainment Center, a local bar, and the "Fast Track" convenience store in nearby La Villa. Before long, Mr. Torres was running drugs, using the businesses as a front and the fake bottoms of cattle cars to move his merchandise to the Houston area, the government alleged.
  Government officials also alleged in court filings in the 1994 Houston drug case that Mr. Torres ordered the killings in 1993 and 1994 of six Mexicans he suspected of stealing marijuana from him. The officials also alleged that he firebombed a convenience store in competition with the Fast Track.
  By 1994, Mr. Torres and his wife Glenda had accumulated assets of $5.3 million, including $4.8 million in real estate, a Mercedes, two Jaguars, two Suburbans, $120,000 of cattle and $140,000 in cash.

Copyright 1997 Dow Jones & Co., Inc.  All rights reserved.
  (END) DOW JONES NEWS 04-06-97
   9 55 PM

Copyright 1997 Dow Jones & Co., Inc.  All rights reserved.


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Subject:  African_Drug_Trade_07Apr97_Trade in Narcotics Flourishes in Nairobi.
Status: RO

		Trade in Narcotics Flourishes in Nairobi

OTC  4/7/97 10:38 AM  

 NAIROBI (April 7) XINHUA - The narcotics trade is rampant and abuse  of narcotics are becoming wide-spread in some parts of the capital city  of Nairobi, the Daily Nation reported today. 
   The daily newspaper which has done extensive investigations said that  the abuse of cocaine, heroin and bhang/marijuana had infiltrated  schools and universities and about 40 percent of students are on drugs. 
   The mafia-type drug syndicate is co-ordinated by barons based in  low-class hotels and brothels in the city center, it pointed out. 
   Drug dealers secretly smuggle and traffick in drugs mostly from the  port city of Mombasa as the Anti-Narcotics Unit has taken stringent  measures at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. 
   In Nairobi, heroin is easier available than cocaine since the former is  easily trafficked from India and Pakistan while the latter is sourced  from far-away South America. 
   Residents are quoted as saying that drug dealers are influential  individuals who operate under the police protection. 
   The paper quoted Head of Anti-Narcotics Unit Michael Jackoham as  confirming the activities of the drug syndicate. 
   He said, "the drug problem in Kenya, especially in urban centers, is  serious and should be addressed now."  Enditem 
   =04070830 
   =04070837 07/04/97 08:37 GMT 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_Organised_Crime_07Apr97 SLOVAKIA:  SLOVAKIA AND SAXONY TO DEEPEN COOPERATION IN FIGHT AGAINST CRIME.
Status: RO

07Apr97 SLOVAKIA:  SLOVAKIA AND SAXONY TO DEEPEN COOPERATION IN FIGHT AGAINST CRIME.
Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1634 gmt 4 Apr 97
Text of report by the Czech news agency CTK
Berlin/Dresden, 4th April: Saxony and Slovakia will intensify their cooperation in the struggle with organized crime, a joint statement signed at the close of a two-day visit by [Slovak] Interior Minister Gustav Krajci to Dresden today said.
The cooperation should centre on fighting international drug trafficking, people smuggling and gun running.
Cooperation in training the police and in the sphere of police equipment is also planned under the agreement.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: CENTRAL EUROPE & BALKANS 7/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_05Apr97 BULGARIA:  CUSTOMS SEIZE 25 KG OF HEROIN.
Status: RO

05Apr97 BULGARIA:  CUSTOMS SEIZE 25 KG OF HEROIN.
Source: `Duma', Sofia, in Bulgarian 3 Apr 97
Text of report by Bulgarian newspaper `Duma' on 3rd April
In the course of a normal customs inspection yesterday, when the football match between Bulgaria and Cyprus was being transmitted, customs officers at the Ruse roll-on roll-off terminal seized 25 kg of heroin. The customs officers' suspicions were aroused by the behaviour of two Turkish citizens who were travelling in a Mercedes with Romanian number plates to Hungary. The driver of the car was not the owner, but a professional bus driver who often crosses the border.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: CENTRAL EUROPE & BALKANS 5/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_05Apr97 EU:  EU/LATIN AMERICA - EU MINISTERS TO MEET CONSTELLATION OF REGIONAL GROUPS.
Status: RO

05Apr97 EU:  EU/LATIN AMERICA - EU MINISTERS TO MEET CONSTELLATION OF REGIONAL GROUPS.
EU Foreign Ministers will be holding talks with their counterparts from Latin America on April 7 and 8 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, during the seventh EU-Rio Group* Ministerial meeting. The full Ministerial conference, however, will only occupy part of the two-day session, the rest of which will be devoted to meetings with smaller regional groupings. In recent years, these groupings, among them the Mercosur and Andean countries (and in Central America the San Jose countries) have engaged in a flurry of activity with the aim of increasing and liberalising trade between them and, in some cases, furthering regional integration through common accords and institutions. The EU, with the hindsight of its own experience in seeking regional unity, has been following these developments with interest, especially as Latin America has become a more important trade partner.
 
The EU-Rio Group talks will focus primarily on the broad subjects of political developments in the EU and Latin America, the political, economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development, interregional cooperation, and the fight against drugs, organised crime and terrorism. Separate meetings will be held with the Andean Community and Mercosur countries, with Mexico and with Chile.
EU-Andean Community links have been strengthened since 1990 as trade has increased (to some ECU 13.8bn in 1995), economic and investment ties have been reinforced, EU aid to the region has grown (to ECU 150m in 1995, 30% of all assistance given to Latin America) and steps have been made toward cooperating in the against drugs and the trade in chemical precursors used to make illegal substances. With this generally favourable scenario providing the backdrop, the talks on April 8 will concentrate on the Andean Community's political situation and future evolution and EU-Andean relations. Andean cooperation has undergone a transformation since March 1996, when the Andean Pact became the Andean Community, which is to be endowed with a General Secretariat and Presidential, Foreign Ministerial and Economic Ministerial Councils, and a stronger Court and Andean Parliament.
During the EU-Mercosur meeting, which will take place within the framework of the December 1995 Interregional Framework Cooperation Agreement, Ministers will discuss the political situation and future of the Southern Cone Common Market and the working of the Agreement. Regular trade talks between the two blocs began with the first Trade Sub-Committee meeting in November 1996 in Brazil and are expected to continue later this year.
The EU troika of Foreign Ministers (the Irish, Dutch and Luxembourg Ministers) are scheduled to hold separate talks with Mexico and Chile. The EU and Mexico are currently trying to agree on a mandate for negotiating a broad trade and cooperation accord so that talks on specific subjects - including free trade in goods, services, and investment, cooperation in sectors such as science, industry, education, and information technology, and a political dialogue - can begin, months after the EU put forward its position on talks in June 1996 and Mexico countered with its own view in November. At the April 7 meeting, Mexico could present its reaction to a modified EU approach to the negotiations, the result of long debate in the Council's Latin America working group, which it received in late March.
An EU troika-Chile meeting will examine the political situation in Chile, analyse its new Free Trade Agreement with Mercosur and efforts to establish ties with the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), and look at the status of the June 1996 economic and political Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Chile. This Agreement is to establish economic cooperation, liberalise trade and set up a political dialogue, and extend cooperation to a series of other sectors. Although it has not yet been ratified by all of the Member States, it has provisionally entered into force.
Honduras will attend the EU-Rio Group meeting as the observer from Central America, and Guyana will represent the Caribbean countries and Caricom. The Presidents of the Organisation of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the Latin American Parliament, the Institute for European-Latin American Relations, the European Parliament and the European Investment Bank have also been invited.
* The Rio Group includes Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay (the Mercosur countries), the Andean Community countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, and Chile, Mexico and Panama.
 
(c) European Report 1997. 
EUROPEAN UNION 
EUROPEAN REPORT 5/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_05Apr97 COLOMBIA: U.S. STRIPS COLOMBIAN DRUG LORDS' ENTRY VISAS.
Status: RO

05Apr97 COLOMBIA: U.S. STRIPS COLOMBIAN DRUG LORDS' ENTRY VISAS.
BOGOTA, April 5 (Reuter) - U.S. State Department officials said on Saturday some of Colombia's top drug lords and their relatives had been stripped of their U.S. entry visas.
The State Department issued a list of more than 250 Colombians -- most of them with proven or suspected links to the infamous Cali drug cartel -- now officially declared persona non grata in the United States.
The document features billionaire Cali mob capos Gilberto and Rodriguez Orejuela, even though both are serving time for drug trafficking and illicit enrichment in Bogota's maximum, high-security La Picota jail. Even when freed, they would be unlikely to head to the United States, which has made a string of unsuccessful requests for their extradition to face trail in a U.S court.
Another senior cartel member, Helmer "Pacho" Herrera, also behind bars in Colombia, made the list alongside the late drug lord Jose "Chepe" Santacruz Londono, who was shot dead by police in March 1996, after escaping from prison.
"The United States Department of State has revoked any and all visas which may be held by Colombian specially designated narcotraffickers ... The revocation of visas is effective immediately," a statement from the United States Embassy in Bogota said.
The list of "non-desirables" includes Miguel Rodriguez's wife, his son William and scores of businesspeople suspected of running shell companies used to launder Cali cartel funds.
But the document does not include individuals such as Justo Pastor Perafan, said to be Colombia's No.1 drug kingpin still on the run, nor the heads of the fast-expanding Norte del Valle drug cartel.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  ML_03Apr97 UK:  ANTIGUA CLOSES RUSSIAN BANKS; AUSTRALIA UPHOLDS KEY LAW LAUNDERING SUSPICIONS PROMPT ANTIGUA TO CLOSE ...
Status: RO

03Apr97 UK:  ANTIGUA CLOSES RUSSIAN BANKS; AUSTRALIA UPHOLDS KEY LAW LAUNDERING SUSPICIONS PROMPT ANTIGUA TO CLOSE ...
ANTIGUA CLOSES RUSSIAN BANKS; AUSTRALIA UPHOLDS KEY LAW Laundering suspicions prompt Antigua to close five Russian banks.
 
The tiny island-nation of Antigua, nestled among some of the world'sbest-known offshore secrecy and money laundering havens, made a bold statement last month when it closed five of the six Russia-based offshore banks that operate on the island due to suspicions of money laundering. Antigua, a former British colony, also asked London to send a permanent representative to assist in an assessment of the money laundering risks in its financial sector. Lester Bird, Antigua's prime minister, called the moves a response to "increasing international unease with (Antigua's) offshore banking sector." The U.S. State Department, in its 1997 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, calls Antigua "one of the more vulnerable financial centers in the Caribbean" to money laundering. Bird says Antigua has been unfairly judged as a money laundering center, citing that most of the island's offshore banks are U.S.-owned. Wrenford Ferrance, who serves as advisor to the Antiguan government on money laundering policies, exp
lained that most of the Russian banks that were closed were established prior to a new Antiguan money laundering law and that in the future offshore banking licences would be granted "only to those applicants which are affiliated with reputable financial houses." Ferrance also said that the government is reviewing all existing offshore banking licences and that those found to be operating in an "unsatisfactory manner" will be closed. Antigua has already rejected applications by other Russian banks looking to open branches in the region. In June 1996, Money Laundering Alert reported on Antigua's European Union Bank which allows access by customers around the world to a full range of offshore private banking services from its Internet web site. Following MLA's report, the bank was the subject of a Bank of England advisory that warned prospective depositors to "carry out appropriate due diligence" when dealing with the bank. One of EUB's controlling parties was Alexander Konanykhine, a Russian accused of fleein
g his country with more than $8 million in stolen funds. He is currently being held in the U.S. on immigration charges and is fighting extradition to Russia. Antigua's Money Laundering (Prevention) Act, enacted in December 1996, criminalizes the laundering of the proceeds of most major crimes and imposes recordkeeping and reporting duties on banks and non-bank financial institutions. The impact of the law will depend on the allocation of scarce enforcement and prosecutorial resources.
 
Money Laundering Alert, March 1, 1997
THIS IS THE FULL TEXT: COPYRIGHT 1997 Alert International, Inc.
(c) 1997 Information Access Company. All rights reserved. 
PROMT 
MONEY LAUNDERING ALERT 1/3/97 



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Subject:  ML_03Apr97 USA:  EXEMPTIONS LIKELY CAUSE OF FIRST CTR DROP.
Status: RO

03Apr97 USA:  EXEMPTIONS LIKELY CAUSE OF FIRST CTR DROP.
For the first time since the U.S. money laundering law was enacted, filings of the Currency Transaction Report, the government's oldest tool in tracing dirty money, have taken a downward turn. During the second half of 1996, the number of CTRs filed dropped by nearly 300,000 from the number filed in the first half of 1996. It appears that the reason for the drop is the Treasury Department's interim rule on currency transaction reporting exemptions which took effect on May 1, 1996. The Currency Transaction Report, IRS Form 4789, must be filed by all financial institutions to report cash transactions of more than $10,000. While the total filings for 1996, which exceeded 12.7 million, showed a 6% increase over the 12 million CTRs filed in 1995, the total for the second half of 1996 dropped by 4.1% from the first half's total. It is the first such decrease in second-half filings in at least the past ten years. Filings of IRS Form 8362, the casino CTR, continued a steady rise that began in 1992. Increasing by mor
e than 30% over last year's filings, casino CTR filings hit 151,300 in 1996. Form 8362 is filed by casinos, except those in Nevada, on all cash transactions of more than $10,000. Since 1991, yearly casino CTR filings have nearly tripled. Regulations that took effect in August 1996, adding Indian casinos to those that must file Form 8362, are the likely reason for the sharp increase in 1996.
 
Money Laundering Alert, March 1, 1997
THIS IS THE FULL TEXT: COPYRIGHT 1997 Alert International, Inc.
(c) 1997 Information Access Company. All rights reserved. 
PROMT 
MONEY LAUNDERING ALERT 1/3/97 



From Mulschlegel@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl Mon Apr  7 16:39:55 1997 remote from 
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Subject:  ML_03Apr97 USA:  PROPOSED CHANGE IN NASD LISTINGS IMPACTS CTR EXEMPTIONS.
Status: RO

03Apr97 USA:  PROPOSED CHANGE IN NASD LISTINGS IMPACTS CTR EXEMPTIONS.
U.S. banks that feel burdened by the monitoring that the new currency transaction reporting exemption for corporations that are listed on one of the major stock exchanges, including NASDAQ, will not be pleased by the recent announcement of the National Association of Securities Dealers. Periodic scanning by banks of the stock listings in the daily newspapers could be the tip of the iceberg. It now appears that to stay clear of trouble after exempting "listed corporations" under the interim exemption rules issued by the Treasury Department's FinCEN, that took effect on May 1, 1996, banks must also follow closely the changes in listing criteria of the various stock markets. The announcement by the NASD shows that it may be the only way to find out about changes that could alter a customer's exemption status. The Nasdaq Market is one of the stock markets whose listed companies are now eligible for mandatory CTR exemptions under the interim currency transaction reporting exemption rules that took effect on May 1
, 1996. On November 6, 1996, the Nasdaq Stock Market Board of Directors sent a Notice to Members saying it had approved changes to "strengthen both the quantitative and qualitative standards for issuers listing on Nasdaq" by enhancing "the threshold criteria necessary to qualify for listing." The changes will make it much more difficult for companies listed on the Nasdaq National Market to remain listed. Many of those will have already been exempted by banks from CTR reporting under FinCEN's interim exemption rule. Under the rule, entities "whose common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange or the American Stock Exchange (except those listed on the Emerging Company Marketplace of the ASE) or whose common stock has been designated as a Nasdaq National Market Security listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (except stock listed under the separate "Nasdaq Small-Cap Issues" heading)" are considered bank customers whose large currency transactions are exempt from reporting. Under the interim rule, banks must r
evoke a corporation's exempt status if "such corporation ceases to be listed on the applicable stock exchange." (61 Fed. Reg. 18,204, 18,212) Despite numerous complaints from banks about the apparent requirement of immediate revocation of exemptions when eligible status ends, FinCEN does not presently extend a grace period for revoking the exemption status of a corporation which, for any reason, is no longer listed on one of the designated exchanges. The NASD's recommended changes, which were submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission for approval on February 28, 1997, would raise the minimum net tangible assets required for a listed company from $4 million to $6 million, the minimum number of shares in the "public float" from 500,000 to 1.1 million and their minimum value from $3 million to $8 million. The NASD says a final rule on the changes will not be issued for six months to one year and will be preceded by a comment period. The present standards have not changed since 1989. The NASD says it i
s impossible now to tell how many companies will be affected.
 
Money Laundering Alert, March 1, 1997
THIS IS THE FULL TEXT: COPYRIGHT 1997 Alert International, Inc.
(c) 1997 Information Access Company. All rights reserved. 
PROMT 
MONEY LAUNDERING ALERT 1/3/97 



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Subject:  ML_03Apr97 USA:  SAMPLING OF PUBLIC COMMENTS ON INTERIM' CTR EXEMPTION RULE.
Status: RO

03Apr97 USA:  SAMPLING OF PUBLIC COMMENTS ON INTERIM' CTR EXEMPTION RULE.
Some 55 institutions and associations filed public comments with theTreasury Department on the "interim" regulation granting exemptions on Currency Transaction Reporting for the transactions of certain bank customers. The rule, which took effect on May 1, 1996, has not yet been issued in final form. Here is a sampling of the comments:
Increased laundering from new exemptions? "(W)e feel that exempting listed corporations will result in an increase in money laundering conducted through those corporations.... Banks should anticipate an increase in the amount of money laundering conducted through listed corporation.... (T)he Interim Rule not only increases the risk of legitimate employees of listed corporations misusing their authority but also increases the risk of members of organized crime posing as officials of listed corporations in order to launder currency through the banking industry." John Connery, ABN-AMRO North America, Inc., Chicago.
Other potential problems "Although it may be convenient to allow listed corporations' to be made exempt by the rule, the rationale for doing so must be questioned. Rightfully so, the current exemption process requires an exempt business to be retail in nature. As a rule, retail businesses are the ones that have legitimate reasons for depositing and withdrawing large sums of cash. Wholesale businesses do not. It is a mistake to forget this important part of the definition of an exempt depositor. It is recommended that it be added into the new rule." E. Maria Caiute Breithaupt, Summit Bancorp, Princeton, New Jersey.
"Arguably, the final rule may be construed to subject financial institutions to liability for the failure to revoke the exemption of a corporation the day after it ceases to be listed on a national stock exchange." Kenneth Robinson, National Association of Federal Credit Unions, Washington, D.C.
Alternative solutions "Treasury should consider authorizing an outside consultant... to designate those entities that may be exempted under the listed company/subsidiary criteria. The result of the Treasury's interim rule is that financial institutions across America are individually scrambling to perform the same, duplicated tasks by August 15th...." Christopher Chenoweth and Leland Chan, California Bankers Association, San Francisco.
"If I could increase my exemption limits by 20% on my unilaterally-exempted businesses and exempt multiple accounts by (Taxpayer Identification Number) instead of [by] account number, I could reduce my filings by 80%." Barbara Plott, Douglas County Bank & Trust Co, Omaha, Nebraska.
"Most national corporations who offer franchise arrangements go to great lengths to scrutinize and monitor the franchisees so as not to jeopardize the goodwill of their corporate name. If it is felt that these enterprises themselves are subject to controls such that there is only minimal risk of them engaging in money laundering, why should we not rely on these trustworthy entities' own controls over their franchisees as well?" Gary Weiss and Robert Gow, First Merit Corporation, Akron, Ohio.
"It is our opinion that the current requirement to report transactions exceeding $10,000 is far outdated, and as with other inflationary related issues, should be raised periodically." Stuart Lehr, U.S. Bancorp.
Food for thought "We do the centralized processing for First Commercial Bank and 15 affiliate banks. My question to you is, after we make the determination that a customer is exempt for all 16 banks, is it possible to establish on corporate level exemption list to be used by all affiliates which are actually functioning as branches?... I am requesting that if you cannot address this issue in the final rule that maybe you could grant us an exception to issue one exemption list under the interim rule due to our affiliates function as a branch network with separate tax ID numbers." Debra Harvey, First Commercial Corporation, Little Rock, Arkansas.
"Are there any trends on those customers for which CTRs have been routinely filed that subsequently were found to have criminal ramifications? How may franchised businesses have been found to be fronts for money launderers or other criminal activity?... How many customers exempted under the current exemption procedure have ultimately been investigated for criminal activity?... What are the percentages of criminals caught because a bank filed CTRs? I think these are some of the questions that need to be looked at further if we want to see a system that works for both law enforcement and the financial community." Lola B. Lewchuk, Mercantile-Safe Deposit & Trust Company, Baltimore.
Better safe than sorry "Now that many banks have automated CTR filing systems, whenever the exemption process has either discretionary or monitoring elements, we feel that banks will continue to file CTRs rather than risk making an erroneous judgment on an exemption." Edmund Kajiyama, First Hawaiian Bank, Honolulu.
"In drafting the final regulations based upon the Interim Rule and subsequent exemption regulations, Treasury must appreciate that banks like Citibank which file CTRs magnetically using automated systems only will use the exemption process if it is cost effective and free from the risk of potential liability." Susan Galli, Citibank, New York.
"If Treasury decides to revoke a customer's exemption and publishes notice in the Federal Register it could take weeks (or even months) for this information to arrive on my desk. What liability is the bank under since we have failed to file. Will we be required to conduct the extensive back research necessary to file CTRs? This by itself could be considered too burdensome to risk." Brenda Canterbury, National Bank of Commerce, Birmingham, Alabama.
 
Money Laundering Alert, March 1, 1997
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Subject:  ML_03Apr97 USA:  BANKERS CONFUSED WITH FINCEN'S NEW CTR EXEMPTION REGULATION.
Status: RO

03Apr97 USA:  BANKERS CONFUSED WITH FINCEN'S NEW CTR EXEMPTION REGULATION.
While the Treasury Department's interim rule on currency transactionreporting exemptions appears to be achieving its primary goal of reducing the number of Currency Transaction Reports filed by U.S. financial institutions, U.S. banks say the rule needs a lot of fine-tuning. Public comments filed with Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on the interim rule show that banks find very little relief under the rule, which took effect on May 1, 1996. It has not yet been issued in final form. With FinCEN reportedly on the verge of issuing the final rule, the bankers' concerns deserve a closer look. Only a handful of the 55 institutions that took time to comment on the interim rule think it should be adopted "as is." The vast majority found the rule to be confusing, burdensome and ineffective. The regulation was mandated by Congress as part of the 1994 Money Laundering Suppression Act which required Treasury to reduce CTR filings by at least 30% over three years. The law required a two-tier CTR exemption 
procedure, one "mandatory" and the other "discretionary" (Title 31, USC Sec. 5313(d)). "On the whole, we appear to be trading one set of complex, burdensome requirements for another complex, burdensome but less defined set of requirements," said Eric Durham, Director of Compliance for First of America, a $24 billion bank holding company with banks in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Florida. Max Cook, President of the Missouri Bankers Association, which represents nearly 500 banks, echoed the feelings of nearly all the small to medium-sized community banks that commented: "(F)or most community banks that deal with Main Street' business as opposed to Wall Street' business, the proposed regulation... is worthless...." The most frequently-noted shortcoming of the rule involves the CTR exemptions permitted for corporations whose stock is listed on certain stock exchanges and the exemptibility of their subsidiaries. The rule says banks must exempt from currency transaction reporting "any corporation whose common s
tock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange or the American Stock Exchange (except stock listed on the Emerging Company Marketplace of the ASE) or whose common stock has been designated as a Nasdaq National Market Security listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (except stock listed under the separate "Nasdaq Small-Cap Issues" heading)." Subsidiaries of those corporations "whose federal income tax return is filed as part of a consolidated federal income tax return with such corporation..." are also exempt (61 Fed. Reg. 18,204, 18,212). Brenda Canterbury, BSA Compliance Officer at National Bank of Commerce in Birmingham, Alabama, said: "If revocation of exempt' status is automatically revoked when the corporation ceases to be listed on the applicable stock exchange or when a subsidiary ceases to be included in a consolidated federal income tax return..., I am not comfortable in exempting any listed corporation under this section of the rule.... How do you monitor this? Are we supposed to check the Wall Street Jou
rnal every day?... Might an annual verification of trading status be construed as diligent?" Community banks also find problems with that portion of the rule, but for different reasons. "We are a community bank with assets of $205 million in a town of about 7,500 people.... After reviewing our current exemption listing..., we have only 6 companies listed on the major exchanges as required. While the intent of the interim rule is to reduce CTR reporting, it is clear that our reporting burden would not be reduced but enlarged should the common stock criteria... be the only basis for granting an exemption," said Sonya Grove, Compliance Officer at First National Bank & Trust Co. of Corbin, Kentucky. The California Bankers Association said: "At first blush, the exemption available for transactions by listed corporations and their subsidiaries appears straight forward and sensible. Unfortunately, our member banks so far have found this task to be neither.... (I)t may require hours of correspondence, time and money
 just to determine whether a particular customer qualifies...." Deborah J. McCormick of NBD Bank, Detroit, points out another potential problem with the listed-company exemption. She says non-bank financial institutions, including money transmitters and check cashers, have been long excluded from exemptions by Treasury, but may be exempt under the interim rule. She asks: "Given the fact that there is no prohibition against exempting transactions with (NBFIs) in the Interim Rule, can a bank now exempt this type of transaction if the (NBFI) qualifies as an exempt person?" A frequent comment addresses the interim rule's deadline for exempting customers. The rule says: "A bank must designate each exempt person with whom it engages in transactions in currency, on or before the later of August 15, 1996, and the date 30 days following the first transaction in currency between such bank and such exempt person that occurs after April 30, 1996." If the rule is finalized as is, it could prohibit banks that have yet to 
implement the interim rule from ever exempting customers not already exempt. John Topczewski, Corporate Compliance Officer for Johnson International, Inc., a holding company with banks in Wisconsin, Illinois and Arizona, voiced the concerns of many: "We are particularly concerned about if a customer begins to conduct transactions eligible for exemption prior to August 15, 1996 and we do not, in good faith, discover or believe an exemption is warranted until after that date. The current interim rule would make it appear that the customer might never again be eligible for an exemption." Late last month, FinCEN issued a clarification on filing deadline under the interim rule. The interim rule, which was issued April 24, 1996, applies only to banks and other depository institutions such as credit unions and thrifts. The May 1996 issue of Money Laundering Alert contains an extensive analysis of the rule.
 
Money Laundering Alert, March 1, 1997
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Subject:  ML_03Apr97 USA:  NEVADA BEATS FINCEN TO PUNCH WITH CASINO SAR RULES.
Status: RO

03Apr97 USA:  NEVADA BEATS FINCEN TO PUNCH WITH CASINO SAR RULES.
The Nevada Gaming Commission has become the first regulatory agency in the United States to formalize the requirement that casinos report suspicious transactions of their gaming customers and others. By doing so it beat to the punch the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network which has said it is preparing such rules for other casinos that operate in the U.S. The new SAR rules for Nevada casinos are part of a major restructuring of the state's money laundering-related regulations which were finalized in late January. The new regulations are titled "Cash transactions prohibitions, reporting, and recordkeeping" (NGC Regulation 6A). They will take effect on May 1, except for the suspicious activity reporting requirements, which will take effect October 1. The new rules, which repeal existing regulations on cash transaction recordkeeping and reporting for Nevada casinos, among other things, require that casinos report any "suspicious transaction" involving more than $3,000, including chip
s, tokens and other "gaming instrumentalities" (6A.100). The regulation defines "suspicious transaction" in a similar way to the federal suspicious activity reporting regulations applicable to banks and other "depository institutions" that took effect on April 1, 1996. The SAR rules for depository institutions were treated extensively, with questions and answers and examples, in the February 1996 edition of Money Laundering Alert. The new Nevada SAR rule covers a transaction conducted or attempted "by, at, or through" a casino that the casino knows or, "in the judgment of the (casino) or its officers, employees and agents," has reason to suspect: - "involves funds derived from illegal activities or is conducted or intended to be conducted to hide or disguise funds or assets derived from illegal activities... as part of a plan to violate or evade any federal or state law or regulation or to avoid any transaction reporting requirement under federal or state law or regulation" - "is designed to willfully evade 
any requirements of Regulation 6A including the structuring of transactions or attempt to structure transactions" - "has no business or apparent lawful purpose or is not the sort of transaction in which the particular patron would normally be expected to engage, and the (casino) knows of no reasonable explanation for the transaction after examining the available facts, including the background and possible purpose of the transaction." Reporting of suspicious transactions involving less than $3,000 will be voluntary under the new rule. Reporting will be done on a yet-to-be-released "Suspicious Activity Report by Casinos" form, which FinCEN is preparing. Casinos will file the form with FinCEN, which will store and analyze the forms. Other elements of the new rule include: - A filing deadline of 30 days following initial detection of the transaction (an additional 30 days are allowed for identifying a suspect) - A prohibition of revealing to the subject of an SAR that a report has been filed - A "safe harbor" f
rom civil liability for filing SARs - A requirement to keep supporting documentation for five years. The required supporting documentation includes player rating records or other documents summarizing player ratings. Those are used to substantiate SARs "based in whole or part on the transactions recorded on the rating record." Nevada says the new rules are designed to bring its casinos, which have been the beneficiaries of an exemption from BSA regulations since May 1985, up to the "reporting and recordkeeping requirements of current federal regulations." The exemption, which forms part of the BSA regulations, is dependent on adoption by the Nevada Gaming Commission of casino recordkeeping and reporting requirements that Treasury finds equal to federal standards (31 CFR 103.45(c)).
 
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Subject:  ML_03Apr97 USA:  BANKS SILENT ON BSA RECORDKEEPING DUTIES.
Status: RO

03Apr97 USA:  BANKS SILENT ON BSA RECORDKEEPING DUTIES.
FinCEN's invitation to financial institutions on October 21, 1996, to comment on the recordkeeping provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act regulations appears to have been met with a yawn. Only three responded, including the American Bankers Association. FinCEN asked institutions to document the steps they follow in complying with 28 "recordkeeping" duties of the BSA rules (31 CFR Part 103) (MLA, Nov. 1996). It said the purpose is to assist in "refining its current estimates for the information recordkeeping burden." The ABA, through its money laundering expert, John Byrne, applauded the new suspicious activity reporting system that started in April 1996 as well as the efforts to reduce the number of CTRs filed. The ABA urged elimination of "the overall statutory mandate for monetary instrument purchases because the law still requires that some information be documented at the time of purchase and logs [which no longer must be kept by banks] are seen by some as the only method to accomplish this task." The ABA al
so urged elimination of the wire transfer recordkeeping requirement. Byrne says "the next several years will show that (it) is not the answer to money laundering deterrence." Regina Gaffke of Albany Bank, in Chicago, said her bank spends more than 1,200 hours a year completing CTRs, without considering training and auditing. She calls the BSA regulations a "great burden" and "very expensive." Michele Mulder Spear, of First Chicago NBD Bank, in Detroit, said her bank, despite filling out and filing CTRs in "the least burdensome manner," spends more than $40,000 a year in filing CTRs. She says her bank spends 47.5 hours per year in reviewing exemptions and 1,500 hours in compiling records on monetary instrument sales.
 
Money Laundering Alert, March 1, 1997
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Subject:  ML_03Apr97 USA:  TEXAS COMMERCE BAN - WAS U.S. WILLFULLY BLIND' TO RUIZ-TCB AFFAIR?
Status: RO

03Apr97 USA:  TEXAS COMMERCE BAN - WAS U.S. WILLFULLY BLIND' TO RUIZ-TCB AFFAIR?
Willful blindness, a legal concept that government prosecutors oftenurge courts to apply in establishing a defendant's knowledge of the illicit origin of funds, could well be applied to the government in the case of the bank account of Mario Ruiz Massieu at the Texas Commerce Bank. Defined as "the deliberate avoidance of knowledge of the facts," willful blindness, or "deliberate ignorance," has spelled doom for many defendants in money laundering cases. The opening of the account at TCB by Ruiz Massieu and the deposit over 14 months of massive sums of currency were known almost from the inception by four U.S. government agencies - the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the U.S. Customs Service, the Internal Revenue Service and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. They knew of the account, how it was opened, the frequent and massive currency deposits and the likely origin of the money. If they say they didn't know, an argument could be made that they were willfully blind. Th
e government's forfeiture suit in Houston against the account reveals that two other agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration, also participated in the investigation of Ruiz Massieu and may have knowledge of the account. The government's failure to act in a situation that seemed to cry out "Drug Money, Drug Money, Lots Of It!" raises serious questions about important elements of the U.S. money laundering effort, including the various reports financial institutions are required to file: - What use do the government agencies make of the data from Customs Service Form 4790, which was filed on 24 occasions by Ruiz Massieu's courier, Jorge Stergios?. - What use do the government agencies make of the data from IRS Form 4789, which TCB filed on 25 occasions on the massive deposits of currency by Ruiz Massieu and Stergios? - Most troubling, what use do the government agencies make of the "suspicious transaction" or "suspicious activity" forms and reports, which TCB sent a
t least 10 times starting three months after Ruiz Massieu's account was opened? - What is the adequacy of Bank Secrecy Act and money laundering examinations of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which examined TCB on those subjects in 1994 when Ruiz Massieu made currency deposits of more than $7 million and the bank filed several "suspicious transaction" CTRs? - What is the adequacy of the intelligence and intelligence sharing by federal enforcement agencies on cases with these characteristics? - What cooperation and information-sharing is there between the bank supervisory agencies, such as the OCC, and the law enforcement agencies? The Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act of 1992 requires the Justice Department to inform federal banking supervisory agencies about information that law enforcement agencies gather about banks in the U.S. (MLA, Nov. 1992). - What role did the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and its Counter-Narcotics Center in Mexico play in this affair, and was there adequate 
sharing of intelligence such as the 1992 Annunzio-Wylie Act required the CIA to undertake with the Justice Department? Here is what the agencies knew about Ruiz Massieu and when they knew it:
FinCEN - From as early as January 1994, when TCB filed the first CTR on Ruiz Massieu, FinCEN had control of, and computer access to, the 25 CTRs filed by TCB, the 24 CMIRs (Customs Service Form 4790) filed by Stergios upon entering the U.S., the 10 or more "suspicious transaction" CTRs that TCB filed, and any reports of BSA violations that the OCC may have submitted.
U.S. Customs Service - From as early as March 2, 1994, the Customs Service began receiving 24 CMIRs filed by Stergios and had reports of at least three interviews of Stergios by Customs agents when he arrived in Houston from Mexico.
IRS - From as early as January 1994, the IRS began receiving the 25 CTRs (IRS Form 4789) that TCB filed on the Ruiz Massieu deposits and, from March 1995, began receiving at least 10 "suspicious transaction" CTRs the bank filed.
OCC - During 1994, the OCC had the results of the BSA and money laundering examination of TCB that its examiners conducted. OCC guidelines instruct examiners to review CTRs filed by a bank and to determine compliance with BSA regulations. In all, the government had 59 different reports, including 25 CTRs, 24 CMIRs and at least 10 "suspicious transaction" CTRs, not counting any OCC report, that were received and fed into its sophisticated computers. Did it permit violations of the money laundering law and BSA regulations to persist when its own records gave signs of possible violation? Is the mandatory reporting system imposed on financial institutions, that these agencies fight to preserve, due for an examination by Congress or some independent body?
 
Money Laundering Alert, March 1, 1997
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From Mulschlegel@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl Mon Apr  7 16:42:08 1997 remote from 
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Subject:  ML_03Apr97 USA:  TEXAS COMMERCE BAN - TEXAS BANK TOOK GIANT CASH DEPOSITS FROM MEXICAN DRUG OFFICIAL.
Status: RO

03Apr97 USA:  TEXAS COMMERCE BAN - TEXAS BANK TOOK GIANT CASH DEPOSITS FROM MEXICAN DRUG OFFICIAL.
In apparent violation of Bank Secrecy Act regulations, and possibly of the U.S. money laundering law, the Texas Commerce Bank, a subsidiary of Chase Manhattan Corp., allowed the coordinator of Mexican drug prosecutions to open and maintain a checking account into which the official deposited a weekly average of $178,391 in currency during a 50-week period ending in February 1995. Two of the currency deposits were for $615,210 and $799,000. None was for less than $200,060. The customer, Mario Ruiz Massieu, was the Deputy Attorney General of Mexico on December 2, 1993, when he opened a low-interest-bearing checking account with a $40,000 cash deposit at the Texas Commerce Bank, the second largest bank in Texas. Ninety days later, on March 2, 1994, he began to make a series of 24 deposits of massive sums of currency. By February 1995, he had deposited more than $8.9 million in cash - mostly in $20 bills. The 24 deposits were made for Ruiz Massieu by a fellow employee of the Mexican government, Jorge Stergios, w
ho is a fugitive of Mexican justice. The U.S. government says the deposits into the TCB account represented "protection" payoffs to Ruiz Massieu by Mexican drug cartels. The U.S. government also says that TCB filed all the required Currency Transaction Reports (IRS Form 4789) on Ruiz Massieu's cash transactions. Money Laundering Alert has learned that TCB did more than that. Beginning on March 16, 1994, when Stergios made the sixth of the 24 deposits, for $259,920, TCB marked the "suspicious transaction" box on Line 1 of the CTR. Informed sources say the bank marked the CTR's "suspicious transaction" box on at least 10 subsequent Stergios deposits into the account.
No government agency is believed to have responded to those "suspicious" signals from TCB although at least four U.S. agencies - the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, U.S. Customs Service, Internal Revenue Service, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency - knew of the account and its activity from the inception. The government did nothing to stop any improper activity until Ruiz Massieu told a federal court of the account in March 1995 in Newark, New Jersey, where he faces unrelated charges. After his arrest there on March 3, 1995, the government froze the account on March 8, 1995, and filed the formal civil forfeiture action on June 15, 1995. The bank records obtained by Money Laundering Alert from the forfeiture case court file in Houston reveal that TCB possibly violated Bank Secrecy Act regulations in the procedures required for identifying customers on whose cash transactions it is filing a CTR. It also may have violated the money laundering law in conducting the two 
dozen large cash transactions in an account that it never closed. In response to a request for comment, David Byford, a bank spokesman, said: "We don't discuss customer accounts. At all times Texas Commerce Bank was in full compliance with regulatory requirements and at all times we cooperated fully with the authorities." Telephone calls for comment to Ruiz Massieu's attorney, J.A. Canales, in Corpus Christi, Texas, went unanswered. The whereabouts of Stergios are unknown. The new customer account form, called the "Application for Service - Consumer Products," that the Texas Commerce Bank officer filled out for Ruiz Massieu on December 2, 1993, has all the markings of a customer about whom banks are instructed to be extremely vigilant. The form prepared on that date: - listed the "Primary ID" as "Mexican Passport D-842," which had expired nearly 14 months before, on October 17, 1992 - attached a copy of the first page of the expired Mexican Passport D-842 which had Ruiz Massieu's photograph and revealed that
 it was a "diplomatic passport" identifying him as "Ambassador of Mexico" - left blank the line calling for "Secondary ID," which is supposed to serve as the verification of identification - listed no address in the form's address line, but stated "hold for customer pick-up" (Another form prepared by the bank, called the "Certification of Foreign Status - Substitute Form W-8," listed a Mexico City street address for Ruiz Massieu.) - listed no employer, but stated the customer was an "attorney" - listed "known to officer" in the line calling for "bank reference." There is no indication of the identity of the bank officer. - listed identical Mexican telephone numbers for "home phone" and "office phone" Except for internal bank codes including account number, "withholding status code," and "customer description code," stated as "PA," the rest of the form was blank. BSA regulations require that a bank "must" verify the identity of an alien or non-resident of the U.S. "by passport, alien identification card, or o
ther official document evidencing nationality or residence" for a customer on whose transaction it is filing a CTR (31 CFR 103.28). TCB filed all required CTRs, including one on the first deposit made personally by Ruiz Massieu on December 2, 1993, when he presented an expired passport. The money laundering law presents far greater risks for the bank than the BSA. The concept of "willful blindness," which is applied regularly by federal courts in construing the law's provisions, is deemed to be the equivalent of actual "knowledge" of the illicit origin of the funds in transactions conducted by a financial institution for a customer. Individuals with more limited resources than a large bank by which to examine the source of funds and to "know their customers" have been found guilty of money laundering on grounds of "willful blindness". It is up to the Justice and Treasury Departments - the same departments that knew of the affair from the beginning and did nothing about it - to judge the conduct of TCB and de
cide whether to force it to answer under the BSA regulations and the money laundering law. The TCB records, which included the monthly statements, copies of the 25 deposit slips and a debit slip for counterfeit bills of $80 on one occasion, were turned over in a deposition of a TCB representative in the forfeiture case. The CTRs filed by the bank were not made part of the court file and, apart from the indication of "suspicious transaction" on at least 10 of the CTRs, it is not known what information the bank included on them or whether it filed any amended CTRs. The court limited the documents the bank was required to produce to Ruiz Massieu's attorneys. The bank was not required to disclose communications with the government about the account, internal account-related memoranda, and records concerning the "closing of the account." The TCB monthly statements on the account show that the account remained open until the government froze it on March 8, 1995. The statement for that month contains a notation: "F
orced Debit - Legal Services" dated March 8, 1995. The checking account was very profitable for the bank, paying an annual interest rate of 1 percent on very high average balances. Within seven months of the account opening, Ruiz Massieu had deposited more than $4.9 million in cash, averaging monthly deposits of more than $1.2 million in one four month period. What does Ruiz Massieu say about the source of his money? On November 17, 1995, in a deposition in the forfeiture case, he said the money came from family members, the bulk of it from his older brother who was assassinated in September 1994. He also said he contributed as much as $600,000 of his funds that he obtained from staggering bonuses he says were given to him by the public agencies for which he worked in Mexico. He says he was designated the family "patriarch," and given the money in cash by his family for deposit in the U.S. because of the political turmoil in Mexico. Ruiz Massieu is now detained in Newark awaiting trial on charges he failed t
o declare, on U.S. Customs Service Form 4790, about $46,000 in cash that he was transporting out of the U.S. on a trip to Spain in March 1995. On four occasions, the Mexican government has sought unsuccessfully to extradite him from the U.S. It is now attempting to deport him. The trial of the forfeiture case begins this month in Houston, on March 10, before U.S. District Judge Nancy F. Atlas. The bank officer who opened the account for Ruiz Massieu at TCB on December 2, 1993, is scheduled to testify as a U.S. government witness (Case No. Civ-H-95-3182, So. Dis. Tex.).
 
Money Laundering Alert, March 1, 1997
THIS IS THE FULL TEXT: COPYRIGHT 1997 Alert International, Inc.
(c) 1997 Information Access Company. All rights reserved. 
PROMT 
MONEY LAUNDERING ALERT 1/3/97 



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Subject:  African_Drug_Trade_05Apr97_Ethiopia, Kenya Agree to Ban Trafficking on.
Status: RO

		  Ethiopia, Kenya Agree to Ban Trafficking on

OTC  4/5/97 9:55 PM   

             Borders 
   ADDIS ABABA (April 5) XINHUA - Ethiopia and Kenya have reached  consensus to enhance cooperation in jointly stamping out illicit trade  in firearms and drug along their common border. 
   It was announced in a joint communique issued at the end of the 16th  Ethio-Kenya joint boZd0r administrators and commissioners meeting here  Friday. 
   Legal authorities and law enforcement agencies of the two sides decided  to increase vigilance and take proper actions against those suspected  of cross-border raids and looting. 
   The two countries will revive radio communication contact between their  police and security officials at identified common border posts. 
   On the latest border incident on March 22, 1997 which resulted in  casualties of both countries, a fact-finding team is to be dispatched  to affected border areas on April 14, the communique said. 
   The two sides would also facilitate the holding of peace meetings  between border communities, according to the communique. 
   The meeting resolved to hold the joint border administrators and  commissioners meeting every year and the next meeting was scheduled for  April 1998 in Kenya. 
   The 17-member Ethiopian delegation to the three-day meeting was led by  Major Alemseged Gebre-Yohannes, Deputy Commissioner of Federal Police.  The Kenyan 21-member delegation was headed by M.Y. Haji, Provisional  Commissioner of Rift Valley Province. enditem 
   =04051952 05/04/97 19:52 GMT 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  ML_Organised_Crime_03Apr97 POLAND:  MONEY-LAUNDERING AND ORGANISED CRIME - A MOUNTING PROBLEM.
Status: RO

03Apr97 POLAND:  MONEY-LAUNDERING AND ORGANISED CRIME - A MOUNTING PROBLEM.
Police experts estimate that organised crime is thriving throughout the world, and Poland is no exception. Money-laundering remains the mafia's number one source of income, which means its increasing presence on the capital market, in finances and banking, and some specialists believe that Poland has recently become one of Europe's leading money-laundering centres. In a Zycie Gospodarcze special report compiled on the basis of police statistics and expert analyses, criminologist Jerzy W. Wojcik examined the implications of a more marked presence of organised crime in Poland along with the chief sources of illegal incomes.
The problem of illegal incomes in Poland is closely connected with the second economy as well as rising crime statistics. A steady rise has been noted in violent common crimes, economic offences and organised crime, while detection is impeded by the increasingly professional nature of crime. Consequently, organised crime is growing stronger, expanding its international contacts, and this in turn will boost petty crimes, which will more and more frequently be committed by professionals as well. @BTCENTRE = Crime Categories
Criminal offenders are highly professional and function in organised groups characterised by determination and ruthlessness. In mid-90's, organised gangs centred first and foremost on the following categories of crime:
*production, trafficking and distribution of drugs, both manufactured locally and smuggled from the Golden Triangle, with over 40 such groups uncovered;
*smuggling and illegal sale of weapons (over 20 groups);
 
*contract murders, kidnappings, assault and battery. From among 1,134 murders committed in 1995, as many as 50 were attributed to feuding gangs and some were committed by hired assassins. Over the past years, the police has been able to gather sufficient evidence to bring offenders to justice in the case of just six contract murders and 24 kidnappings attributed to feuding gangs, while as many as 20 organised groups are believed to be coercing payments in return for "protection;"
*raids on travellers, with 2,009 car passengers falling victim in 656 such attacks in 1994. In 161 cases, the assailants threatened to use firearms, and they spoke Russian on 412 occasions;
*production of explosives and use thereof in battles between gangs, with 122 such explosions noted in 1994. Their number has been rising steadily since then, and those responsible are rarely found;
*contraband (liquor, tobacco products), organised and controlled expropriation of property in various sectors, large-scale fraud and tax evasion (excise taxes, VAT), with 60 such groups uncovered in 1994;
*hiring "avengers" to intimidate judges and prosecutors investigating economic gangs;
*car theft and smuggling, with 20 such gangs busted in 1994;
 
*forgery and distribution of forged bills, securities and bank documents;
*smuggling works of art;
*smuggling radioactive substances;
*illegal transfer of foreigners from the East to European Union countries.
In 1995, crime statistics rose by 7.8 percent (from 906,000 incidents in 1994 to a total of 975,000), including a 7 percent increase in criminal offences, although the rise was much steeper in the case of some violent crimes, especially whenever firearms were used (an increase by as much as 52 percent in the case of armed robbery). Economic offences went up by 11.9 percent, with expropriation of property up by 19.5 percent and rising steadily. Meanwhile, infringement upon excise tax regulations went up by 46.6 percent, forgeries by 26.3 percent and fiscal offences by 32.2 percent, with total losses ensuing from economic offences reaching PLN 570 million. @BTCENTRE = Basic Hazards
Police experts believe that the banking system is the most prone sphere of the national economy for the following reasons:
*the banking administration's disrespect for the provisions of the banking act, which results in credits granted to companies and individuals offering fictitious guarantees;
*credits granted to non-existing companies and individuals;
*fictitious bank guarantees offered to boost companies that are going bankrupt;
*putting earmarked credits to another use, also to finance illegal operations or repay loans owed to other banks;
*use of assets expropriated earlier to obtain loans;
*cooperation between bank personnel and the economic underground;
*forgery of banking documents.
In other spheres of the economy, the following mechanisms can frequently be observed: expropriation of assets or money by employees working as an organised group, extortion through failure to pay producers or wholesalers for goods shipped prior (e.g., coal) as well as failure to repay retailers for articles purchased in instalments, payment evasion through phony bankruptcies. Such offences committed by fictitious companies and individuals pose a serious threat to small and medium-sized firms, and this group of offences is thriving thanks to modern equipment that is making forgery of all documents a much easier task. Offences connected with ownership transformations are also hazardous, including:
*corruption of the representatives of parent bodies;
*deliberate undervaluation of enterprises in anticipation of their sale;
*sale of property components of privatised companies;
*forgery of tender documents to eliminate competitive bidders;
*overestimation or undervaluation of contributions in kind.
Customs offences in turn now centre on: fictitious transit of goods through Poland, fictitious export of domestic products, fictitious re-export of imported articles, lower value of imported goods declared and imports by fictitious importers. Contraband goods are usually those with the highest customs rates as well as those whose imports or exports are restricted or banned, e.g., cars, works of art, weapons, fuels, some consumer goods, tobacco and liquor. It is significant that contraband is to a large extent accompanied by the corruption of customs officers, and its scope and intensity are rooted in its organised and international nature, so effective police operations would require coordinated action undertaken by police forces in several countries at the same time.
Tax offences have also been escalating in recent years, and irregularities are perceptible in particular in the case of personal and corporate income taxes, VAT and excise taxes. Infringements upon the copyright act are another problem, although ensuing losses are hard to estimate. In general, no reliable estimates are available except in the case of offences embraced by police statistics, while such estimates would be vital to examining the scope of money-laundering in Poland.
Accompanying Crimes
Those responsible for organised economic offences are seeking maximum profits. With this objective achieved, they soon reach for power by any means possible, including corruption. Therefore, organised economic crime is frequently accompanied by common crimes, such as the corruption of civil servants, presence of gangs protecting illegal shipments or fighting competition, blackmail, intimidation, kidnappings, killings, bomb blasts to eliminate competitors or debtors, extortion or assaults on law-enforcement officers. Moreover, many former police and security service officers trained to fight organised crime are now on the underground's payroll after they have failed the screening process, and the number of specialists cooperating with gangs is rising, with experts as well as academics known to be offering their professional advice on forgery, the law or gaps in tax regulations.
In 1994-96, the police discovered over 300 gangs embracing nearly 5,000 professionals, including many repeat offenders. Polish organised crime has links to similar organisations in 28 major countries (with the exception of Australia), and over 30 mafia-style groups are now operating in Poland. A meeting of the cabinet has even been devoted to connections between businessmen and politicians on the one hand and organised crime on the other, and contacts between criminals and opinion-forming circles have also been uncovered. At the same time, international organisations are known to be fighting for Eastern European markets, with mafias from the East especially active in Poland, including Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian, Chechen and even Vietnamese.
Meanwhile, domestic mafias have also been gaining fame recently, in particular those from Pruszkow and Wolomin (both outside Warsaw) specialising in paid protection and extortion. While it remains unclear if those are truly mafia-style groups, there is no doubt that domestic organised crime is learning from professionals in the U.S., Russia, Germany and other countries, although the organisation and functioning of Polish organised crime is bound to differ from traditional Italian or Asian organisations due to socio-cultural differences as well as distinct traditions and mores governing the criminal underground in Poland. @BTCENTRE = Drugs: Primary Source of Income
Although the sources of income acquired by organised crime seem fairly obvious, the ingenuity of gangs is infinite in this respect, especially that they immediately adjust to the demand in a given country or region, supplying radioactive materials or non-ferrous metals whenever necessary or offering to ship illegal immigrants. Traditionally, drug trafficking remains the primary source of revenue, however, yielding approximately $120-250 billion a year from hard drugs alone, with Western experts estimating that drugs are behind 80 percent of the world's dirty money.
In the early 70's, when the problem of drug abuse began to grow in Poland, Western specialists warned against a trail leading from the Golden Triangle (Burma, Laos, Thailand) via Poland to Western Europe, but Polish law-enforcement agencies centred instead on tracking petty domestic producers manufacturing narcotics from poppy. Meanwhile, rapidly rising drug abuse statistics in Poland are alarming and include addiction to hard drugs as well.
The warnings offered earlier by Western experts have since been confirmed, and we know now that drug trafficking routes lead through Poland, and even cross here. Heroin, for instance, is trafficked not only from the Golden Triangle, but also from the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran) through the former USSR or North Africa. The chief route leads from Asia via Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to Germany, Denmark and Sweden, where police and customs officers are uncovering not kilograms but tons of narcotics.
Around 700 tons of heroin are believed to have been manufactured throughout the world in 1995, including 300 tons in the Golden Triangle, and some of it reached Western Europe via Poland. In a report on drug trafficking published by the U.S. State Department, Poland is described not only as Europe's leading amphetamine producer, but also as an important transit point for heroin and cocaine shipped to Western Europe. According to the report, drug syndicates from Colombia, Nigeria, India and Pakistan operate in Poland, organising their own transfer routes, for instance by plane via Prague/Warsaw and Gdynia/Gdansk to Western Europe and Scandinavia, while Colombian narcotics are trafficked through Poland to Italy.
Poland is now believed to be among the key transit points for the world's narcotics, with over 70 tons of drugs discovered by customs officers in 1992-95, including marijuana (35 tons), hashish (24 tons), cocaine (3.5 tons), heroin (450 kilograms) and amphetamines (200 kilograms). Meanwhile, customs officers are known to be capable of checking only 20-30 percent of the goods crossing the border.
At the same time, the number of laboratories manufacturing synthetic drugs, primarily amphetamines, is known to be rising, and secret laboratories throughout Poland specialise in producing high quality amphetamines subsequently dispatched from Warsaw and Szczecin to the island of Ruegen and on to Germany or Sweden. Police and Office of State Security (UOP) experts believe that amphetamines are also manufactured in legal laboratories run by research and industrial institutes, with production by researchers and their assistants discovered in some academic centres such as Poznan, Wroclaw and Warsaw.
According to Western analysts, Poland has strengthened its position among the world's leading producers of amphetamines and its derivatives, and the supply is so high in the West that the wholesale price of amphetamine has been dropping systematically (from $8-10,000 per kilogramme in 1993 to around $3,500 in 1994 and $2,500-2,800 in 1995). Retail prices are obviously much higher, and amphetamine production is so profitable that some signs indicate that foreign capital might be investing in the business, with laboratories moved from other countries to Poland. A professional laboratory can manufacture up to 15 kilograms of amphetamine per day, and the organisation as well as methods employed by gangs producing and trafficking it suggest that the business is controlled by professionals.
The scale of amphetamine production, trafficking and the profits involved are not known, but Western specialists believe over 200 laboratories are now functioning in Poland, including numerous high capacity facilities in the vicinity of Warsaw, Lodz and Szczecin. It is clear that only small fry were caught and brought to trial in recent police busts, while the big fish continue amassing huge profits. At the same time, the media are speculating about at least three drug syndicates functioning in Poland, devoting a lot of attention to such problems as police impotence and corruption embracing diplomats, law-enforcement officers and even Interpol functionaries. Police units from different countries are joining forces in the fight against drugs, but to no avail so far, because all attempts to curb drug abuse are thwarted due to the persisting high demand for narcotics.
Other Sources
Drugs are obviously not the sole source of income for organised gangs, and illegal arms sales are controlled by specialised corporations and international firms. Some are set up with this objective in mind, occasionally for a single transaction only. In most cases, they are seemingly innocent consulting firms, sometimes with just a post office box or one secretary, and they frequently vanish as soon as the deal is completed. Weapons sales are becoming more and more specialised as the offer is expanded to include not only pistols or grenades, but also tanks, fighter planes, missile launchers, uranium or plutonium, and shipments to countries embargoed by the U.N. mean extra profits.
According to German police sources, arms dealers from the Eastern bloc traditionally meet with buyers in Berlin and Vienna. While some doubt that components for nuclear warheads can really be purchased there, Poland is known to be the only country to have introduced radioactive checks at its borders not long ago. Previously, radioactive substances were able to cross Polish borders freely en route to the West, meaning more dirty money for gangs specialising in the business. Stolen and smuggled cars are another source of big money. Traditional trails for stolen vehicles used to lead from France to North Africa, but now vehicles are predominantly shipped from Western to Central and Eastern Europe. More and more "car mafias" are been discovered and those specialise in stealing luxury vehicles (Mercedes, BMW, Ferrari, Bentley and even Rolls-Royce) in Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Belgium. The cars are then sold in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and even the United Arab Emirates. Car trafficking
 gangs are powerful and influential, usually running their own chop-shops to change the colour of vehicles, serial numbers and forge registration documents. Moreover, they are continually growing stronger and extending their spheres of influence. Even police officers specialising in organised crime are sometimes taken in, as they are occasionally found to own a stolen car, which policemen in several countries are known to be looking for.
Over the past few years, several groups engaged in the sale of women abroad for prostitution have been brought to trial in Poland, and organised gangs of Poles cooperating with foreign criminals are usually involved. Many Polish children sold abroad have also been traced in the past three years, and Interpol believes around 1,500 Polish women are sold abroad each year and forced to work as prostitutes. On the other hand, it is difficult to establish the precise number of women willingly working in brothels and deciding to report a crime once determined to quit, and it is just as hard to determine how many have been lured by the prospect of easy money made abroad.
Organised transfer of illegal immigrants is a significant source of dirty money too, with fictitious tourist agencies using forged documents to smuggle illegal immigrants from Asia and Africa across Poland's Eastern border. The immigrants, who most frequently come from Iraq, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia, have to pay up to $4,000 to cross the border on foot, hidden behind cargo shipments or fly over it in a helicopter. Police and border guards in Poland and Germany are known to detain several thousand illegal immigrants from Asia each year, while the world's total profits from smuggling illegal immigrants are now estimated at $5-7 billion.
New sources of dirty money have also been discovered in recent years, including colossal fortunes made by organised groups engaged in illegal sales and transfer of non-ferrous metals, especially copper, nickel, aluminium and titanium. Non-ferrous metals are most frequently smuggled from Russia via Latvia to Third World countries or from Russia to Germany through Poland, and Polish customs officers are uncovering tons of non-ferrous metals smuggled across the border. @BTCENTRE = Financial Scandals and Second Economy
In Poland, a considerable amount of dirty money has additionally emerged as a consequence of major financial scandals and affairs, to mention only the leading ones, such as the Foreign Debt Servicing Fund (FOZZ), Art. B (banking) or Schnapsgate (liquor). The press has also reported about other less spectacular scandals, and in the case of some (e.g., fuels) the ensuing losses are hard to estimate, while information about many others has not yet reached the public or even law-enforcement agencies. Some publicised affairs have not been followed by indictments, with businessmen, customs officers and lower-ranking bank employees prevailing among the suspects, and occasionally former high state administration and banking officials as well. The Polish public is not being informed about the scale of economic, financial and credit scandals. For the time being, law-enforcement experts have no in-depth knowledge of their mechanisms either, and the same can be said about forgeries of bills, banking documents or excise 
bands.
We do know for a fact, however, that consumer durables crossing the border sometimes miraculously change into spirits or tobacco once cleared through customs, while liquor and tobacco products allegedly shipped through Poland in transit leave the country no more than sporadically. Under the circumstances, police and customs officers have to devote a lot of time and demonstrate their inventiveness if they want to emerge as winners from this game of hide-and-seek with the smugglers, whose ingenuity is close to perfection, while the profits made by their bosses surge.
The scale of organised economic crime on Poland's Eastern border is continually on the rise too, and hundreds of thousand of zloty as well as millions of dollars are involved here. Illegal flights are even organised to bring contraband from neighbouring countries to Poland, and revenues from smuggling and other forms of organised crime clearly boost the sums funnelled for laundering.
The second economy, which is now estimated at between PLN 21 and 38 billion, also plays a crucial role, and the value of the black economy's goods and services has risen by 10 percent over the past two years, which means it now accounts for around 16-19 percent of the GDP. It undoubtedly has a stimulating impact on the economy, offering jobs to thousands of people, especially skilled and unskilled workers and foreigners, with an estimated 2 million people employed in the shadow economy in 1995, when unemployment exceeded 2.5 million. Illegal jobs are the sole source of income for over 1 million Poles and no national insurance contributions are paid on an estimated 22-35 percent of pay in private companies. The second economy also helps buffer the consequences of market economy introduction, while its development is undoubtedly prompted by high taxes. On the other hand, ensuing losses in unpaid taxes and insurance contributions are hard to estimate, but it is obvious that tax evaders are left with more dirty 
money.
According to Interpol estimates, some $2-4 billion annually was laundered in Poland a few years ago, but experts believe this amount has since risen to around $8 billion each year. The scale of illegal profits remains a blank, and there are many areas for financial experts, customs officers, lawyers and law-enforcement agencies to examine. No statistics are available on estimated profits from prostitution, gambling, expropriation, tax evasion, crimes contracted with gangs or fraud, and experts should also hammer out new crime-detection and research methods. Meanwhile, some businessmen known for their shady dealings earlier are no longer worried about an influx of cash, centring instead on a search for new and swift money-laundering measures and profitable investments. It is also clear that more and more Polish dirty money is transferred abroad to be laundered.
Prognostics and Prevention
Research work on crime projections has essentially come to a standstill in the past decade and, therefore, reliable prognoses as well as prevention projects are practically non-existent. A report by Szczecin University criminologist, Professor Karol Slawik, seems to be the sole exception here, and his analysis based on crime statistics as well as socio-economic and population studies indicates that the following tendencies can be expected in the coming years:
*the number of murders will continue to rise, and those will be rooted in traditional motives as well as in feuds between gangs;
*the number of terrorist attacks might increase as a result of warfare between gangs;
*politically-motivated terrorist attacks cannot be ruled out either, and those are likely to be connected with Middle East terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, post-Soviet nationalism, etc.;
*assault and battery, larceny and robbery (including robbery with violence) will be mounting, with the following among the primary targets: wealthy individuals, money transported in convoys, banks, currency exchange counters, taxi drivers, filling stations, etc.;
*more private homes and facilities as well as warehouses and expensive stores are expected to be burglarised;
*larceny will be on the rise, including pick-pockets as well as car theft by organised international groups;
*fraud will climb, with individuals as well as insurance companies among its chief victims;
*more forgeries will be attempted by organised groups;
*economic offences will go up, in particular those connected with capital transactions and banking, ownership transformations, customs, taxes and the ecology. Mismanagement and misappropriation are also expected to mount in companies, foundations and associations;
*the number of computer-related offences will grow, and criminals will be drawing more extensively on modern science and technology;
*the practice of laundering profits from all kinds of illegal transactions will escalate, and it is likely that groups of banking and financial experts will be trained with this objective in mind.
Crime-detection prognoses are alarming too, as impunity is expected to mount, especially in big cities. Slawik's report also predicts a rise in the number of offences connected with business dealings, corruption related to government orders, customs and tax concessions, information about new legislation and pressures exerted upon law-enforcement functionaries and the judiciary.
For the time being, police experts recommend utmost caution to safeguard against economic offences. They suggest that firms carefully screen their clients, collecting information and verifying their credibility before contracts are signed. Choice of renown business partners is recommended, and only original financial documents should be accepted.
Purchases should only be made from reliable suppliers that guarantee the quality of the product and its legitimate source, and attempts should be continued to set up national registers of credible firms and insolvent debtors. Those practical guidelines are clearly sketchy and fragmentary, however, while systemic proposals have been lacking for years, confirming that the task of drafting a comprehensive crime-prevention programme is a major challenge for researchers and for law-enforcement agencies alike. (Based on Zycie Gospodarcze No. 11, p.VI, 14 March 1997).
 
Polish News Bulletin
The PNB is a non-profit organisation publishing a daily digest of the Polish press. No legal responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions or misleading statements, however caused, in either source or final texts. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
POLISH NEWS BULLETIN OF BRITISH & AMERICAN EMBS. 3/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_Terrorism_07Apr97 MEXICO:  SPANISH ROYALS BEGIN VISIT; MEXICO PLEDGES COOPERATION AGAINST "TERRORISM".
Status: RO

07Apr97 MEXICO:  SPANISH ROYALS BEGIN VISIT; MEXICO PLEDGES COOPERATION AGAINST "TERRORISM".
Source: RNE Radio 1, Madrid, in Spanish 0600 gmt 4 Apr 97
Excerpts from report by Spanish radio on 4th April
[Presenter] At 0823 [0623 gmt] we go over to Mexico City. The king and queen arrived there in the early hours of this morning. King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are beginning a four-day official visit marked by economic questions and anti-terrorist cooperation. The first international Spanish language congress is to be held in Mexico, and Radio Nacional's special corespondent Agustin Rodriguez is there. Good morning, Agustin.
[Rodriguez] Good evening from Mexico.
[Presenter] Can you confirm, first of all, that the king and queen have arrived and were welcomed by the Mexican foreign minister?
[Rodriguez] That's right. The king and queen began their fourth official visit to this country just over three hours ago...
The visit is a long one taking in three states - the Federal District of Mexico, Puebla and Zacatecas - and will endorse the priority aims of both countries. For Mexico, Spain is an unconditional ally in its aspirations to agreement with the EU; for Spain, Mexico is the cornerstone of its Latin American policy...
Mexico is Spain's primary supplier of oil and Spain aims to increase exports, because theirs is a deficit of 60bn pesetas. Another outstanding question is legal and consular relations: the extradition treaty, the misgivings and the norms. Five extraditions requested by Spain are pending, four of them for terrorist actions.
The memorandum of the meeting of the joint commission which met ahead of the visit by the king and queen says that the two countries condemn terrorism and commit themselves to combating it. The Mexican undersecretary for foreign affairs:
[Unnamed official - recording] We cannot accept, either as a nation or as members of the international community, that terrorism should have any kind of advantage anywhere in the world, and this of course includes our territory. We would also ask the same of other territories. [End of recording]
[Rodriguez] Mutual trust is basic at the present time, when organized crime is a real danger which extends beyond a country's borders - whether terrorism or drug-trafficking. [Spanish official] Fernando Villalonga:
[Villalonga - recording] Progress has also been made on the need to arrive at particular agreements on exchanging financial information in order to detect money-laundering - something which particularly concerns the Mexican authorities and also the Spanish ones; mutual assistance in customs questions; and there was also emphasis on intensifying the expansion of financial instruments in support of investment in this sector [as heard]. [End of recording]
[Rodriguez] Villalonga is the [Spanish] secretary of state for cooperation [and Ibero-America] and he is the person representing - replacing - on this visit the sick foreign minister, Abel Matutes...
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: LATIN AMERICA 7/4/97 



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Subject:  Central_Asian_Drugs_Crime_Drug_Trafficking_05Apr97 GEORGIA:  GEORGIAN MINISTER SAYS ABKHAZIA MAJOR DRUG SHIPMENT ROUTE.
Status: RO

05Apr97 GEORGIA:  GEORGIAN MINISTER SAYS ABKHAZIA MAJOR DRUG SHIPMENT ROUTE.
By Tengiz Pachkoria.
Abkhazia has become one of the main drug trafficking routes lately, Georgian Security Minister Shota Kviraya said on Saturday.
Kviraya believes that the situation in Abkhazia should be a matter of concern not only for the Georgian leadership, but for all CIS countries.
He noted that the present Abkhazian leadership is unable of fighting crime and ensuring law and order in the republic, and urged CIS states to help Georgia resolve this problem.
zak/.
 
(c) ITAR-TASS 1997. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
ITAR-TASS WORLD SERVICE 5/4/97 



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Subject:  ML_05Apr97 UK: GOKAL'S ? CORNERSHOP' WEB OF DECEPTION.
Status: RO

05Apr97 UK: GOKAL'S `CORNERSHOP' WEB OF DECEPTION.
BCCI collapse exposes Britain's biggest fraud with implications for people across the globe.
By David Osler
PAKISTANI shipping tycoon Abbas Gokal, head of the Gulf Group, was this week found guilty of the biggest single fraud ever perpetrated in Britain.
An Old Bailey jury decided that Gokal, who denied two charges of conspiracy, had defrauded L750m ($1.2bn) from the Bank of Commerce and Credit. He will be sentenced next month.
Gokal's crimes were instrumental in the failure of BCCI, which was closed down in the UK in 1991 by order of the Bank of England in the latter's capacity as the UK's banking regulator.
About 250,000 creditors around the world were left out of pocket. Many investors, especially from among the Asian community, were ruined overnight.
The Bank of England's action was triggered by a report from auditor Price Waterhouse, which brought to light fraud and deception on a grand scale.
BCCI was deeply involved in laundering the proceeds of sundry dubious activities, leading to a popular joke that its initials actually stood for `Bank of Crooks and Cocaine International'.
The bank had offices in Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands, and ran money market operations from London. But effective control was lodged in Pakistan.
Liquidators Deloitte & Touche discovered that the bank had no capital. It also possessed bogus accounts and missing funds to the tune of L8bn.
BCCI was founded in 1972 by Sheik Zayed, ruler of Abu Dhabi, and the late Pakistani businessman Agha Hasan Abedi, who was a close personal friend of Gokal. Indeed, Gokal was one of the earliest clients.
Gokal, now 61, started to make his fortune in the 1960s as one of four brothers who moved from their native land to Iraq, where they established a trading company.
After meeting initial success, they were caught up in the bloodshed which followed the brutal ascent of Saddam Hussein. The eldest sibling was hanged.
The remaining brothers - Abbas, Mustafa and Murtaza - fled to Europe and got into the shipping business, setting up the Geneva-based Gulf Group. It was always Abbas who seemed to be the prime mover among the three.
Throughout the 70s and 80s, Gulf amassed a fleet of over 100 vessels. At one stage, they chartered more vessels in one year than India and China put together, bringing their controlled fleet to 240.
Much of the expansion was funded by large-scale lending from BCCI, backed only by worthless personal guarantees by Abbas Gokal.
Gulf became a major player on the London market, making around 7,000 fixtures over a 10-year period, averaging two or three per business day.
Even so, some brokers declined to do business with the company, which gained a reputation for being somewhat tardy in paying its bills.
The Gokal-owned tankers, bulkers and general cargoships were registered mainly in Liberia, Panama and the Bahamas.
Yet despite the resolute adherence to Flags of Convenience, Gokal signed labour agreements with the International Transport Workers' Federation. Non-payment of wages was one of the first signs that something was amiss.
In the UK, the Gokals built a string of shipping and insurance companies, including Waveney Marine Services, Gulf Shipping Lines and Gulf Chartering & Marine Services.
In Switzerland, Gokal businesses included Marcotrade, Gulf Management Services and Gulf Marine Services.
Mustafa Gokal was at one stage chairman of Pakistan National Shipping Company, and later a government minister with responsibility for shipping and transport under the rule of dictator Gen Zia.
Diversification beckoned, with the Gokals moving into hotels, property, mining, newspapers, magazines and food retailing.
But problems arose when they began to play the futures markets in commodities and currencies and lost their shirts on the markets.
Instead, Abbas Gokal turned to fraud to maintain his jet set lifestyle, which ran to homes in London, Geneva and Karachi, a ski chalet in France and a fleet of private jets and numerous luxury cars.
By 1985, Gulf Group's finances deteriorated to the point where the company depended on BCCI's support to stay in business.
But BCCI knew that if it let Gulf go under, it would itself go down with it. BCCI's exposure was far in excess of what any normal bank would have allowed for a single client.
It was a stalemate situation. The court heard how senior BCCI official Swaleh Naqvi, and others, conspired with Abbas Gokal to continue the lending. Naqvi has since served a prison term in the US for his role in the affair.
Soon the auditors started asking awkward questions and the scam was extended.
In 1987, Gokal front companies in Panama and Liberia were set up to channel further cash into Gulf through what appeared to be entirely unrelated concerns, thereby keeping Price Waterhouse off the scent.
Ultimately, the money came from the pockets of other customers of BCCI. Huge sums were lent, on an unsecured basis, to a business known to be trading while insolvent. But the books were cooked to make it look as if everything was right and proper.
Even after news of the troubles began to leak out, former employees spoke warmly of Abbas Gokal and the "cornershop" atmosphere which prevailed in his companies.
A former chartering manager with Gulf's London brokers told Lloyd's List in 1991: "I liked the guy tremendously. He was a very quiet man, very pleasant and very clever."
Another erstwhile employee argued - and hindsight reveals an almost touching naivety - that the Gokals "did not go bust or walk away from the bank. They stayed with it, although they were hurting".
Gulf finally collapsed in 1992, the year after BCCI did, and investigators started to uncover some of the wrongdoings.
Gokal, bankrupt in Britain to the tune of L21m, fled to Pakistan, which has no extradition treaty with Britain.
But in 1994 he made the mistake that was to prove his undoing, booking a trip to the US on a flight that stopped in Frankfurt for refuelling.
Britain's Serious Fraud Office was tipped off and grabbed its opportunity to make an arrest, and Gokal has been in custody ever since. Ironically, the purpose of Gokal's US visit was to give evidence at an inquiry into the BCCI collapse.
Gokal was convicted on Wednesday on two accounts of conspiring with senior BCCI management to obtain illegal loans totalling $1.2bn, and of falsifying documents to cover the tracks. He may now find that his worldwide assets, thought to total L20m, will be confiscated.
(c) of Lloyd's of London Press Limited 1997. 
INSURANCE/INVESTMENT 
LLOYD'S LIST 5/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_Human_Traffic_07Apr97_Laos, Thailand To Stamp on Border Crime.
Status: RO

		Laos, Thailand To Stamp on Border Crime

OTC  4/7/97 5:12 PM   

 HANOI, April 7 (Xinhua)-- Governors of bordering provinces in Laos and  Thailand have pledged to step up cooperation in dealing with border  crimes, including drug trafficking and smuggling. 
   The Lao official news agency, KPL, reported today that an agreement was  reached last week in the Thai capital of Bangkok, on jointly curbing  and cracking down on various border crimes. 
   These included smuggling of illegal goods and military weapons, the  illicit extraction of natural resources, and trafficking of women for  prostitution and labor. 
   The agreement called for close exchange of information and data, and  jointly preventing damage to the natural environment in border areas  before demarcation was completed. 
   The two countries also agreed to facilitate immigration and make cross  visits easier. They agreed to inform each other of arrests made in  their territories and allow visits by diplomatic officials or relatives  of the arrested. 
   They will cooperate closely in fighting drug crimes.  Enditem 07/04/97  13:56 GMT 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  OLA_LA_07Apr97_FEATURE-Peruvian drug runners hide in Amazon maze.
Status: RO

	   FEATURE-Peruvian drug runners hide in Amazon maze

RTna 4/7/97 4:40 PM   


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    By Jason Webb
     LIMA (Reuter) - Hounded out of the sky by a U.S.-backed interdiction program, Peruvian drug runners are taking cover in an impenetrable maze of Amazon jungle rivers to smuggle their goods into Colombia and Brazil.
     "They are switching, the traffickers, to the rivers and waterways, and that's our next major offensive in support of the Peruvian effort," said an official at the U.S. Embassy in Lima,
 who did not want to be named.
     Peru is by far the world's largest producer of the raw material of cocaine, coca leaf, growing about as much as the other two major producers, Colombia and Bolivia, combined. But, rather than being refined locally, most of Peru's raw material is smuggled across the border as leaf or coca paste to be turned into cocaine in Colombian laboratories.
     The northern Amazon jungle's bewilderingly complex river system, winding through 5,000 miles, is a smuggler's dream. "They obviously can't be patrolled at random," the official said, "Intelligence is a very important part of what will become the riverine counter-drug initiative."
     Even now, he said, the Peruvian air force's interdiction program had made it so hard to smuggle coca leaf that prices had tumbled in Peru over the last two years. Peasant farmers were at last beginning to be tempted by U.S.-supported programs to switch to crops like coffee, cocoa or rice.
     "Interdiction has kept the price of coca down sufficiently that for the first time ever in the history of all of our efforts in this region a significant alternative development project has a chance," the official said. "Despite all of our good work and good efforts within this region over the last 25 years the only sustained success we've enjoyed is here in Peru."
    
     COCA PRICES BELOW BREAKEVEN
     The price of a 25-pound sack of coca leaves paid to Peruvian farmers has slipped to about $10, a fraction of what it was a few years ago and way below the breakeven price of $20-25, the official said. "The potential for production is already verifiably down," he said. "Our satellite imagery survey, which is done on a yearly basis, has shown a reduction of 18 percent in the amount of cultivation."
     Ricardo Soberon, an analyst for the Commission of Andean Jurists, which is linked to Peruvian opposition groups, agreed interdiction was forcing the drug runners into rivers such as the Ucayali and Maranon and their myriad tributaries. But he said he believed the number of drug routes had actually multiplied since the aerial crackdown.
     "Aerial interdiction to squeeze out the Colombians -- the only thing that does is to make drug boats appear. When the navy gets round to going after the boats, the drugs will go by bus, and so on ad infinitum," he said.
     "Mark my words, when there is supply and demand nothing can stop drug trafficking," Soberon said. "I would say coca leaf cultivation stabilized in Peru between 1990 and 1996," he added, but a larger area is involved with cultivation of coca, refining coca paste and transporting drugs.
       Peru's coca leaf cultivation covered 277,000 acres in 1996, according to the commission, down slightly from 285,000 acres the year before, but still more than in 1994. Peru's government said that 1996 cultivation fell to 242,000 acres.
     Soberon said elements within Peru's security forces had a vested interest in keeping the cocaine trade ticking over. "I believe there are individual cases but I also understand that there is an institutional predisposition to accept money from drug traffickers," he said.
    
     SECURITY FORCES IMPLICATED
     A rash of recent drug hauls have confirmed suspicions that security forces were involved in the illegal drugs trade. The armed forces control large swathes of drug cultivating territory under emergency laws designed to combat the Maoist Shining Path left-wing guerrilla group.
     One of President Alberto Fujimori's own pilots was arrested last year after 383 pounds of cocaine was found on a military plane, and a captured drug baron alleged that Fukimori's top security adviser protected smugglers.
     The U.S. Embassy official said the United States did not consider Peruvian corruption to be at problematic levels.
     "The U.S. government is concerned with corruption all over, but we don't see any major amount of it here in Peru, not to the extent that it's impeding our ability to help them make the (anti-drug) program work," the official said.
     The Peruvian government also defends its record, arguing that it has stepped up its seizures of illegal drugs, which rose sixfold in 1996 to a record 171 tons.
     Washington at the end of February patted Peru on the back and renewed annual certification of its anti-drug efforts. The United States, the world's leading narcotics consumer, is spending about $23 million in Peru to fight drugs this year, a tiny part of its likely total anti-drug spending of $16 billion.
     The announcement of recertification came shortly after a judge sentenced Luis Otoya, a former head of Lima airport's anti-drug squad, to 12 years in prison for alleged involvement in a bid to smuggle more than 440 pounds of cocaine.
  REUTER


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Subject:  ML_07Apr97_Money laundering laws in Europe - REPLY -
Status: RO

FROM:	Gregor Heinrich, INTERNET:Gregor.Heinrich@bis.org
TO:	Multiple recipients of list EURO-LEX, INTERNET:EURO-LEX@LISTSERV.GMD.DE
DATE:	4/7/97 11:54 AM

Re:	Money laundering laws in Europe - REPLY -

From: Gregor Heinrich <Gregor.Heinrich@bis.org>
Subject:      Money laundering laws in Europe - REPLY -
To: Multiple recipients of list EURO-LEX <EURO-LEX@LISTSERV.GMD.DE>

**
Jorge Godinho wrote:

<<I'm writing a dissertation on the crime of money laundering (ML).?
I would like to get as much information as possible about a number of
jurisdictions. >>


Below, pelase find some refernces that may be of help to you:

 WHITE, Helen
 The cash connection : Money laundering.
 Butterworths J. Int'l Banking and Financial L.
 00/02/88
 269-271

  ARZT, Gunther
 Zur Rechtsnatur des Art. 305ter StGB (Mangelnde Sorgfalt bei
 Geldgeschaeften).
 SJZ, 86
 00/06/90
 189-192

 GRABER, Christoph K.
 Geldwaescherei  :  Ein  Kommentar  zu Art. 305bis und 305ter
 StGB. (214 p.)
 (zugleich Diss. Bern)
 Bern : Staempfli
 1990

 COUNCIL OF EUROPE
 Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure  and  Confiscation
 of the Proceeds from Crime.(Strasbourg, 8th November 1990.)
 I.L.M., 30
 00/01/91
 148-164

 COUNCIL EEC
 Council  Directive  of 10 June 1991 on prevention of the use
 of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering.
 (91/308/EEC)
 OJ L 166/77
 28/06/91
 77-82

 FORTHAUSER, Roman
 Geldwaescherei de lege lata et ferenda. (196 p.)
 Muenchen : VVF
 1992

 MUELLER, Christof
 Geldwaescherei   :   Motive   -   Formen   -   Abwehr;  eine
 betriebswirtschaftliche Analyse. (279 p.)
 Zuerich : Treuhand-Kammer
 1992

 ACKERMANN, Juerg-Beat
 Geldwaescherei  -  Money  laundering  :  eine  vergleichende
 Darstellung des Rechts und der Erscheinungsformen in den USA
 und der Schweiz. (353 p.)
 Schweizer Schriften zum Bankrecht ; Bd 12
 Zuerich : Schulthess Polygraphischer Verlag
 1992

 MOEBIUS, Gerald
 Le blanchiment de fonds.
 R.I.P.C. (Revue int. de police criminelle), no. 440
 Lyon
 1993
 2-8


*****
In addition, you might wish to contact the GAFI - (Groupe d'Action Financiere) / FATF
(Financial Action Task Force), which has its offices at the OECD in Paris.


Kind regards

Gregor.Heinrich@bis.org
Note: this is not an official BIS message and merely represents the personal views of
the sender.



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Subject:  LA_Drug_Seizures_08Apr97_Puerto Rico Drug Bust Nets 15.
Status: RO

			 Puerto Rico Drug Bust Nets 15

APO  4/8/97 4:28 AM   


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
  
   SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Fifteen people were arrested for smuggling cocaine and heroin off cruise ships, authorities said Monday.
   Eight crew members of a cruise ship were arrested Sunday for smuggling about $750,000 worth of heroin from the Dutch territory of St. Maartin, the U.S. Customs Service said. Two people waiting to collect the heroin also were arrested, it said.
   Also Sunday, authorities arrested five people carrying $400,000 worth of cocaine off another cruise ship. Four of those arrested were passengers and the fifth was a crew member, Customs said in a statement.
   No further details were immediately available.
   


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Subject:  OLA_LA_08Apr97_FEATURE-Peruvian drug runners hide in Amazon maze.
Status: RO

	   FEATURE-Peruvian drug runners hide in Amazon maze

RTw  4/8/97 4:45 AM   


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    By Jason Webb
     LIMA, April 8 (Reuter) - Hounded out of the sky by a U.S.-backed interdiction programme, Peruvian drug runners are taking cover in an impenetrable maze of Amazon jungle rivers to smuggle their goods into Colombia and Brazil.
     "They are switching, the traffickers, to the rivers and waterways, and that's our next major offensive in support of the Peruvian effort," said an official at the U.S. Embassy in Lima,
 who did not want to be named.
     Peru is by far the world's largest producer of the raw material of cocaine, coca leaf, growing about as much as the other two major producers, Colombia and Bolivia, combined. But, rather than being refined locally, most of Peru's raw material is smuggled across the border as leaf or coca paste to be turned into cocaine in Colombian laboratories.
     The northern Amazon jungle's bewilderingly complex river system, winding through 5,000 miles (8,000 km), is a smuggler's dream. "They obviously can't be patrolled at random. Intelligence is a very important part of what will become the riverine counter-drug initiative," the official said.
     Even now, he said, the Peruvian air force's interdiction programme had made it so hard to smuggle coca leaf that prices had tumbled in Peru over the last two years. Peasant farmers were at last beginning to be tempted by U.S.-supported programmes to switch to crops like coffee, cocoa or rice.
     "Interdiction has kept the price of coca down sufficiently that for the first time ever in the history of all of our efforts in this region a significant alternative development project has a chance," he said. "Despite all of our good work and good efforts within this region over the last 25 years the only sustained success we've enjoyed is here in Peru."
     COCA PRICES BELOW BREAKEVEN
     The price of a 25-pound sack of coca leaves paid to Peruvian farmers has slipped to about $10, a fraction of what it was a few years ago and way below the breakeven price of $20-25, the official said. "The potential for production is already verifiably down," he said. "Our satellite imagery survey, which is done on a yearly basis, has shown a reduction of 18 percent in the amount of cultivation."
     Ricardo Soberon, an analyst for the Commission of Andean Jurists, which is linked to Peruvian opposition groups, agreed interdiction was forcing the drug runners into rivers such as the Ucayali and Maranon and their myriad tributaries. But he said he believed the number of drug routes had actually multiplied since the aerial crackdown.
     "Aerial interdiction to squeeze out the Colombians -- the only thing that does is to make drug boats appear. When the navy gets round to going after the boats, the drugs will go by bus, and so on ad infinitum," he said.
     "Mark my words, when there is supply and demand nothing can stop drug trafficking," Soberon said. "I would say coca leaf cultivation stabilised in Peru between 1990 and 1996," he added, but a larger area is involved with cultivation of coca, refining coca paste and transporting drugs.
       Peru's coca leaf cultivation covered 277,000 acres (112,000 hectares) in 1996, according to the commission, down slightly from 285,000 acres (115,300 hectares) the year before, but still more than in 1994. Peru's government said that 1996 cultivation fell to 242,000 acres (98,000 hectares).
     Soberon said elements within Peru's security forces had a vested interest in keeping the cocaine trade ticking over. "I believe there are individual cases but I also understand that there is an institutional predisposition to accept money from drug traffickers," he said.
     SECURITY FORCES IMPLICATED
     A rash of recent drug hauls have confirmed suspicions that security forces were involved in the illegal drugs trade. The armed forces control large swathes of drug cultivating territory under emergency laws designed to combat the Maoist Shining Path left-wing guerrilla group.
     One of President Alberto Fujimori's own pilots was arrested last year after 383 pounds (174 kg) of cocaine was found on a military plane, and a captured drug baron alleged that Fukimori's top security adviser protected smugglers.
     The U.S. Embassy official said the United States did not consider Peruvian corruption to be at problematic levels.
     "The U.S. government is concerned with corruption all over, but we don't see any major amount of it here in Peru, not to the extent that it's impeding our ability to help them make the (anti-drug) programme work," the official said.
     The Peruvian government also defends its record, arguing that it has stepped up its seizures of illegal drugs, which rose sixfold in 1996 to a record 171 tonnes.
     Washington at the end of February patted Peru on the back and renewed annual certification of its anti-drug efforts. The United States, the world's leading narcotics consumer, is spending about $23 million in Peru to fight drugs this year, a tiny part of its likely total anti-drug spending of $16 billion.
     The announcement of recertification came shortly after a judge sentenced Luis Otoya, a former head of Lima airport's anti-drug squad, to 12 years in prison for alleged involvement in a bid to smuggle more than 440 pounds (200 kg) of cocaine.
  


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Subject:  OLA_LA_Drug_seizures_08Apr97_German, Spanish Police Uncover Drug Ring.
Status: RO

		German, Spanish Police Uncover Drug Ring

OTC  4/8/97 3:04 AM   

 BONN (April 7) XINHUA - German and Spanish police have uncovered an  international drug trafficking ring and seized 30 kilograms of cocaine,  German police said today. 
   Police discovered clues of the drug ring by chance in January, and  since then had captured several drug carriers as well as their  Columbian wire-pullers in Frankfurt and Madrid, police said. Enditem 
   08/04/97 00:59 GMT 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  LA_08Apr97_Fifty-five charged in cocaine scheme in New York.
Status: RO

		Fifty-five charged in cocaine scheme in New York

RTw  4/8/97 3:49 AM   


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    NEW YORK, April 7 (Reuter) - Federal prosecutors said on Monday that 55 defendants were charged with participating in conspiracies to traffic in cocaine and launder money for a Colombia-based narcotics group.
     The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York said the money laundering organisation is believed to be led by a woman called Mery Valencia, also known as La Senora, who is currently in prison in Brazil.
     Prosecutors said 27 defendants were arrested on Sunday and on Monday in New York, New Jersey and Florida and over 440 pounds (200 kg) of cocaine and $6.7 million in cash were seized. Nine others were previously arrested. The remaining defendants are still at large.
     The complaint charges that Valencia's organisation imported substantial quantities of cocaine into the United States and laundered the proceeds to Colombia between 1992 and the present.
     Prosecutors said the United States has formally requested Valencia's extradition from Brazil. The request is based on a March 4 indictment filed in New York charging both Valencia and her sister with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and launder money.
     Valencia has been in prison since her Feb. 7 arrest by Brazilian authorities in connection with a 1992 indictment filed in Los Angeles on narcotics trafficking charges.
     If convicted of all charges, she faces a mandatory life term in prison.
  REUTER


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Subject:  ML_07Apr97_Boston Man Guilty Of Operating An Illegal Foreign ....
Status: RO

	 Boston Man Guilty Of Operating An Illegal Foreign ...

PR   4/7/97 11:56 PM  

Boston Man Guilty Of Operating An Illegal Foreign Money Transmittal Business,
                              U.S. Attorney Says

    BOSTON, April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A Boston man pled guilty today to an Indictment charging him with operating an illegal foreign money transmittal business from a location in Roxbury.
    United States Attorney Donald K. Stern announced that LUIS DELAROSA, 45, of Priesing Street, Boston, pled guilty today to operating an illegal foreign money transmittal business at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner.  DELAROSA is believed to be only the second person in the nation convicted under a statute making it a federal crime to operate a foreign money transmittal business without a license issued by the state in which the business is located.
    At today's hearing, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. Pearlstein stated that if the case had gone to trial, the evidence would have shown that DELAROSA is the owner and operator of El Semaforo Exchange, 397 Dudley Street, Roxbury.  El Semaforo had twice unsuccessfully applied to the Massachusetts Division of Banks and Loan Agencies for a license to act as a foreign transmittal agency.  The first application was filed in December 1994. DELAROSA also provided the Division of Banks and Loan Agencies with an affidavit in which he stated that El Semaforo would not accept any money for transmittal to foreign countries unless a license were to issue.
    Notwithstanding DELAROSA's assurance that El Semaforo would not operate as a foreign transmittal agency unless it was licensed, between January 3, 1995 and July 31, 1996, El Semaforo conducted more than 40,000 transactions, the vast majority of which involved transmittals to the Dominican Republic.  An average of $20,000 - $50,000 per day was transmitted to the Dominican Republic by El Semaforo.  El Semaforo would collect a 4 percent fee for conducting the transactions.  Some of the funds accepted for transfer to the Dominican Republic came from drug dealers in the Roxbury area.
    El Semaforo's manager, Rafael Sanchez, was convicted of drug money laundering following a one week jury trial in February.  During the course of that trial, DELAROSA testified as a defense witness.  Under cross-examination by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Pearlstein, DELAROSA admitted that he knowingly operated El Semaforo Exchange as an illegal and unlicensed foreign money transmittal business.
    Judge Gertner scheduled sentencing for June 16, 1997.  DELAROSA faces up to five years imprisonment and a fine of $25,000.
    The case was investigated by the U.S. Customs Service.  It is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. Pearlstein and Allison D. Burroughs of Stern's Economic Crimes Unit.

SOURCE  U.S. Attorney's Office
    -0-                      4/7/97
    /CONTACT:  Joy Fallon or Amy Rindskopf of the U.S. Attorney's Office, 617-223-9445/

CO:  U.S. Attorney's Office ST:  Massachusetts IN: SU:





Copyright 1997 PR Newswire.  All rights reserved


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Subject:  ML_07Apr97_Millions seized, 3 arrested in scheme.
Status: RO

		 Millions seized, 3 arrested in scheme

OTC  4/7/97 8:12 PM   

MIAMI, April 7 (UPI S) -- The U.S. Customs Service in Miami and Tampa,  Fla., today (Monday) announced the arrest of three people and the  seizure of at least $3 million in a suspected weekend money laundering  attempt. Agents say they found more than $1 million hidden inside  stereo speakers aboard a Miami to Venezuela flight and possibly more  than $2 million inside a Tampa home. 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  ML_08Apr97_Africans held in Cambodia after fake money found.
Status: RO

		Africans held in Cambodia after fake money found

RTw  4/8/97 10:41 AM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    PHNOM PENH, April 8 (Reuter) - Two West Africans have been arrested for alleged possession of approximately $1 million in fake U.S. notes, a top official at Interpol Cambodia said on Tuesday.
     The two, from Ghana and Liberia, were arrested at Phnom Penh airport on Monday when they tried to leave for Bangkok, said General Skadavy M. Ly Roun of Interpol.
     He said he expected the suspects to appear in court on Tuesday or Wednesday when they would be officially charged.
     Cambodia has become a popular site for laundering counterfeit bills, according to police. A major ring was busted in Phnom Penh last year.
     Co-Premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh on Tuesday expressed dismay over Cambodia's state of lawlessness, citing a deadly grenade attack on an opposition protest on March 30 and the recent seizure of seven tonnes of marijuana bound for Sri Lanka.
     "We have to export rubber, real rubber -- not marijuana --- and...rice, rubber, soybeans, tobacco, maize, orchids," he told reporters in the capital.
     As he finished, shots rang out across the street in what police said was a neighbourhood dispute.
  REUTER


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Subject:  Central_Asian_Drugs_Trafficking_08Apr97 AFGHANISTAN:  TALEBAN REPORTEDLY RECEIVING WEAPONS FROM UKRAINE VIA TURKMENISTAN.
Status: RO

08Apr97 AFGHANISTAN:  TALEBAN REPORTEDLY RECEIVING WEAPONS FROM UKRAINE VIA TURKMENISTAN.
Source: Radio Russia, Moscow, in Russian 0900 gmt 7 Apr 97
Text of report by Radio Russia
Taleban units control about 400 km of the Turkmen-Afghan stretch of the border. Our correspondent Aleksandr Knyazov now reports by telephone.
[Knyazov] According to some reports, the Turkmen leadership's calm is deceptive. Different kinds of conflict often flare up on the border and the Taleban take hostages and demand in exchange acetic anhydride, which is needed for heroin production.
Another view exists on why Turkmenistan is relatively calm. Gen Abdorrashid Dostum, chairman of the Supreme Defence Council of Afghanistan, spoke about this. According to him, the Turkmen factor certainly worries the leaders of the anti-Taleban coalition. There are reports that through Turkmenistan, the Taleban receive from a third country, in particular Ukraine, weapons and ammunition. In exchange, drugs go through the Turkmen corridor. Gen Dostum said the pronouncements of the Turkmen president about the neutral stance of his country and about his indifference as to which groups exist in Afghanistan are to a large degree surprising. If the Taleban were to unite with the Tajik opposition it would become a serious threat to the whole of Central Asia.
According to the latest reports from Kabul, the Taleban have not abandoned their plans to occupy Samarkand and Bukhara and further advance into the north. At the initiative of the Taleban leadership, official missions of the opposition parties and groups of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have opened in Kabul.
Aleksandr Knyazov, Russia's radio, Afghanistan.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: ASIA-PACIFIC 8/4/97 



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        "Beelen, M." <BeelenM@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=BEELENM, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Bruggeman, Willi" <Bruggeman@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=BRUGGEMAN, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Di Gregorio, Claudio" <Digregorio@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=DIGREGORIO, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Doeschner, L." <"/DD.MHS=lodoesch(a)zka-003/"@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl(a)>,
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        "Laine, Jarmo" <Laine@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=LAINE, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Marotta, E." <Marotta@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=MAROTTA, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
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        "Mausolf, A." <Mausolf@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=MAUSOLF, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Mersch, R." <Mersch@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=MERSCH, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        Min_Finance_Bats <DGBEL.IA@TIP.NL>,
        "Nielsen, Peter" <Nielsen@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=NIELSEN, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "O'SULLIVAN, Thomas" </DD.MS=NCISIRL$/NCISIRL$/OSULLIVANT/@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl>,
        Paul Roger_CJCLibrary <cjc.library@mailbox.uq.oz.au>,
        "Petrucci, Anna Maria" <Petrucci@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=PETRUCCI, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Ridley, J.N.C." <Ridley@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=RIDLEY, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Robertson, S." <Robertson@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=ROBERTSON, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Russo, R." <Russo@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=RUSSO, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Saccone, Antonio" <Saccone@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=SACCONE, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Schermann, F." <Schermann@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=SCHERMANN, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Schwarzinger, Gherard" <Schwarzinger@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=SCHWARZINGER, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Steilen, N." <"/DD.MHS=nosteile(a)zka-021/"@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl(a)>,
        "Tjalkens, R." <Tjalkens@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=TJALKENS, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL),
        "Vandewiele, Jacques" <Vandewiele@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=VANDEWIELE, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL) (Tel 216),
        "Vegter, D." <buraer@worldonline.nl>
Subject:  ML_Fraud_08Apr97 MALAYSIA:  CALL FOR MORE MEASURES TO CURB FINANCIAL FRAUDS.
Status: RO

08Apr97 MALAYSIA:  CALL FOR MORE MEASURES TO CURB FINANCIAL FRAUDS.
By Elena Shamsuddin; Michelle Sheares.
THE Government would like to see further measures adopted by financial institutions to prevent frauds which have been increasing over the past three years.
A psychological test when recruiting staff and other internal controls, such as by the audit department, are the few measures that the financial institutions need to consider in arresting the problem.
Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Dr Mohd Shafie Salleh, who gave the figures of financial frauds provided by the Ministry of Finance said in 1992, there were 1,998 financial frauds committed.
In 1993, the number reduced to 1,416 and it declined further to 718 in 1994, he said at a press conference after launching the "Combating Financial Crime" seminar on behalf of Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Affifudin Omar yesterday.
However, in 1995, the number of frauds committed rose to 718 and further increased to 870 for the first 11 months of the following year.
Meanwhile, in Affifudin's keynote address which was read by Shafie, it was stated that incidence of bank frauds reported by Bank Negara has declined from 526 cases in 1995 to 207 cases in 1996.
The amount of losses was also reduced from RM32.5m in 1995 to RM19.3m 1996.
Shafie suggested that banks and other financial institutions look beyond academic qualifications, and put emphasis on personal traits as well when recruiting new employees.
"Personal traits, which can be seen from psychological tests, of a new employee plays a role," he said. "For example, if it is found from the test that the person talks a lot, then he should not be put in charge of an area which requires confidentiality."
The internal or moral factors and external or ethics factors must be combined when recruiting staff, especially in the banking sector, said Shafie, adding: "Money is there all over. Temptation for the employees to do something is very great."
Bank Negara, said Shafie, over the years, had stressed that financial institutions need a strong audit committee to identify and implement control procedures which it has introduced.
President of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) Datuk Salleh Majid who was present at the press conference, said the local bourse has its own market supervision department to deal with members' compliance of the exchange rules as well as other relevant statutes.
"KLSE's role is to provide complete assistance to the Securities Commission and other authorities such as the Ministry of Finance."
Meanwhile, in view of the recent increase in financial crimes occuring in this country, Effimerge Training Centre Sdn Bhd has brought in three of UK's renowned and internationally recognised authorities on financial crime to speak at the seminar.
They are detective inspector Graham Saltmarsh, head of the intelligence policy unit at Scotland Yard who is also the main speaker for the three-day seminar; Rowan Bosworth-Davies, a criminal justice specialist with Titmus Sainer Dechert and a consultant to the joint money laundering steering group of the British banking association; and Martyn Bridges, a partner with Deloitte & Touche Investigation Services Group who is a specialist in tax and forensic accounting issues.
The presence of these three speakers will provide Malaysians an insight into how to combat financial fraud. It is estimated that $1 trillion ($1 = RM2.48) is laundered annually.
The 3-day training seminar will address topics like the dangers and consequences of financial crime, identifying and controlling financial crime, deterring financial crime, case studies to enhance perception, methods of awareness and detention, management of crime prevention, crisis management and damage limitation.
The training seminar is custom-made for all corporate organisations and private businesses in the field of commerce, banking, securities, insurance, financial services, auditing and accountancy.
Effimerge is conducting the training seminar in collaboration with Trocki Ltd of UK. The three-day seminar started yesterday at the Crown Princess Hotel and will end tomorrow. 
SOUTHEAST ASIA 
BUSINESS TIMES (MALAYSIA) 8/4/97 P6 



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From: "Mulschlegel, F.J." <Mulschlegel@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=MULSCHLEGE, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL)
Message-Id:  <"/GUID:1A10E8E2F2AFD0118BF800A024A41787*"@MHS>
Subject:  OLA_LA_08Apr97 MALAYSIA:  CALL FOR MORE MEASURES TO CURB FINANCIAL FRAUDS.
Status: RO

08Apr97 MALAYSIA:  CALL FOR MORE MEASURES TO CURB FINANCIAL FRAUDS.
By Elena Shamsuddin; Michelle Sheares.
THE Government would like to see further measures adopted by financial institutions to prevent frauds which have been increasing over the past three years.
A psychological test when recruiting staff and other internal controls, such as by the audit department, are the few measures that the financial institutions need to consider in arresting the problem.
Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Dr Mohd Shafie Salleh, who gave the figures of financial frauds provided by the Ministry of Finance said in 1992, there were 1,998 financial frauds committed.
In 1993, the number reduced to 1,416 and it declined further to 718 in 1994, he said at a press conference after launching the "Combating Financial Crime" seminar on behalf of Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Affifudin Omar yesterday.
However, in 1995, the number of frauds committed rose to 718 and further increased to 870 for the first 11 months of the following year.
Meanwhile, in Affifudin's keynote address which was read by Shafie, it was stated that incidence of bank frauds reported by Bank Negara has declined from 526 cases in 1995 to 207 cases in 1996.
The amount of losses was also reduced from RM32.5m in 1995 to RM19.3m 1996.
Shafie suggested that banks and other financial institutions look beyond academic qualifications, and put emphasis on personal traits as well when recruiting new employees.
"Personal traits, which can be seen from psychological tests, of a new employee plays a role," he said. "For example, if it is found from the test that the person talks a lot, then he should not be put in charge of an area which requires confidentiality."
The internal or moral factors and external or ethics factors must be combined when recruiting staff, especially in the banking sector, said Shafie, adding: "Money is there all over. Temptation for the employees to do something is very great."
Bank Negara, said Shafie, over the years, had stressed that financial institutions need a strong audit committee to identify and implement control procedures which it has introduced.
President of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) Datuk Salleh Majid who was present at the press conference, said the local bourse has its own market supervision department to deal with members' compliance of the exchange rules as well as other relevant statutes.
"KLSE's role is to provide complete assistance to the Securities Commission and other authorities such as the Ministry of Finance."
Meanwhile, in view of the recent increase in financial crimes occuring in this country, Effimerge Training Centre Sdn Bhd has brought in three of UK's renowned and internationally recognised authorities on financial crime to speak at the seminar.
They are detective inspector Graham Saltmarsh, head of the intelligence policy unit at Scotland Yard who is also the main speaker for the three-day seminar; Rowan Bosworth-Davies, a criminal justice specialist with Titmus Sainer Dechert and a consultant to the joint money laundering steering group of the British banking association; and Martyn Bridges, a partner with Deloitte & Touche Investigation Services Group who is a specialist in tax and forensic accounting issues.
The presence of these three speakers will provide Malaysians an insight into how to combat financial fraud. It is estimated that $1 trillion ($1 = RM2.48) is laundered annually.
The 3-day training seminar will address topics like the dangers and consequences of financial crime, identifying and controlling financial crime, deterring financial crime, case studies to enhance perception, methods of awareness and detention, management of crime prevention, crisis management and damage limitation.
The training seminar is custom-made for all corporate organisations and private businesses in the field of commerce, banking, securities, insurance, financial services, auditing and accountancy.
Effimerge is conducting the training seminar in collaboration with Trocki Ltd of UK. The three-day seminar started yesterday at the Crown Princess Hotel and will end tomorrow. 
SOUTHEAST ASIA 
BUSINESS TIMES (MALAYSIA) 8/4/97 P6 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_08Apr97 BOLIVIA:  FUJIMORI SEEKING "CREATIVE ALTERNATIVES" TO RESOLVE HOSTAGE CRISIS.
Status: RO

08Apr97 BOLIVIA:  FUJIMORI SEEKING "CREATIVE ALTERNATIVES" TO RESOLVE HOSTAGE CRISIS.
Source: Radioprogramas del Peru, Lima, in Spanish 1200 gmt 6 Apr 97
Excerpts from report by Peruvian Programas del Peru radio on 6th April
President Alberto Fujimori has made a 22-hour visit to Bolivia, where he toured the coca-producing area and said that he would seek creative alternatives to resolve the hostage crisis in a peaceful manner.
The president noted that Bolivia and Peru would continue their fight against drug trafficking, regardless of US plans to certify or decertify them. In Chapare, President Fujimori looked at different reports on the fight against drug trafficking and the promotion of programmes to replace coca. Colonel Luis Coronel, the commander of rural patrol operations, told President Fujimori that a new drug trafficking organization, operating between Peru and Bolivia, was making its way through the region...
According to official reports, they [Fujimori and Bolivian President Sanchez de Lozada] discussed the hostage crisis and the situation of jailed MRTA [Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement] militants, four of whom are currently in Bolivia.
President Fujimori reiterated that his government was not considering the use of force to resolve the hostage crisis and said that an action of this type would only be adopted as a last resort, if the government was faced with an unmanageable situation.
The president stressed: We are using and will continue to use every creative measure that will help us - within a timeframe we cannot establish - reach a peaceful solution.
President Fujimori remarked that there were no differences among Japan, Peru and Bolivia regarding the handling of the crisis. He added: We are coordinating actions on a permanent basis and there is a fluid exchange of views...
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: LATIN AMERICA 8/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_Air_Traffic_Drugs_Counter_Intelligence_Drug_Trafficking_Investigative_Methods_LA_LEN_Police_Tech_08Apr97_Navy Selects Adv
Status: RO

	 Navy Selects Advanced Thermal Imaging System From ...

PR   4/8/97 2:32 PM   

Navy Selects Advanced Thermal Imaging System From FLIR Systems for Use on P-3
                                   Aircraft

             FLIR Receives Additional Government Contracts in Q1

    PORTLAND, Ore., April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- FLIR Systems Inc. (FSI) (Nasdaq: FLIR) announced today it has received two additional government contracts, totaling $4.5 million, in the first quarter.  In a $2.7 million order, FSI has supplied the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command with AN/AAQ-22 SAFIRE thermal imaging systems for use on selected P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, FSI also announced it will enhance the thermal imaging capability of existing systems in the U.S. Army National Guard's airborne drug interdiction program in a $1.8 million contract.
    The Naval Air Systems Command contract will replace prior-generation equipment that was installed in the 1970s with the AN/AAQ-22 thermal imaging system on selected P-3 Orion maritime reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft, SAFIRE's high-resolution digital imaging system is flight-qualified for the full P-3 operational envelope, including airspeeds of up to 405 knots.
    "Today's order represents the Navy's continuing confidence in the AN/AAQ-22, its night vision capabilities and system reliability," said Robert P. Daltry, FSI chairman and CEO.  "We are pleased to again be working with the Navy, this time as it fields the SAFIRE for maritime patrol and reconnaissance."
    Several foreign countries already use the AN/AAQ-22 on P-3 Orion aircraft for maritime patrols, including the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.  The P-3 is the most commonly used maritime patrol platform today.  Fourteen nations field approximately 500 of the planes around the globe.
    Before ordering the AN/AAQ-22, the Navy flew it on multiple missions, including support for United Nations implementation Forces in Bosnia and international counterdrug efforts.  Delivery of the systems was completed at the end of March.

    National Guard Order Improves Magnification on Drug Interdiction Flights
    In a separate contract with the U.S. Army National Guard, FSI will provide modifications that will increase the magnification capabilities of its Series 2000F thermal imaging systems for greater "stand off" range while conducting surveillance operations.
    Eighty Series 2000 systems are presently employed by the Reconnaissance and Interdiction Detachments (RAID) of the counterdrug program.  The RAID program makes the advanced surveillance capabilities of the National Guard's OH-58 Kiowa helicopters, outfitted with the Series 2000 thermal imaging system, available to local law enforcement agencies in states where drug trafficking is highest.  The Guard assists with airborne evidence gathering activities, such as locating and identifying probable marijuana growing operations.  Actual law enforcement is handled by local agencies.
    The increased magnification is the first in a series of modifications to enhance the National Guard's capability to support local law enforcement agencies.
    FLIR Systems Inc., designs, manufactures and markets imaging systems worldwide for a variety of applications.  FSI night vision products are used in such diverse applications as public safety, defense, navigation and environmental protection.  Commercial product applications include broadcast imaging, predictive maintenance, non-destructive testing, research and development, and manufacturing process control.  Founded in 1978, FSI is headquartered in Portland, Ore.

SOURCE  FLIR Systems Inc.
    -0-                             04/08/97
    /CONTACT:  Helen Connor of FLIR Systems Inc., 503-684-3731, or hconnor@flir.com/
    (FLIR)

CO:  FLIR Systems Inc. ST:  Oregon IN:  CPR SU:  CON





Copyright 1997 PR Newswire.  All rights reserved


From Mulschlegel@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl Tue Apr  8 15:32:51 1997 remote from 
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Subject:  LA_08Apr97 MEXICO:  HIJA DE EX JEFE ANTINARCOTICOS MEXICO DICE "SIEMBRAN" PRUEBAS.
Status: RO

08Apr97 MEXICO:  HIJA DE EX JEFE ANTINARCOTICOS MEXICO DICE "SIEMBRAN" PRUEBAS.
MEXICO DF, abr 7 (Reuter) - Familiares del general y ex jefe antinarcoticos de Mexico, Jesus Gutierez Rebollo, acusaron el lunes al gobierno de inventar pruebas y presionar a testigos para sustentar los cargos de corrupcion en su contra.
La familia rechazo versiones periodisticas que senalan que Gutierez Rebollo amaso durante los ultimos seis anos una fortuna superior a los 500 millones de dolares, producto de sus relaciones con el narcotrafico.
"Eso es una mentira", dijo Teresa de Jesus Gutierez Ramirez, hija del militar, durante una entrevista con la cadena CBS-Telenoticias y Reuters.
El general Gutierrez Rebollo fue designado a fines de 1996 por el presidente Ernesto Zedillo como director del Instituto Nacional del Combate a las Drogas (INCD).
Sin embargo, en febrero de este ano fue detenido bajo acusaciones de brindar proteccion y facilitar operaciones de importantes narcotraficantes mexicanos, por lo que permanece recluido en un penal de alta seguridad.
Segun una nota publicada el lunes por el diario "El Universal", que cita fuentes de la Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) y de la Agencia antidrogas de los Estados Unidos (DEA por sus siglas en ingles), Rebollo abrio 20 cuentas bancarias.
La PGR declino comentar las versiones.
"Esas pruebas son sembradas (inventadas), eso es totalmente falso (...) es una cochinada", sostuvo en la entrevista Teresa de Jesus Gutierez.
Pidio a las autoridades que demuestren con pruebas, quienes y como se realizaron los presuntos depositos bancarios, en los que se vincula tambien a su madre, Maria Teresa Ramirez de Gutierrez.
"Solo pedimos que sea un proceso justo, en el que no se siembren pruebas para condenar a mi padre", dijo la hija del ex jefe antinarcotico mexicano.
Aseguro que su familia tiene las pruebas para demostrar que las autoridades presionan y torturan a testigos para integrar las evidencias y los testimonios en contra de su padre.
Segun de Jesus Gutierrez, la detencion de su padre obedece a que el ex jefe antinarcoticos sabe muchas cosas y nombres de personas a las que no les conviene que se sepan, pero declino precisar de quien se trata.
"Si yo le dijera quienes hicieron esto, le determinaria de quien sabe mi papa cosas que no les convienen", argumento.
Expreso su temor por la vida de su padre y la de su familia. Indico que el gobierno esta ahora hablando de pena de muerte para el general Gutierez Rebollo bajo el presunto delito de alta traicion a la patria.
"Preteden quitarle la vida a mi padre", advirtio.
"No seria mejor aplicar una operacion (quirurgica) para borrarle de su mente lo que sabe, lo que vio, lo que pudo haber descubierto", indico.
En este sentido, afirmo que ha recibido llamadas telefonicas anonimas en las que amenazan a su familia para que dejen de denunciar las presuntas irregularidades en el proceso que se le sigue al general Gutierrez Rebollo.
"Nuestras vidas estan en peligro constante, temo por la vida de mi padre, la de mi familia y la mia propia", insistio la hija del ex jefe antinarcoticos mexicano. REUTER/ DM CC GZ 0140 GMT.
(c) Reuters Limited 1997. 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  LA_08Apr97_Ruiz Massieu target of criminal probe - paper.
Status: RO

		 Ruiz Massieu target of criminal probe - paper

RTna 4/8/97 3:58 PM   


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    HOUSTON (Reuter) - U.S. officials are looking into possible money-laundering charges against a former Mexican deputy attorney general accused of taking protection money from drug-traffickers, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
     The Houston Chronicle, quoting unnamed sources, also said Raul Salinas de Gortari, the jailed brother of former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, was under investigation in the United States in what the newspaper said was one of seven investigations that could link former Mexican officials to drug traffickers.
     The Chronicle said Mario Ruiz Massieu, formerly a top drug fighter in the Mexican government, and his assistant, Jorge Stergios, were the targets of a money-laundering investigation by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service.
     The investigation has been under way for 18 months, but possible indictments were stalled by, among other things, the Clinton administration's recent certification of Mexico's anti-drug efforts, sources told the newspaper.
     It said the Justice Department had assigned a "case manager" or special prosecutor from Washington to review all aspects of the case because of its possible political ramifications.
     Last month a federal jury ruled that Ruiz Massieu took millions of dollars in protection money from drug traffickers while he was in the Mexican attorney general's office in 1993 and 1994. It said the U.S. government could keep $7.9 million of $9 million it seized from a Houston bank account held by Ruiz Massieu.
     Stergios, whose whereabouts is unknown, brought the money to Houston from Mexico City in suitcases, according to testimony in the civil trial. Ruiz Massieu is in New Jersey awaiting a May deportation hearing.
     The Chronicle said Salinas and other former top-ranking Mexican officials were the subjects of investigations in Texas, California and New York.
     It said investigators from Switzerland were in Houston last week to interview U.S. government witnesses about Swiss bank accounts held by Salinas. The Swiss officials said the Salinas accounts, totaling more than $100 million, were likely linked to drug money.
     Salinas has been jailed for more than two years in Mexico awaiting trial on charges he masterminded the 1994 killing of ruling party official Jose Francisco Ruiz Massieu, the brother of Mario Ruiz Massieu. He was also accused of illegally amassing a personal fortune during his brother's administration.
     Documents leaked to the press before last month's civil trial of Ruiz Massieu indicated the U.S. government believed it had evidence linking Ruiz Massieu and Salinas in a drug protection racket.
     Both men denied the charges.
 REUTER


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Subject:  OLA_LA_EU_Press_08Apr97 NETHERLANDS: EU TO EXTEND TRADE PRIVILEGES FOR ANDEAN COUNTRIES. 
Status: O

08Apr97 NETHERLANDS: EU TO EXTEND TRADE PRIVILEGES FOR ANDEAN COUNTRIES. 
NOORDWIJK, Netherlands, April 8 (Reuter) - The European Union on Tuesday extended trade privileges granted to five Andean nations and said greater effort would be made to increase European investment in the region.
A statement following a meeting of the EU with the foreign ministers of Venezuala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia said generalised system of preferences (GSP) trade privileges on agricultural and fisheries products would remain in force indefinitely.
The GSP privileges have been granted chiefly to encourage the replacement of narcotic-drug production with food farming.
The EU's troika -- made up of the foreign ministers of the past, current and future presidents of the 15-nation bloc -- was meeting the so-called Andean Pact nations on the fringes of an EU/Latin America conference being held in the Dutch seaside town.
The statement said there had been an increase in business opportunites for investors from both Europe and Latin America which could be directly linked to the GSP privileges. No figures were given.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


With kind regards
Vera Korte
Documentation Bureau

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Subject:  OLA_LA_EU_Press_08Apr97 NETHERLANDS: EU TO GIVE BOLIVIA 30 MLN ECU TO FIGHT DRUGS. 09:57 GMT  
Status: O

08Apr97 NETHERLANDS: EU TO GIVE BOLIVIA 30 MLN ECU TO FIGHT DRUGS. 09:57 GMT  
NOORDWIJK, Netherlands, April 8 (Reuter) - The European Union said on Tuesday that nations which consume narcotic drugs should take more responsibility for helping stop their production by encouraging alternative crops.
"Responsibility cannot be reduced to the producers," said Manuel Marin Eurpean Commissioner responsible for EU relations with Latin America. "There is another responsibility to those countries which consume drugs."
Marin was speaking at a ceremony to mark the signing of a 30 million European currency units (ecus) project with Bolivian Foreign Minister Antonio Aranibar on the fringes of an EU/Latin America conference in this Dutch seaside town.
The first part of the project will see some 19 million Ecus go towards finding alternative crops to coca -- used in making cocaine -- in Chapare region, where large quantities of drugs are believed to orginate.
The EU's methods of tackling drug production contrasts with those of the United States -- the world's biggest consumer of narcotics -- which links aid to countries first showing visible evidence of tackling the problem.
Colombia's lucrative trade privileges with the U.S. were placed in jeopardy earlier this year when Washington said the country would go on a list of those not doing enough to tackle drug production. Mexico is currently under similar scrutiny.
But Marin said the EU "did not believe in exclusive sanctions" as a way of tackling drug production.
"We aim not only to fight production, but also consumption and also the associated money laundering," he said.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
REUTER NEWS SERVICE


With kind regards
Vera Korte
Documentation Bureau

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Subject:  ML_29Jan97 SUISSE: LA SUISSE APPELLE LA RUSSIE A L'AIDE POUR TRAQUER L'ARGENT DE LA MAFFIA.
Status: RO

29Jan97 SUISSE: LA SUISSE APPELLE LA RUSSIE A L'AIDE POUR TRAQUER L'ARGENT DE LA MAFFIA.
Par Francois Tissot-Daguette.
La maffia russe tente de s'infiltrer en Suisse, a affirme le procureur general de Russie hier a Berne. La lutte s'organise.
Oui, la maffia russe tente bel et bien de s'infiltrer en Suisse depuis quelques annnees: telle est l'analyse du procureur general de Russie, Youri Skouratov venu rencontrer hier, a Berne, le procureur general de la Confederation, Carla del Ponte. Cette derniere, qui veut eviter que la place financiere suisse ne soit utilisee pour blanchir l'argent du crime organise, demande l'aide de la Russie. La collaboration entre les deux Etats devrait s'intensifier rapidement.
 
L'EFFICACITE DE LA LUTTE DEPEND DE LA RUSSIE
 
Carla del Ponte s'inquiete des flux de capitaux provenant des pays d'Europe de l'est. Pour le procureur de la Confederation, il n'est pas question que la criminalite organisee russe puisse utiliser la Suisse pour blanchir ses capitaux. Or si, pour Youri Skouratov, la maffia n'est pas encore installee de maniere organisationnelle en Suisse, elle pourrait bien etre tentee d'utiliser la place financiere helvetique pour blanchir son argent.
Comme l'argent russe est la, il convient de connaitre maintenant,tres vite, son origine, ses eventuels liens avec la maffia. A cette question, la Suisse ne peut cependant repondre seule, d'ou l'interet de la rencontre d'hier durant laquelle les deux Etats ont convenu de renforcer la collaboration aux niveaux de l'entraide judiciaire, de la police ainsi que l'information. Un groupe de travail a meme ete constitue afin de finaliser les accords conclus.
Les deux procureurs ont cependant declare qu'aucun cas de blanchiment n'a encore ete decouvert.
Si, cote helvetique, Carla del Ponte a admis manquer de moyens pour mener toutes les enquetes sur la criminalite organisee avec la celerite souhaitee, cote russe, les base legales necessaires ne sont qu'en voie d'elaboration. Le parlement russe, la Douma, etudie des projets de loi concernant la lutte contre la criminnalite, la corruption et le blanchiment d'argent. A ce propos, le procureur general de la Russie a tenu a relever tout l'interet qu'il porte aux instruments legaux que possede ou envisage la Suisse, notamment en matiere de blanchiment d'argent.
 
LE CAS DU PARRAIN ETUDIE AUJOURD'HUI
 
Youri Skuratov, qui a deja eu des contacts avec la police zurichoise, doit rencontrer aujourd'hui meme le procureur genevois Bertossa. A l'ordre du jour de cette reunion figure naturellement le cas de Serguei Mikhailov, actuellement incarcere a Geneve, soupconne d'etre l'un des parrains de la maffia russe.
Interroge sur le fait que la justice russe n'a pas encore lance d'enquete a l'encontre de Mikhailov, Youri Skuratov a explique que cela ne signifiait pas que la justice de son pays n'avait rien a lui reprocher. Le procureur general de Russie a cependant affirme qu'il allait tout faire pour que la justice triomphe.
 
(c) 1997 L'AGEFI
Le Quotidien Suisse des Affaires et de la Finance. 
AGEFI (FRENCH LANGUAGE) 29/1/97 



From Mulschlegel@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl Tue Apr  8 17:12:55 1997 remote from 
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Subject:  ML_07Apr97 SUISSE:  ECHEC A UNE GIGANTESQUE ESCROQUERIE BANCAIRE.
Status: RO

07Apr97 SUISSE:  ECHEC A UNE GIGANTESQUE ESCROQUERIE BANCAIRE.
Par Alain Fabarez et Alain Fabarez.
L'intervention energique du juge genevois Kasper-Ansermet est les securites de la banque genevoise United Overseas Bank tiennent en echec des escrocs internationaux.
Neuf millions de prejudice au lieu de cinquante au moins. Deux arrestations. L'AGEFI es en mesure de reveler l'essentiel d'une affaire judiciaire qui vient d'eclater a Geneve. Malgre le mutisme des interesses, nous avons pu reconstituer une affaire qui aurait probablement abouti a une des plus grandes escroqueries de l'annee en Europe si l'intervention de la justice genevoise n'y avait pas mis un terme.
United Overseas Bank (UOB) a Geneve est une filiale jointe de la BNP francaise et de la Dresdner Bank allemande. La banque est surtout active dans le financement du commerce international et dans la gestion de fortune. Fin 1992, sa direction est contactee par un groupe industriel du nord de l'Italie qui cherche a mettre en place un systeme de <leveraged financing> des plus ingenieux. Il s'agit pour des societes industrielles d'acheter des bons du tresor pour acheter des zeros coupons en dollars et d'obtenir ainsi un credit gage pour 50 millions de dollars ou plus. Ainsi le groupe italien fait coup double: il peut emprunter a moindre taux qu'en Italie, et surtout il se cree des actifs en dollsrs a l'exterieur de l'Italie. Or la lire va mal et le risque politique de la Peninsule donne eternellement froid dans le dos aux Lombards.
Ce projet est abandonne par la suite, mais il sera l'occasion pour Antonio B. de faire la connaissance de l'UOB et notamment d'un cadre de celle-ci. La cinquantaine bien portee, distingue et beau parleur, energique et plein d'idees, Antonio B. vit apparemment sur un grand pied.
 
LA FASCINATION DE L'OR
 
En 1995, B. recontacte la banque. Il a trouve LA solution: faire le meme style d'operation que prevu au depart, mais remplacer les zeros coupons par de l'or. De tout temps, le metal jaune a fait les yeux doux aux investisseurs italiens.
Sceptique au depart, le responsable a l'UOB accepte de faire quelques transactions pour essayer ce mecanisme d'investissement novateur. B. fait alors ouvrir par sa belle soeur, Luciana G., un compte au nom d'une societe panameenne H., en automne 1995. Ce compte recoit des virements de faible importance d'abord et B. achete ainsi une premiere quantite d'or.
Dans le courant de l'ete 1996, il accelere un peu: la societe H. est creditee de quelque trois millions de dollars et les quantites augmentent: presque une tonne en ete, puis de nouveau en automne. Pour eviter de payer de gros droits de garde sur le metal jaune, B. et G. se font livrer les lingots, qu'ils deposent dans des coffres prealablement ouverts a l'UOB au nom de la societe H. B. mene grand train: il petille de projets, achete un avion, veut creer une fondation. Lui et sa belle soeur ont des investissements dans une societe en Valais. Bref, le client reve.
 
DE MYSTERIEUX <PAGARE>
 
En automne, il remet au responsable de son compte des effets espagnols, dits <pagare>. Ces papiers sont emis par une autre societe, K., qui a son siege a Madrid et payables sur une banque espagnole. La societe K. est d'ailleurs controlee par B. et sa famille selon ses indications. Les papiers remis a la banque sont <a vue> c'est a dire payables comme un cheque. La societe K. honore scrupuleusement ses <pagare> et B. en remet de nouveaux, avec lesquels les achats d'or continuent d'etre finances. Peu a peu, les <pagare> ne sont plus <a vue>, mais a date fixe, tres rapprochee. Puis les dates s'espacent et les montants augmentent. Mis en confiance, le gestionnaire de la banque accepte ce processus sans voir ce qui se trame: au fur et a mesure que les montants augmentent et que les dates s'eloignent, la banque fait en realite un credit. Garanti par quoi? Par l'or depose dans les coffres et par l'excellente qualite de son client et des societes qu'il controle.
Ce que le cadre ne realise pas, c'est qu'en realite les <pagare> sont payes avec le produit de la vente de l'or precedant ou grace a des prelevements de cash sur le compte de la societe H.! Ainsi B. et G. prelevent 200.000 dollars sur le compte H., qu'ils envoient en Espagne. Ou encore ils vendent une partie de la livraison d'or precedente et avec cet argent... la prochaine echeance de <pagare> est honoree! La banque est entree dans une boucle infernale: plus les dates d'echeance s'allongent, plus son risque augmente, car il suffira d'arreter l'operation au moment ou le decouvert sera assez grand! Or, d'apres les informations de L'AGEFI, c'est pres de 15 millions de dollars qui sont deja <dans la pompe> au mois de janvier.
Vu l'ampleur de ces operations, le responsable veut verifier que les vrais ayants-droit economiques ont bien ete declares a la banque. Aussi sec, G. et B. donnent des noms d'industriels reputes, ceux la meme qui etaient dans le premier projet. Voila qui est rassurant. En plus, l'or qui est dans les coffres est formellement donne en garantie a la banque par un document special de nantissement.
 
VIGILANCE INTERNE
 
Echaudees par les experiences des annees 1980, les banques suisses ont considerablement renforce leurs mecanismes de controles internes. La CFB veille d'ailleurs au grain et les stimule si necessaire. C'est ainsi qu'en fevrier, la division des risques de l'UOB se rend compte que quelque chose ne tourne pas rond. Convoques pour s'expliquer, B. et G. font un <foin du diable>. Tout va etre garanti, les operations sont totalement transparentes, etc... B. affirme avoir ete victime de certains detournements en Espagne et il tempete contre les soupcons dont il est visiblement l'objet. En face, les mines des banquiers s'allongent. Avec une froide courtoisie, ils exigent des garanties nouvelles et ils interdisent a B. de prelever d'autres sommes. La <pompe> se casse, et quelques jours plus tard, surprise, surprise, les <pagare> ne sont plus payes. Hurlements de B. qui affirme avoir depose des plaintes penales en Espagne, crie qu'on l'assassine et mandate un avocat, qui pose meme plainte penale contre ... la banque ge
nevoise!
 
ARRESTATIONS
 
Cette fois, l'UOB se fache: elle decide de proceder avec un huissier a l'ouverture des coffres dans lesquels sont deposes les lingots d'or gages en faveur de la banque. Mauvaise surprise: les coffres sont vides! Le responsable du dossier est alors dessaisi et une plainte penale est posee par la banque. Bernard BERTOSSA, procureur general de Geneve, confie ce dossier au juge Laurent KASPER-ANSERMET. Cet ancien juriste de banque n'a rien d'un tendre pour les criminels en col blanc. Mandatee par le juge, la police genevoise identifie en deux jours le point de chute de A. et de B. en Suisse. Ils sont arretes le 3 avril et longuement entendus.
Selon nos informations, B. et G. ont ete inculpes d'escroquerie et de faux. Ils sont sous mandat d'arret a la prison de Champ Dollon et le juge KASPER-ANSERMET decidera cette semaine s'il prolonge la detention jusqu'a trois mois ou s'il les remet en liberte. G. a refuse de repondre aux questions du magistrat. Quant a B. il conteste absolument avoir voulu escroquer qui que ce soit. Defendu par Me Reto ZARN - un specialiste genevois du droit bancaire - il affirme que rien ne peut lui etre reproche et que tout est cause par l'escroquerie dont il est lui-meme victime en Espagne. Il conteste la validite du gage de la banque genevoise et s'estime diffame.
Du cote de la banque, on se montre discret et on refuse toute declaration en raison de la procedure en cours, tout en soulignant qu'il n'y a eu aucune complicite interne et une evidente satisfaction que la justice soit intervenue rapidement et surtout d'avoir pu stopper le systeme mis en place avant qu'il ne fasse des degats plus importants. Il parait d'ailleurs probable que d'autres etablissements bancaires auraient pu etre victime du meme procede. Affaire a suivre donc.
Le point de vue de L'AGEFI
Dans cette affaire, tout semble exemplaire. Le schema d'abord. Plus les mecanismes de financement internationaux se compliquent, plus il faut s'attendre a des montages originaux, et donc parfois dangereux. Que l'operation soit compliquee c'est ici evident. On se demande cependant comment un banquier experimente peut tomber dans un piege pareil. C'est la aussi que l'affaire est exemplaire: dans une situation concurrentielle toujours plus tendue, les hommes du front cherchent d'abord a developper les affaires et a trouver de nouveaux clients. Leurs qualites, l'optimisme, l'entregent, le temperament de bon vendeur en font aussi des victimes faciles et les banques doivent donc apprendre a controler toujours mieux. Mais sans les etouffer pour autant. Equilibre difficile, car le seul moyen de ne jamais risquer une fracture de la jambe et peut-etre de s'enfermer chez soi, mais on se condamne a y rester seul.
Exemplaire aussi, le cote <europeen> de l'affaire B. L'Italie du Nord, non exempte de tentations secessionnistes, s'affiche toujours plus comme une des locomotives economiques de l'Europe. Le revenu par tete d'habitant en Lombardie ou dans la region de Bologne est egal, et actuellement probablement superieur, a celui de la Suisse. Une terre riche, donc peuplee de ces PME debrouillardes qui font les economies prosperes mais avec un etat bureaucratique, tatillon, inefficace, envahissant et corrompu. Resultat: la richesse s'exporte a tour de bras. Il y a la une lecon que la classe politique suisse ferait bien d'etudier de pres.
Exemplaire enfin, par la collaboration entre securite privee du secteur bancaire et autorites judiciaires. Ni Bernard BERTOSSA ni Laurent KASPER-ANSERMET n'ont la reputation d'etre les <amis> des banquiers. La vigueur et la rapidite de leur intervention - appuyee, ne l'oublions pas, par un travail exemplaire de la police genevoise - montrent bien que des deux cotes, de bonnes habitudes ont ete prises. Mentalement pret pour l'entree en vigueur de la nouvelle loir sur le blanchiment d'argent en 1998 selon toute vraisemblance, le secteur bancaire a appris a collaborer avec la justice. De son cote, celle-ci reconnait maintenant que la lutte contre la criminalite organisee ou contre les delits economiques internationaux, les banques ne sont pas des adversaires mais au contraire des alliees precieuses. Au lieu de s'invectiver mutuellement, les deux parties ont appris a s'estimer et a travailler ensemble. Foin de controles tatillons ou de critiques acerbes, les deux poles sont indispensables pour que leur collabora
tion permette le maintien d'une place financiere suisse solide et prospere.
 
(c) 1997 L'AGEFI
Le Quotidien Suisse des Affaires et de la Finance. 
AGEFI (FRENCH LANGUAGE) 7/4/97 



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Subject:  ML_18Feb97 REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE: COLLOQUE - L'ARGENT SALE AIME LES MARCHES DERIVES.
Status: RO

18Feb97 REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE: COLLOQUE - L'ARGENT SALE AIME LES MARCHES DERIVES.
- Un colloque international s'est tenu sur les techniques de blanchiment de l'argent sale.
- Les marches a terme sont montres du doigt.
La semaine derniere s'est tenu a Prague une conference internationale sur l'argent sale. Selon David Bickford, ancien des services secrets britanniques, le crime organise aurait genere pas moins de 5.000 milliards de francs de profits l'an dernier. Un chiffre difficile a verifier meme s'il donne une idee de l'ampleur du phenomene.
Comment cet argent est-il blanchi ? Sur les marches financiers. Dans son edition du 14 fevrier, le Financial Times explique ainsi qu'" une bonne partie de cet argent a ete blanchi sur les marches financiers internationaux en utilisant des contrats sur les marches a terme et derives perdus dans une masse de transactions legitimes >. Chez Matif SA, on precise que tous les membres du marche doivent etre en mesure a tout moment de fournir l'identite de leurs clients. Autres marches suspectes, les Bourses d'actions des pays d'Europe centrale et orientale ou les reglements en especes sont bien souvent encore admis. En Bulgarie on voit meme des entreprises publi-ques vendues " cash > dans le cadre de procedures de privatisation.
La Slovaquie, selon un expert de Ernst & Young, serait egalement un endroit " paradisiaque > pour qui veut blanchir de l'argent. Pour le grand cabinet d'audit, une fois l'argent mis dans le circuit financier en Europe de l'Est, il n'est ensuite pas tres complique de le transferer a l'Ouest.
P.-H. M.
La Tribune
(not to be redisseminated)
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 82 16 16. 
FRENCH LANGUAGE 
LA TRIBUNE (FRENCH LANGUAGE) 18/2/97 



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Subject:  ML_LA_04Apr97 USA:  OCEANA ANUNCIA LA OCTAVA CONFERENCIA INTERNACIONAL DE BLANQUEO DE DINERO Y CRIMENES FINANCIERIOS, ...
Status: RO

04Apr97 USA:  OCEANA ANUNCIA LA OCTAVA CONFERENCIA INTERNACIONAL DE BLANQUEO DE DINERO Y CRIMENES FINANCIERIOS, ...
Oceana anuncia la Octava Conferencia Internacional de Blanqueo de Dinero y Crimenes Financierios, Curacao, mayo 6 y 7 de 1997.
 
DOBBS FERRY, Nueva York-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Abril 3, 1997-Oceana anuncia la Octava Conferencia Internacional de Blanqueo de Dinero celebrada en Curacao, Antillas Holandesas, el 6 y 7 de mayo de 1997. La prevencion del blanqueo internacional de dinero es el tema que llevara a banqueros de alto nivel, abogados, oficiales de la bolsa, ejecutivos empresariales, reguladores gubernamentales y oficiales de ejecucion de ley de todo el mundo al Balneario de Playa Sonesta, Curacao, Antillas Holandesas, el 6 y 7 de mayo de 1997. La Octava Conferencia Internacional de Blanqueo de Dinero: America Latina y el Caribe, Cibercrimen, Criptografia Financiera y Crimenes Financieros Internacionales, esta patronizada por Oceana Publications, Inc., Centre for International Financial Crimes Studies, College Of Law Of The University Of Florida y The International Bankers Association of Netherland Antilles. Los topicos de discusion a ser presentados por una lista de 30 expertos reconocidos internacionalmente incluyen: La implementacion d
e un programa de cumplimiento para Mansur Trading Freezone para prevenir y detectar eficazmente el blanqueo de dinero al hacer negocios en el Caribe y America Latina y su relacion con el procesamiento estadounidense, presentado por Lawrence Plave, Financial Investigator and Consultant de Plave Goldberg and Manten, Inc. en Coconut Grove, Florida. La amenaza del crimen organizado y el crimen financiero en el Caribe y Europa, presentado por el Dr. Barry Rider (Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London; Fellow In Law of Jesus College, University of Cambridge; Executive Director of CIDOEC y Barrister At Law). Los adelantos mas recientes de Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, presentado por Carlos Correa, Executive Director of CFATF. El impacto de la reubicacion de Empresas Tenedoras/Financieras desde Hong Kong y Taiwan al Caribe, presentado por el Dr. Trevor Carmichael (Barrister, Chancery Chambers, Bridgetown, Barbados) y el Dr. Peter D. Maynard (Counsel & Attorney At Law, ex-L
egal Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahamas). El cibercrimen - la proxima defensa es ahora: la encripcion financiera, ciberpagos y la guerra electronica para los banqueros internacionales, presentado por Alan Brill, Managing Director, Kroll Associates, y Manager of Kroll's Global Information Security And High-Technology Investigations Group.
Otros oradores principales:
Fernando Capablanca, President of The Florida Intenational Bankers Association;
L.M. Overmars, Managing Director of The Dutch Banker's Association;
Fletcher Baldwin, Professor of Law, University of Florida, y Director of The Centre For International Financial Crimes Studies.
Para mayor informacion en cuanto a inscripciones a la conferencia, dirijase a Karen Vangor de Oceana Publications Inc. 75 Main Street, Dobbs Ferry, Nueva York 10522, EE.UU. Telefono: (914) 693-8100, Fax: (914) 693-0402, o visite nuestra pagina principal en http://www.oceanalaw.com/seminar/mltoc.htm
Nota a Redactores: Todas las denominaciones de los puestos se han dejado en ingles. 
UNITED STATES 
BUSINESS WIRE 4/4/97 



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Subject:  LA_08Apr97 NETHERLANDS: EU/LATAM MINISTERS CALL FOR END TO PERU SIEGE. 15:48 GMT  
Status: RO

08Apr97 NETHERLANDS: EU/LATAM MINISTERS CALL FOR END TO PERU SIEGE. 15:48 GMT  
NOORDWIJK, Netherlands, April 8 (Reuter) - European Union and Latin American foreign ministers on Tuesday called for the immediate release of 72 hostages held by Tupac Amaru rebels at the Japanese embassy in Peru.
"We vigorously condemn acts of terrorism ... and demand the immediate release of the hostages," said a statement by the 15 EU and 11 Latin American foreign ministers during a meeting at this Dutch seaside town.
"We urge the government of Peru to spare no effort in attempting to find a peaceful solution to the problem," it added.
The siege of the embassy in Lima by the Marxist rebels entered its 113th day on Tuesday with still no sign of a breakthrough.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
REUTER NEWS SERVICE




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Subject:  OLA_LA_09Apr97 ARGENTINA:  COLOMBIAN, ARGENTINE FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS DRUG TRAFFICKING, FALKLANDS.
Status: RO

09Apr97 ARGENTINA:  COLOMBIAN, ARGENTINE FOREIGN MINISTERS DISCUSS DRUG TRAFFICKING, FALKLANDS.
Source: Noticias Argentinas news agency, Buenos Aires, in Spanish 2248 gmt 4 Apr 97
Excerpts from report by the Argentine news agency Noticias Argentinas
Buenos Aires, 4th April: Foreign Minister Guido di Tella and his Colombian counterpart, Maria Emma Mejia, agreed today on the need to further "multilateral action" to combat drug trafficking, "based on the principle of shared responsibility".
The Argentine and Colombian foreign ministers emphasized the " resolute will" of their countries to "cooperate and do their utmost to enhance international regulations, mechanisms and organizations to do with the enforcement of drug legislation and [the prevention of] drug addiction" ...
Di Tella and Mejia - who wound up her two-day visit to Argentina today - condemned "unilateral measures to certify government actions" on the grounds that "they violate international norms of coexistence". The foreign ministers also stated that such measures "disrupt the climate of regional cooperation and undermine the efficacy of the struggle against this scourge".
Di Tella and Mejia underlined their commitment to "a head-on battle against the production, peddling, sale, distribution and use of illegal drugs".
During her meeting with Di Tella, the Colombian foreign minister confirmed her country's endorsement of Argentina's claim to sovereignty over the Malvinas [Falklands] Islands and underlined that the Colombian government was interested in our country reaching a " speedy settlement" of this dispute with Britain...
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 




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Subject:  Ecstasy_09Apr97 NORGE:  KRAFTIG ?KNING AV ECSTASY.
Status: RO

09Apr97 NORGE:  KRAFTIG OKNING AV ECSTASY.
Oslo (NTB): Ecstasy, amfetamin og LSD er de narkotiske stoffene som oker mest i Norge. Det viser tall fra Kriminalpolitisentralen (Kripos) for forste kvartal i ar, melder TV 2.
Hittil i ar er det gjort 95 beslag av ecstasy, og det er nesten like mye som i hele 1996. I tillegg oker bruken av heroin.
Copyright 1997, AS Norsk Telegrambyra. 
NORWEGIAN LANGUAGE 
NORSK TELEGRAMBYRA 9/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_09Apr97 CHINA: SERIOUS SITUATION DEVELOPING IN DRUGS AND DRUG-RELATED CRIME.
Status: RO

09Apr97 CHINA: SERIOUS SITUATION DEVELOPING IN DRUGS AND DRUG-RELATED CRIME.
Source: Xinhua news agency domestic service, Beijing, in Chinese 1408 gmt 25 Mar 97
Excerpts from report by Xinhua news agency
Beijing, 25th March: The spread of drugs in China has been under a certain degree of control in the past few years; however, the rise of drug-related crimes remains unchecked and the situation is still very serious.
Addressing the national anti-drug conference in Beijing today, Tao Siju, head of the National Narcotics Control Leading Group, and minister of Public Security Ministry, said: The national procuratorial and judicial work conference has demanded the launching of an anti-narcotics special campaign this year to launch a fierce offensive against drug-related crimes in an attempt to make a breakthrough in fighting the drugs during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period.
Tao Siju said: Since the national narcotics control work conference in 1991, various localities have stepped up struggle against drugs with marked results. For the period from 1991 through 1996, over 230,000 cases of drug-related crimes have been foiled, with over 320,000 drug criminals being investigated, and 21,471 kg of heroin, 12,606 kg of opium, 8,491 kg of cannabis, and 4,374 kg of ice being seized. With the arrest of 65,066 drug criminals and the conviction and punishment of 49,481 of them, arrogant criminal elements have been effectively cracked down upon.
Meanwhile, noted results have also been achieved in banning cultivation of drug plants. Considerable progress is also made in rehabilitating drug addicts throughout the nation, with 370,000 people being forced to give up drug addiction and 100,000 people shaking off the habit in education through labour. Many localities have succeeded in exploring better ways to effect mandatory drug-quitting. Meanwhile, nationwide anti-drug educational propaganda has been deepened amid improvement in anti-drug legislation. China has also stepped up cooperation with the international community on banning drugs...
Drug taking continues to spread, with nationwide registered drug takers reaching 520,000 people in 1995 - a figure far less than the actual number of drug takers; and 70% of counties and municipalities across the country having drug problems.
The harm wrought by drug taking on social order and economic construction has become more and more prominent, with 60 to 70% of AIDS patients contracting the disease through drug injection. The manufacturing and marketing of ice and the smuggling of ephedrine and other drug-making chemicals has become a new, outstanding issue in drug-related crimes.
Despite measures taken in managing narcotics and stimulants, the theft and profiteering of such drugs remains relatively severe. Although remarkable results have been achieved in banning and destroying drug cultivation, sporadic planting of opium poppies in some localities has not been completely wiped out. In addition, some leading comrades know so little about the grim situation in the struggle against drug that they fare poorly in the anti-drug campaign. This kind of situation must be corrected immediately to meet the demands of the current struggle against drug offences...
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: ASIA-PACIFIC 9/4/97 



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Subject:  Synthetic_drugs_09Apr97 THAILAND:  DRUGS - MISSING PILLS A HEADACHE FOR POLICE.
Status: RO

09Apr97 THAILAND:  DRUGS - MISSING PILLS A HEADACHE FOR POLICE.
Amphetamine pills seized by police often go missing after the arrest of suspects and chemical testing and the Police Department is asking the Interior Ministry to amend the Narcotics Act to plug loopholes in the law.
At a meeting today the Interior Ministry will discuss a police report detailing drug suppression during October-March.
According to the report, large quantities of confiscated drugs had often gone missing or were found to have been tampered with during the process of testing.
The 1979 Narcotics Act drawn up by the Public Health Ministry makes analysis of all seized drugs mandatory to determine their chemical composition. Since it is a lengthy process it allowed corrupt officials time to replace the drugs with other substances to help clear suspects or reduce their punishment.
The Police Department has called for amendment of the Narcotics Act and related regulations to do away with the need to verify the amount of narcotic substances in the seized drugs.
The police report also details the drive against prostitution during the past year. It said 1,906 people including suspected procurers and operators in the flesh trade were arrested, while 15 girls forced into prostitution were rescued. 
SOUTHEAST ASIA 
BANGKOK POST 9/4/97 P4 



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Subject:  Ecstasy_09Apr97 HONG KONG:  PAIR JAILED FOR SELLING ECSTASY.
Status: RO

09Apr97 HONG KONG:  PAIR JAILED FOR SELLING ECSTASY.
By CLIFF BUDDLE.
An undercover policeman trapped two expatriate drug dealers by posing as a wealthy businessman wanting to entertain his clients with Ecstasy and cocaine, the High Court heard yesterday.
One of them was secretly filmed when he delivered drugs to a plush Mid-Levels flat which he believed to be the buyer's home.
The ploy led to the arrest of the two bar workers, who were jailed when they admitted trafficking.
Thomas O'Brien, 29, nicknamed "Irish Gerry", and Gerald Ward, 27, known as "Scottish Gerry", were among 23 expatriates arrested in a crackdown on dealers of fashionable drugs.
Prosecutor Edward Brook said the undercover officer approached Ward, a former youth counsellor in Scotland, in a Wan Chai bar last June and asked if he could buy cocaine and Ecstasy.
Ward arranged for him to visit a flat in Kennedy Town which he and O'Brien shared.
The officer was sold five grams of pure cocaine on June 26 and returned to the flat two days later to buy 10 Ecstasy tablets.
A further six meetings with O'Brien took place over the next 10 weeks during which another 226 Ecstasy tablets and 73 grams of cocaine were supplied.
He was arrested in September as he tried to flee the territory for Britain with $470,000 in cash. Ward was captured in October while trying to board a flight to the Philippines.
After coming to Hong Kong in April 1994, Ward fell under the influence of O'Brien and became his gofer, Niall Stirling, defending Ward, said.
This was challenged by Alexander King, for O'Brien, who said the two men were equal partners.
O'Brien was jailed for four years when he admitted nine trafficking charges. Ward was sentenced to three years and eight months after pleading guilty to three charges.
Both were given a discount by Deputy Judge Clare Beeson because of the police entrapment tactics.
After the hearing, Ward's sister, Caroline, said she would remain in the territory to support her brother and fight for him to be transferred to a British jail before the handover. 
EAST ASIA 
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST 9/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_09Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  DRUG DOGS SNIFF OUT CIVIC USERS.
Status: RO

09Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  DRUG DOGS SNIFF OUT CIVIC USERS.
Canberra police had some unexpected success yesterday when drug-detector dogs from the Australian Customs Service helped sniff out at least nine alleged drug offenders in or near Garema Place.
An undisclosed number of people now face charges for drug offences. The dogs identi fied people allegedly carrying a range of illicit drugs, which po lice said included heroin, marijuana and tabs of LSD.
Undercover police caught one person in the act of injecting a substance inside the toilet be hind the Garema Place police station. Another adult was ar rested on the steps of the youth centre.
The move is part of a general campaign by the Australian Federal Police to eradicate drug dealing from Civic and particu larly Garema Place.
Shopkeepers have complained that Garema Place is being used as a drug-exchange centre, af fecting their trade. - PETER CLACK.
 
(c) 1997 The Canberra Times. 
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND 
CANBERRA TIMES 9/4/97 P3 



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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_UK_Press_09Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  DRUG DOGS SNIFF OUT CIVIC USERS.
Status: RO

09Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  DRUG DOGS SNIFF OUT CIVIC USERS.
Canberra police had some unexpected success yesterday when drug-detector dogs from the Australian Customs Service helped sniff out at least nine alleged drug offenders in or near Garema Place.
An undisclosed number of people now face charges for drug offences. The dogs identi fied people allegedly carrying a range of illicit drugs, which po lice said included heroin, marijuana and tabs of LSD.
Undercover police caught one person in the act of injecting a substance inside the toilet be hind the Garema Place police station. Another adult was ar rested on the steps of the youth centre.
The move is part of a general campaign by the Australian Federal Police to eradicate drug dealing from Civic and particu larly Garema Place.
Shopkeepers have complained that Garema Place is being used as a drug-exchange centre, af fecting their trade. - PETER CLACK.
 
(c) 1997 The Canberra Times. 
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND 
CANBERRA TIMES 9/4/97 P3 



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Subject:  ML_Cyberbanking_09Apr97 USA:  TECHNOLOGY - STERLING ADDS TO ELECTRONIC COMMERCE OFFERINGS.
Status: RO

09Apr97 USA:  TECHNOLOGY - STERLING ADDS TO ELECTRONIC COMMERCE OFFERINGS.
DALLAS - Sterling Commerce has announced a new line of software products to help banks move their item processing systems from paper to electronics.
The products, which add to Sterling's line of "Vector" electronic commerce software, are meant to address check fraud and other issues.
One technology helps financial institutions receive electronic cash letters; another is designed to monitor account characteristics and help sniff out potential money laundering.
Another product helps banks solve their "year 2000 problem" in computer systems.
The products are designed to "increase revenues, improve performance, reduce costs, enhance customer service, and increase competitive differentiation," said Sydney Smith Hicks, Sterling's director of item processing product marketing.
(c) American Banker 1997. 
BANKING/FINANCE 
AMERICAN BANKER 9/4/97 P5 



From Mulschlegel@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl Wed Apr  9 16:17:26 1997 remote from 
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Subject:  ML_LA_08Apr97 MEXICO:  DRUG-TRAFFICKING IN MEXICO EXAGGERATED; ABM.
Status: RO

08Apr97 MEXICO:  DRUG-TRAFFICKING IN MEXICO EXAGGERATED; ABM.
By Luis Hernandez Martinez Mexico City, April 08 (FINSAT).-Drug-Trafficking in Mexico is exaggerated due to a mixture of various interest groups, said Antonio del Valle Ruiz, President of the Mexican Bankers Association (ABM).
Without naming them, del Valle, also the General Director of Banco Bital, maintained that "being a neighbor of the most drug-consuming country favors drug-trafficking activity."
He added that money-laundering is being prevented in Mexico, as it could be so great that it would be seen immediately.
As an example of that, he said that Swiss bank operations are on the level of those being used in the entire Mexican banking system.
El Financiero Satellite News Service (Finsat), Mexico City, fax (525) 2-27-76-53.
Copyright El Financiero, 1997. 
EL FINANCIERO (ENGLISH ABSTRACTS) 8/4/97 



From Mulschlegel@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl Wed Apr  9 16:17:27 1997 remote from 
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Subject:  ML_LA_08Apr97 MEXICO:  LACK OF INFORMATION CAUSES MONEY LAUNDERING.
Status: RO

08Apr97 MEXICO:  LACK OF INFORMATION CAUSES MONEY LAUNDERING.
By Luis Hernandez Martinez Mexico City, April 08 (FINSAT).-The lack of information about clients and how their capital increases in banks is an important factor in the growth of money-laundering activity, said Paul Friser, President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico.
"We have zero tolerance with lack of information regarding clients or bank customers," he said.
In Canadian banks, he explained, no one can open a bank account without giving the necessary information. "Without it, we run the risk of an account of 25,000 dollars, for instance, disappearing in a short period of time," he said.
El Financiero Satellite News Service (Finsat), Mexico City, fax (525) 2-27-76-53.
Copyright El Financiero, 1997. 
EL FINANCIERO (ENGLISH ABSTRACTS) 8/4/97 



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Subject:  ML_Drug_Traffic_Abuse_08Apr97 UNITED NATIONS:  UN - INTERNATIONAL MEETING IN MOSCOW TO ADDRESS RAPIDLY ESCALATING DRUG PROBLEM.
Status: RO

08Apr97 UNITED NATIONS:  UN - INTERNATIONAL MEETING IN MOSCOW TO ADDRESS RAPIDLY ESCALATING DRUG PROBLEM.
RDATE:040497
International meeting in Moscow to address rapidly escalating drug problem in Russian Federation.
VIENNA - Confronted with a rapidly growing drug problem that threatens Russia's political and economic security along with that of neighbouring States, the Government of the Russian Federation and the Vienna-based United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) are organizing a two-day conference in Moscow from 16 to 17 April. At the same time, Giorgio Giacomelli, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, will pay an official visit to Moscow.
The International Conference on Drug Control Cooperation will be opened by one of the two Vice-Prime Ministers of the Russian Federation and Mr. Giacomelli, acting in his capacity as Executive Director of the UNDCP. Participants from more than 20 countries will plan an international response aimed at stemming the escalation of the drug threat within Russia and its effect on other countries.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin recently warned that organized crime had turned into one of the biggest threats to Russian's national security and was "destroying the economy, destabilizing the political climate and undermining public morale".
Russian drug-related crime, which is increasing by more than 20 per cent per year, and other criminal activities that have flourished since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, have become a major challenge for the international community. The sudden changes due to the opening of borders and the move to market economies in countries of the former Soviet Union have far outpaced the ability of Governments to control the flow of goods and people. As a consequence, Russia has been identified by the UNDCP as a key trafficking route for drugs originating in Asia destined for western Europe, and domestic drug abuse is growing by more than 15 per cent per year.
Cities are rife with drug-related criminal gangs that are expanding and becoming more powerful. Organized criminal groups now account for 25 per cent of crimes and this figure is increasing. Money laundering is booming: in 1982, the Soviet Union had four banks, all closely regulated; by 1995, there were almost 3,000, of which, according to Moscow police, 25 per cent are controlled by organized crime.
The Conference will focus on efforts to assist the Russian Government in combating groups engaged in drug trafficking and those involved in a wider range of drug-related criminal activities. The Russian Government will present a four-year plan of action aimed at preventing the escalation of drug abuse and illicit trafficking and at reducing the level of drug-related crime. The expected plan of action will outline a series of specific measures and their costs.
Presentations and discussions will outline the current situation in Russia concerning drug crime, trafficking and abuse, and measures currently being taken to address the situation. These include developments in national drug control legislation, law enforcement efforts and capabilities, extent of illicit crops, measures already taken and those needed adequately to address money laundering and to reduce drug abuse.
Participants will also address the new alliances being forged by international drug cartels, particularly the movement of Russian mobsters into eastern and central Europe, and an influx of cartels from other countries, including Colombia and Nigeria, into Russia.
The Conference will take place at the President Hotel, in Moscow, tel: (7095) 2393800; fax: 2302318.
Applications for media accreditation should be sent to UNIS Vienna, fax: (43-1) 21345-5899. Press badges will be issued on 15 and 16 April at the Conference site.
*M2 COMMUNICATIONS DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR INFORMATION PROVIDED WITHIN M2 PRESSWIRE. DATA SUPPLIED BY NAMED PARTY/PARTIES.*.
(C) 1997 M2 Communications Ltd. 
M2 PRESSWIRE 8/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_08Apr97 COLOMBIA: COLOMBIA'S SAMPER SAID TO BACK EXTRADITION.
Status: RO

08Apr97 COLOMBIA: COLOMBIA'S SAMPER SAID TO BACK EXTRADITION.
BOGOTA, April 8 (Reuter) - President Ernesto Samper will formally propose ending Colombia's constitutional ban on extradition of drug lords and other criminals on Wednesday, government sources said on Tuesday.
They said Samper would unveil the proposal, which follows months of political infighting over the issue, at a meeting of the National Council on Criminal Policy. Council members include Justice Minister Carlos Medellin, an outspoken supporter of lifting the ban that was introduced by Colombia's constituent assembly in 1991 under intense pressure from the notoriously violent Medellin cocaine cartel.
It also includes armed forces commander and acting Defence Minister Gen. Harold Bedoya, who told Caracol radio network on Tuesday that he fully supported any move to crack down on the heads of Colombia's criminal drug gangs. "It (extradition) has all the support of the armed forces," he said.
The government sources who talked with Reuters were unable to say whether Samper would support possible moves to apply extradition retroactively. If he does, and Congress approves, it would clear the way for jailed leaders of the powerful Cali cartel to be tried in the United States where they are wanted on multiple drug and criminal conspiracy charges.
Colombia was notified by Washington in February that it was being kept on a U.S. blacklist for a second consecutive year because of its alleged failure to prove itself a trustworthy ally in the war on drugs.
The move was widely seen as a swipe at Samper because of continuing allegations that he financed his 1994 election campaign with drug money rather than at police and military officials on the frontline of Colombia's fight against drugs.
In a speech to U.S. and Colombian oil industry officials on Monday, U.S. Ambassador Myles Frechette said Colombia's "decertification" would be reviewed later this year and strongly hinted that it could be reversed if it took certain steps to beef up its anti-drug fight.
U.S. officials have said extradition was one such step that would be applauded by Washington.
Public opinion polls in the last year show an overwhelming majority of Colombians oppose extradition. Apart from nationalistic pride, analysts say grassroots opposition to extradition is due largely to the campaign of bombings, assassinations and kidnappings that Medellin-based drug lords waged against the practice in the 1980s and early 1990s.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 




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Subject:  OLA_LA_09Apr97 PERU: PERU PROBES MILITARY INTELLIGENCE AGENTS. 03:57 GMT 
Status: RO

09Apr97 PERU: PERU PROBES MILITARY INTELLIGENCE AGENTS. 03:57 GMT 
LIMA, April 8 (Reuter) - A Peruvian military court on Tuesday opened up a probe into four army intelligence members suspected of torturing a female fellow agent, a top military officer said.
Military Justice Supreme Council chief Gen. Guido Guevara told reporters that 36-year-old agent Leonor La Rosa was apparently tortured because she was suspected of leaking secret information to the media, the state-run Andina news agency said.
"But even if she did incur disloyalty, that does not justify in any way mistreatment and torture," he said. "If this proves to be true and those directly responsible are found, they will be punished."
He also said La Rosa could be sanctioned for leaking confidential information. Several legislators from both the ruling and opposition parties visited her on Tuesday at the military hospital where she is recovering from her injuries.
Gen. Guevara said the four men mentioned by La Rosa were being investigated. America Noticias television newscast said one of the four was the army intelligence service chief, Gen. Carlos Sanchez.
On Sunday, soon after she showed on television the burns caused by the alleged tortures, President Alberto Fujimori promised an investigation.
La Rosa said she was tortured because army intelligence suspected she had leaked files about alleged paramilitary plans to intimidate opposition politicians and journalists.
"They burned my hands, they tortured me ... with electricity," La Rosa said. She said she has lost feeling in her two hands and one is paralized.
While promising an investigation, Fujimori denied any paramilitary groups existed in Peru. Authorities say they believe recent attacks against opposition politicians and journalists were carried out by common criminals.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_08Apr97 FRANCE: FRENCH POLICE ARREST ITALIAN DRUG TRAFFICKER.
Status: RO

08Apr97 FRANCE: FRENCH POLICE ARREST ITALIAN DRUG TRAFFICKER.
NICE, France, April 8 (Reuter) - Police in the French Riviera city of Nice said on Tuesday they had arrested an Italian drug trafficker wanted by a Palermo judge since 1992.
Mario Genna, 45, who had lived in Nice under a false identity, was arrested on March 31 as he was about to sell a kilogram (2.2 lbs) of cocaine, police said.
Police stumbled across Genna while tracking down his Italian supplier, 24-year-old Mateo Celeste, who had been living in Germany. Both men have been placed under investigation for drug trafficking and detained.
Police said Genna would be extradited to Italy.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  OLA_LA_08Apr97 BOLIVIA:  EUROPA FIRMA CON BOLIVIA ACUERDO CONTRA PRODUCCION DE COCA.
Status: RO

08Apr97 BOLIVIA:  EUROPA FIRMA CON BOLIVIA ACUERDO CONTRA PRODUCCION DE COCA.
Por Isabel Garcia-Zarza
NOORDWIJK, Holanda, abr 8 (Reuter) - La Union Europea critico el martes las sanciones impuestas por Estados Unidos a aquellos paises que no cooperan en la lucha contra la droga y defendio la responsabilidad compartida contra el narcotrafico.
"Frente al principio de unilateralidad, la posicion de la UE es pedir responsabilidad a aquellos paises productores pero no demonizarlos", dijo el comisario europeo Manuel Marin a la prensa.
"No se puede reducir la responsabilidad a los paises productores, hay otra responsabilidad por parte de aquellos consumidores de droga", anadio Marin, durante la VII reunion ministerial entre la UE y los 12 paises latinoamericanos del Grupo de Rio.
La politica de responsabilidad compartida de la UE se puso en practica el martes con la firma de un acuerdo con Bolivia para combatir la produccion de coca en la region andina del Chapare.
"Nuestra intencion es contribuir de forma concreta a los esfuerzos de paises latinoamericanos implicados en este frente, respetando el principio de no injerencia", dijo el comisario europeo Manuel Marin en la firma del acuerdo.
La Union Europea contribuira con una financiacion de mas de 22 millones de dolares para promover el desarrollo alternativo del Chapare, primero de una ambiciosa serie de tres proyectos.
Alrededor de 10.000 familias se veran favorecidas por este programa que contempla la creacion de un fondo de credito para pequenos agricultores que deseen sustituir los cultivos de coca por otros como pina, palmito, o banano.
Tambien se elaborara un catastro de la propiedad rural y se realizaran obras de infraestructura basica, pero teniendo muy en cuenta la conservacion de los recursos naturales, senalo el canciller boliviano Antonio Aranibar.
"Es un proyecto muy importante que va a contribuir al esfuerzo boliviano de ir eliminando gradualmente la produccion excedentaria de coca", anadio Aranibar.
El canciller senalo que este proyecto esta destinado solamente contra la produccion excedentaria de hoja de coca, que supondria la erradicacion de unas 35.000 hectareas.
Pero en ningun caso afectara a la producccion y consumo tradicional de la hoja de coca por parte del pueblo boliviano, defendida por el gobierno del presidente Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada, reitero el canciller.
El acuerdo suscrito entre la UE y Bolivia supone la primera puesta en practica del compromiso alcanzado el ano pasado en Cochabamba por la UE y Grupo de Rio, que se comprometieron a atacar conjuntamente la produccion de droga, el consumo y el lavado de dinero.
En la declaracion final de la reunion ministerial celebrada en la ciudad holandesa de Noordwijk, los cancilleres europeos y latinoamericanos reafirmaran el martes su compromiso de luchar contra la droga y propondran la institucionalizacion de este dialogo.
Colombia fue descertificada este ano de nuevo por Estados Unidos, lo que supone toda una serie de sanciones comerciales. REUTER/ IGZ GZ 0951 GMT.
(c) Reuters Limited 1997. 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  ML_LA_08Apr97 MEXICO:  HOMOLOGAR LEGISLACION CONTRA LAVADO DINERO.
Status: RO

08Apr97 MEXICO:  HOMOLOGAR LEGISLACION CONTRA LAVADO DINERO.
Por Luis Hernandez Martinez .
Mexico, D.F., 8 de abril (FINSAT).-La comunidad financiera internacional avanza contra el lavado de dinero, por ello es urgente reconocer la necesidad de conciliar las diferencias legislativas de los distintos paises involucrados y lograr objetivos comunes, asi lo senalo Hellen Sinclair, directora general de Bank Works Trading.
La funcionaria explico que las autoridades canadienses estan conscientes de que el fenomeno del lavado de dinero no es solo una actividad que vulnera el aspecto legal, sino que tambien transgrede la moral de la sociedad.
La viabilidad y la ayuda al combate al lavado de dinero, dijo, esta sujeta a la sociedad en que vivimos. "No sabemos que tan grande es el problema de las drogas en Canada pero son el mayor problema legal y ese trafico de drogas puede minar a las instituciones basicas de nuestra sociedad".
Sinclair senalo que el apalancamiento del sistema financiero canadiense como el de cualquier otro lo hace dependiente de la deuda por lo tanto se debe conservar la confianza de los ahorradores.
El programa canadiense contra el lavado de dinero finca sus reales en un buen manejo del riesgo, la elaboracion de un buen sistema de procesos multiples que englobe solidas estructuras legales y eficientes regulaciones.
Asimismo, el sistema basa su funcionamiento en el objetivo comun de las instituciones para fincar responsabilidades claras a quienes de cualquier manera favorezcan el lavado de dinero.
El Financiero Satellite News Service (Finsat), Mexico D.F., fax (525) 227-76-53.
Copyright El Financiero, 1997. 
SPANISH LANGUAGE 
FINSAT (SPANISH LANGUAGE) 8/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_08Apr97 HOLANDA:  EUROPA FIRMA CON BOLIVIA ACUERDO CONTRA PRODUCCION DE COCA.
Status: RO

08Apr97 HOLANDA:  EUROPA FIRMA CON BOLIVIA ACUERDO CONTRA PRODUCCION DE COCA.
Por Isabel Garcia-Zarza
NOORDWIJK, Holanda, abr 8 (Reuter) - La Union Europea critico el martes las sanciones impuestas por Estados Unidos a aquellos paises que no cooperan en la lucha contra la droga  y defendio la responsabilidad compartida contra el narcotrafico.
"Frente al principio de unilateralidad, la posicion de la UE es pedir responsabilidad a aquellos paises productores pero no demonizarlos", dijo el comisario europeo Manuel Marin a la prensa.
"No se puede reducir la responsabilidad a los paises productores, hay otra responsabilidad por parte de aquellos consumidores de droga", anadio Marin, durante la VII reunion ministerial entre la UE y los 12 paises latinoamericanos del Grupo de Rio.
La politica de responsabilidad compartida de la UE se puso en practica el martes con la firma de un acuerdo con Bolivia para combatir la produccion de coca en la region andina del Chapare.
"Nuestra intencion es contribuir de forma concreta a los esfuerzos de paises latinoamericanos implicados en este frente, respetando el principio de no injerencia", dijo el comisario europeo Manuel Marin en la firma del acuerdo.
La Union Europea contribuira con una financiacion de mas de 22 millones de dolares para promover el desarrollo alternativo del Chapare, primero de una ambiciosa serie de tres proyectos.
Alrededor de 10.000 familias se veran favorecidas por este programa que contempla la creacion de un fondo de credito para pequenos agricultores que deseen sustituir los cultivos de coca por otros como pina, palmito, o banano.
Tambien se elaborara un catastro de la propiedad rural y se realizaran obras de infraestructura basica, pero teniendo muy en cuenta la conservacion de los recursos naturales, senalo el canciller boliviano Antonio Aranibar.
"Es un proyecto muy importante que va a contribuir al esfuerzo boliviano de ir eliminando gradualmente la produccion excedentaria de coca", anadio Aranibar.
El canciller senalo que este proyecto esta destinado solamente contra la produccion excedentaria de hoja de coca, que supondria la erradicacion de unas 35.000 hectareas.
Pero en ningun caso afectara a la producccion y consumo tradicional de la hoja de coca por parte del pueblo boliviano, defendida por el gobierno del presidente Gonzalo Sanchez de Losada, reitero el canciller.
El acuerdo suscrito entre la UE y Bolivia supone la primera puesta en practica del compromiso alcanzado el ano pasado en Cochabamba por la UE y Grupo de Rio, que se comprometieron a atacar conjuntamente la produccion de droga, el consumo y el lavado de dinero.
En la declaracion final de la reunion ministerial celebrada en la ciudad holandesa de Noordwijk, los cancilleres europeos y latinoamericanos reafirmaran el martes su compromiso de luchar contra la droga y propondran la institucionalizacion de este dialogo.
Colombia fue descertificada este ano de nuevo por Estados Unidos, lo que supone toda una serie de sanciones comerciales.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  LEN_Drug_Traffic_09Apr97_Hungary, Israel Join in Crime Fight.
Status: RO

		  Hungary, Israel Join in Crime Fight

OTC  4/9/97 5:33 PM   

 BUDAPEST (April 9) XINHUA - Hungary and Israel signed  an agreement  here today on intergovernmental cooperation against drug trafficking,  terrorism, and other serious crimes. 
   The agreement was signed by Hungarian Minister of the Interior Kuncze  Gabor and the visiting Israeli Minister of Internal Security, Avigdor  Kahalani. 
   Under the agreement, the two countries will exchange information on  drug trafficking, terrorism, crime organizations and some serious  crimes, and help each other fight against drug abuse.  Enditem 
   09/04/97 15:07 GMT 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  African_Drug_Trade_09Apr97_Nigeria, Benin to Jointly Curb Cross-Border Crime.
Status: RO

	   Nigeria, Benin to Jointly Curb Cross-Border Crime

OTC  4/9/97 12:35 PM  

 LAGOS (April 9) XINHUA - Nigerian and Beninoise police have agreed  in principle to work together as part of efforts to curb the increasing  crime rate at their borders, local press reported today. 
   According to the agreement reached on Monday, the two countries have  agreed that securitymen from both sides should be allowed to pursue  criminals attempting to cross the borders. 
   Meanwhile, securitymen of the country where the criminals have been  driven into should assist in apprehending such criminals. 
   Both Nigeria and Benin are members of the Economic Community of West  African States (ECOWAS). The 16 ECOWAS member nations signed a protocol  years ago on the free movement of persons and goods among them as a  means to boost economic integration in the sub-region. 
   Criminals have since taken advantage of the protocol to traverse  borders for refuge while perpetrating such crimes as car theft, illicit  circulation of fire-arms, armed robbery and illicit trafficking of drug  and art works. 
   With such crimes quickly gaining ground in the member nations, no  country is now safe from the activities, according to Nigeria's Head of  State General Sani Abacha, who is also the current ECOWAS chairman.  Enditem 
   =04091027 
   =04091033 09/04/97 10:33 GMT 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  ML_Cyberbanking_09Apr97_IBM: Fuji Bank and IBM deliver world's first ....
Status: RO

		IBM: Fuji Bank and IBM deliver world's first ...

OTC  4/9/97 12:45 AM  

 APR  8, 1997, M2 Communications - Fuji Bank of Japan, which is  piloting the world's largest Internet debit card project, has now  become the first company to use the SET security protocol for an online  debit card transaction. This technology, provided by IBM, enables  secure, global Internet commerce. 
   Fuji Bank's cyberbanking pilot uses the Secure Electronic Transaction  (SET) industry standard for securing online card transactions via the  Internet. The pilot is scheduled to roll out throughout this year and  next, with a goal of reaching approximately 100,000 Fuji Bank customers  in Japan and through out the world. 
   Tadayuki Hagiwara, the deputy general manager of Systems Planning  division for Fuji Bank in Japan, was the first person to complete a  secure debit card payment using SET when he purchased a mouse pad from  the IBM PC Direct shopping site. The pilot uses the complete suite of  IBM's CommercePOINT   payment software including: 
   -- Consumer wallet, for Internet shopping and payment 
   -- Merchant server, which uses IBM Net.Commerce   SET-enabled system,  powered by the DB2 database 
   -- Acquirer gateway, which allows Fuji to capture Internet debit  transactions for processing 
   -- IBM Registry   for SET, providing certificate authority to issue  digital identities to the consumers and merchants 
   "As one of the world's biggest banks, Fuji Bank is always looking for  ways to extend existing customer relationships through the creation of  services like Internet shopping and value-added debit account  payments," said Mitsuru Machida, general manager, multimedia business  division of Fuji Bank. "We are delighted to be working with IBM on this  ground-breaking project." 
   Working with Fuji Bank, IBM has extended the existing SET protocol to  support Personal Identification Number (PIN) based debit account  transactions. Until now, SET had only been used to secure credit card  transactions. With this pilot, SET will be used to support the entire  payment process -- from the consumer purchase using the debit card, to  the seller receiving payment from the consumer's bank, while the user's  account is updated to reflect payment. 
   Mark Greene, vice president for Internet payments and certification  at IBM, said: "IBM is extremely pleased to be working with a Web  pioneer like Fuji Bank to showcase the value of Internet technologies  to electronic business. This latest milestone marks a major step toward  providing customers with secure ways to buy and sell over the  Internet." 
   The debit card transaction is the latest in a long line of electronic  business firsts for IBM with the CommercePOINT family of products and  services: 
   - In December 1996, the world's first complete SET-enabled credit  card transaction pilot was conducted with IBM, MasterCard and Danish  Payment Systems (PBS). 
   - IBM is implementing a SET pilot for South Africa's largest bank,  Amalgamated Banks of South Africa Limited (ABSA) 
   - This month, IBM was chosen by the e-COMM group, a consortium of  leading French banks and Visa International, to provide SET  technologies for a national Internet/smart card pilot. 
   Fuji Bank was established in 1880 and is one of Japan's oldest and  most prestigious commercial banks. With a global network of offices  consisting of 344 offices in Japan and 45 offices in locations  throughout the world, Fuji Bank is also one of the leading banks in  international finance. By providing high quality financial products and  services that precisely meet customers' needs, Fuji Bank has built a  solid reputation as a bank that is relied upon by its customers. With  this reputation, Fuji Bank will further strive to be the customer's  first choice of bank, backed by many years of experience and a highly  skilled staff of professionals. 
   As the industry's leading provider of electronic business solutions,  IBM was the first company to bring to market a comprehensive suite of  secure end-to-end electronic commerce solutions, the CommercePOINT    family of products and services. IBM is a leader in the development of  the Internet and is dedicated to helping customers and developers  exploit the potential of network computing. IBM creates, develops and  manufactures advanced information technology products and services,  including computer systems, software, networking systems, storage  devices and microelectronics. Developers and customers can find out  more about IBM's many initiatives relating to Internet technologies,  products and services on the Web at http://www.internet.ibm.com. 
   In February 1996, MasterCard and Visa, joined with other financial  services industry participants to create a technical standard for  safeguarding payment-card purchase made over open networks such as the  Internet. IBM has been instrumental in the development of the joint SET  specification and software solution that enables the secure use of  credit cards on the Internet. The comprehensive SET specification is  based on advanced encryption technology, including digital signatures  that electronically confirm the identity of each party involved in the  transaction. Fuji Bank and IBM are working with MasterCard and Visa, to  include debit functionality in future releases of SET. 
      Indicates trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. 
        Indicates trademark or registered trademark of respective  companies. 
     M2 COMMUNICATIONS DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR INFORMATION PROVIDED  WITHIN M2 PRESSWIRE. DATA SUPPLIED BY NAMED PARTY/PARTIES.   
   -0- 
          (C)1994-97 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  ML_09Apr97_Mexico, Canada Banking Officials Discuss Money Launder.
Status: RO

	 Mexico, Canada Banking Officials Discuss Money Launder

DJ   4/9/97 3:17 AM   

   MEXICO CITY (Dow Jones)--Canadian banking officials met with Mexican counterparts Tuesday to pass on information gleaned from anti-money-laundering efforts. 
  Organizers said the participation of 284 Mexican bankers in the one-day seminar proved the commitment with which members of Mexico's banking community were prepared to tackle the country's money laundering problems. 
  ''We focused on the delicate balance between the need to deal with money laundering and the need to protect customer confidentiality,'' said Helen Sinclair, director general of Bank Works Trading and former director general of the Canadian Bankers' Association. 
  The seminar was organized by the Mexican Bankers' Association, in conjunction with the Canadian Bankers' Association, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and private consulting firm Bank Works Trading Inc. 
  Sinclair said that other issues discussed in the seminar included how to go about identifying suspicious transactions and how to protect employers' rights when they encountered suspicious transactions. Delegates also looked at how electronic and internet banking fit into the global money laundering picture. 
  Michael Ballard, vice president of security at the Canadian Association of Bankers said a money laundering program has been in place in Canada since 1989. He said there has been a ''steady decrease'' in cases of attempted money laundering, although he was unable to provide specific figures. 
  ''Nobody knows the value of the illicit drug market, so numbers are relatively meaningless,'' he said. 
  Last month Mexico published new rules designed to crack down on money laundering. Under the measures, Mexican banks, brokerage houses and foreign exchange companies will be required to track all transactions of at least $10,000 and all other transactions they consider suspicious, starting May 2, 1997. They will also be required to present to authorities by September 1997, a ''manual'' outlining how they plan to combat money laundering. 
  ''Banks are right on schedule in their drafting of their manuals,'' said Pedro Zamora, a legal affairs official with Mexico's National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV). 
  Zamora said Mexican authorities investigated 115 suspected cases of money laundering in 1996, compared with 60 in 1995. He was unable to specify the amounts of money involved. 
  ''There are no statistics for the amounts being laundered,'' he said. 
  (END) DOW JONES NEWS 04-08-97
   9:08 PM

Copyright 1997 Dow Jones & Co., Inc.  All rights reserved.


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Subject:  OLA_LA_09Apr097_COLOMBIA-HUMAN RIGHTS:  LEFT SCORNS PROPOSALS FOR ....
Status: RO

	 COLOMBIA-HUMAN RIGHTS:  LEFT SCORNS PROPOSALS FOR ...

OTC  4/9/97 2:17 AM   

BOGOTA, (Apr. 8) IPS - Left-wing politicians have rejected  government proposals to form armed civilian security patrols,  saying such a move would create a time bomb in Colombia. 
   Jaime Caicedo, secretary of Colombia's Communist Party, declared  that the proposal, raised last week by outgoing Defense Minister  Harold Bedoya, represented the belief that if Colombia is to  achieve peace, "it first must escalate the war." 
   Caicedo said that Bedoya's proposal recalled the 1980s, when  "self-defense" units were created under the auspices of the army  in order to combat guerrillas. These organizations, until they were  banned in 1989, were involved in attacks on civilians accused of  collaboration with "subversive elements." 
   Bedoya submitted his proposal one week after the Defense Minister  designate, Gilberto Echeverry, announced a "state-sponsored peace  policy." Bedoya asked Congress to study the possibility of creating  "national militias" similar to the "peasant patrols" that currently  operate in Peru. 
   Under the scheme, militia units composed of armed civilians would  handle Colombia's internal security relating to petroleum  infrastructure, a frequent guerrilla target; certain elements of  prison security; and municipal police surveillance in those  townships where there is neither a police station nor army post. 
   However, Carlos Franco, president of the former guerrilla force  known as M-19, said he believed that Bedoya's proposal violated  Protocol II of the Geneva accords concerning the protection of  civilians from the effects of internal conflict. 
   Former Justice Minister Carlos Medellin said that while "a national  guard does exist in many countries, it is necessary to determine  if the creation of such a body in Colombia is justified" since  Colombia already has "a kind of national guard in its various  police forces." 
   Bedoya justified the need for the militias by saying that they  would collaborate with other established authorities "in tasks that  are purely preventive and defensive," including works of  socio-economic development. 
   Army commander Manuel Bonett supported the proposal and said that  it fulfilled "a long-standing national aspiration." 
   According to Bonett, similar organizations existed all over the  world, including the United States' National Guard over which state  governors exercise effective control, as well as in Cuba where  there are several mass organizations dedicated to self-defense. 
   To implement the militia plan, Congress would have to pass a bill  to modify Article 216 of the Constitution which states that  national defense is the role "of the police and the permanent armed  forces (Army, Navy and Air Force)." 
   Defense Minister-designate Echeverry, who has recommended that all  factions -- guerrillas, military, paramilitary and representatives  of civil society -- sit down at the negotiating table together,  said Bedoya's proposal was "interesting, and deserves further  study." 
   Bedoya, however, has stated that insurgents are "narco-traffickers,  delinquents with whom one cannot negotiate." He also stated that  "peace must be conquered just like health: by cutting out the evils  (of guerrilla activity and narco-trafficking) which are a cancer  that afflicts our country." 
   In 1989, paramilitary groups were declared illegal due to their  narco-trafficking links, as well as their routine violation of  human rights. But according to the annual report of Human Rights  Watch, collaboration persisted between these illegal groups and the  legally constituted Army. 
   Amnesty International joined Human Rights Watch in asking United  States Congress to suspend military aid to Colombia since the Army  allegedly maintained active relationships with the paramilitary  forces. 
   Another North American report released in February attributed 48  percent of all episodes of human rights violation to Colombian  paramilitary groups. Currently Colombia is the site of 30,000  violent deaths per year. 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  Russian_Drug_Traffic_Abuse_09Apr97_UN: International meeting in Moscow to address ....
Status: RO

	   UN: International meeting in Moscow to address ...

OTC  4/9/97 12:16 AM  

 APR  8, 1997, M2 Communications - VIENNA -- Confronted with a rapidly  growing drug problem that threatens Russia's political and economic  security along with that of neighbouring States, the Government of the  Russian Federation and the Vienna-based United Nations International  Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) are organizing a two-day conference in  Moscow from 16 to 17 April. At the same time, Giorgio Giacomelli,  Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, will pay an  official visit to Moscow. 
   The International Conference on Drug Control Cooperation will be  opened by one of the two Vice-Prime Ministers of the Russian Federation  and Mr. Giacomelli, acting in his capacity as Executive Director of the  UNDCP. Participants from more than 20 countries will plan an  international response aimed at stemming the escalation of the drug  threat within Russia and its effect on other countries. 
   Russian President Boris Yeltsin recently warned that organized crime  had turned into one of the biggest threats to Russian's national  security and was "destroying the economy, destabilizing the political  climate and undermining public morale". 
   Russian drug-related crime, which is increasing by more than 20 per  cent per year, and other criminal activities that have flourished since  the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, have become a major challenge  for the international community. The sudden changes due to the opening  of borders and the move to market economies in countries of the former  Soviet Union have far outpaced the ability of Governments to control  the flow of goods and people. As a consequence, Russia has been  identified by the UNDCP as a key trafficking route for drugs  originating in Asia destined for western Europe, and domestic drug  abuse is growing by more than 15 per cent per year. 
   Cities are rife with drug-related criminal gangs that are expanding  and becoming more powerful. Organized criminal groups now account for  25 per cent of crimes and this figure is increasing. Money laundering  is booming: in 1982, the Soviet Union had four banks, all closely  regulated; by 1995, there were almost 3,000, of which, according to  Moscow police, 25 per cent are controlled by organized crime. 
   The Conference will focus on efforts to assist the Russian Government  in combating groups engaged in drug trafficking and those involved in a  wider range of drug-related criminal activities. The Russian Government  will present a four-year plan of action aimed at preventing the  escalation of drug abuse and illicit trafficking and at reducing the  level of drug-related crime. The expected plan of action will outline a  series of specific measures and their costs. 
   Presentations and discussions will outline the current situation in  Russia concerning drug crime, trafficking and abuse, and measures  currently being taken to address the situation. These include  developments in national drug control legislation, law enforcement  efforts and capabilities, extent of illicit crops, measures already  taken and those needed adequately to address money laundering and to  reduce drug abuse. 
   Participants will also address the new alliances being forged by  international drug cartels, particularly the movement of Russian  mobsters into eastern and central Europe, and an influx of cartels from  other countries, including Colombia and Nigeria, into Russia. 
   The Conference will take place at the President Hotel, in Moscow,  tel: (7095) 2393800; fax: 2302318. 
   Applications for media accreditation should be sent to UNIS Vienna,  fax: (43-1) 21345-5899. Press badges will be issued on 15 and 16 April  at the Conference site. 
     M2 COMMUNICATIONS DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR INFORMATION PROVIDED  WITHIN M2 PRESSWIRE. DATA SUPPLIED BY NAMED PARTY/PARTIES.   
   -0- 
          (C)1994-97 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_UK_Press_09Apr97_DRUGS TRIAL HALTED BY ? CONTAMINATED' EVIDENCE CLAIM.
Status: RO

	  DRUGS TRIAL HALTED BY `CONTAMINATED' EVIDENCE CLAIM

PA   4/9/97 1:19 PM   


Copyright 1997 PA News.  Copying, storing, redistribution, retransmission, publication, transfer or commerical exploitation of this information is expressly forbidden.
  

  By Geoff Meade, European Editor, PA News in The Hague
   The Dutch trial of a Liverpool businessman accused of running one of Europe's biggest drug rings was halted today after claims that British police and Customs' methods have "contaminated" the evidence.
   A defence lawyer representing Curtis Warren, once dubbed Target One by Interpol, said the use of phone taps and the fact that the British authorities would not divulge details of their informants, rendered the case null and void.
   Warren, 33, sat quietly with an interpreter in The Hague Criminal Court as lawyer Han Jahae (correct) insisted the court must be told exactly how evidence for the drug smuggling allegations was gathered.
   Warren and six other Britons face charges of possessing and distributing drugs and possessing guns and hand grenades, after a raid on a ship in Rotterdam docks which netted a  75 million cache of cocaine.
   The seizure was the result of Operation Crayfish, an intense six-month long joint operation involving British and Dutch police and customs experts, in particular the North West Regional Crime Squad.
   Warren allegedly ran a drugs network designed to flood Britain with cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy and hashish.
   The Rotterdam drugs haul was stashed inside containers on a cargo ship bound for Bulgaria from Venezuela.
   When it docked at Rotterdam, Dutch police - acting on latest information from Britain - pounced.
   Follow-up raids in Amsterdam and Rotterdam netted more drugs, bringing the total haul to a value of  100 million.
 But the whole question of cross-border police cooperation in Europe was thrown in doubt in court today as the three judges agreed to adjourn the case until June so that more Customs officers could be called as witnesses to describe the background to the joint operation.
   Mr Jahae said the evidence in the case had been "contaminated" because of different procedures in Britain and Holland.
   If the evidence against his client was on the basis of information obtained in Britain using British tactics, then the case should be thrown out.
   The evidence should only be admitted if the Dutch operation could be proved as distinct from earlier British attempts to convict Warren.
   Warren was acquitted in the early 1990s in Britain on charges involving  250 million worth of drugs hidden in ingots.
   The Rotterdam haul was concealed in aluminium ingots aboard the Venezuelan vessel.
   Today's adjournment was watched by Ranald Macdonald, chief press officer for HM Customs and Excise, who admitted that differences in the British and Dutch legal systems were causing potential problems for future combined operations.
   "If the legal systems fail us, it is a setback to European cooperation. Britain and all other governments are working hard to resolve this," he said.
   Before being remanding in custody until June 5 Warren, dressed in casual polo shirt, jeans and trainers, was asked if he had anything to say.
   He replied: "It is important that you  investigate how the English got the information. Why did they need to claim public immunity?"
   It was known that evidence obtained by British authorities, including phone taps, as part of the inquiry did not come from informants, from electric probes or from any telephone company.
   Presiding judge Irene De Vries ordered four extra witnesses to be called, including Customs officers Nick Baker and Phil Byrne.
   They will tell the court about their methods when the hearing resumes on June 5.
   Defence lawyers will now try to prove that the British authorities employed Dutch help to arrest Warren in Holland on the basis of UK-gathered evidence through phone-tapping, which, they say would be illegal.
   The other Britons in the dock charged with involvement in the import of cocaine into Rotterdam include Stephen Mee, who escaped from a prison van on the way to Manchester Crown Court in 1993 but was sentenced in his absence to 22 years in jail for smuggling cocaine from Columbia for European distribution. Mee, from Liverpool, and Ray Nolan were only identified after being arrested in Holland when their fingerprints were faxed to the UK.
   Nolan, who, like Mee, is from Liverpool, is wanted to questioning by Merseyside police about a  1.7 million ram raid at a Security Express depot in Huyton, Liverpool, in February 1996.
   The drugs charges carry hefty jail terms if the men are convicted.
   In Warren's case the maximum prison sentence he faces today rose to 16 years as the prosecution added an accusation of leading the drugs ring to the charges against him.
 


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Subject:  OLA_LA_09Apr97_Colombia's Samper raises stakes in drug war.
Status: RO

		  Colombia's Samper raises stakes in drug war

RTna 4/9/97 7:29 PM   


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    By Tom Brown
     BOGOTA (Reuter) - President Ernesto Samper has raised the stakes in Colombia's drug war by calling for an end to the country's constitutional ban on the extradition of cocaine kings and other criminals.
     The move, which could clear the way for jailed Cali cartel traffickers to be put on trial in the United States, must still be approved by Congress, however.
     And political analysts say it promises to be the subject of months of heated debate carried out under the constant threat that cartel bosses, who have brought pressure to bear on legislators in the past, will re-launch the campaign of terror that was waged against extradition in the 1980s and early 1990s.
     "This is going to be a long, uphill battle," one Western diplomat said of the upcoming congressional debate, noting that many lawmakers have been accused of shadowy links to the drug trade.
     The ban clamped on extradition by Colombia's constituyent assembly in 1991 was passed after hundreds of people, including three presidential candidates, a justice minister, high court judges, journalists and scores of police were killed in a campaign of assassinations, kidnappings and bombings carried out by the now defunct Medellin drug cartel.
     Samper referred to the threat of a new wave of terror in announcing his decision to call for a lifting of the ban in an open letter to top government, military and police officials made public late Tuesday. "Painful images of the years when the word extradition was synonymous with death, suffering and the anguish of thousands of innocent people are still fresh in the minds of many Colombians," he said,
     The embattled Colombian leader, whose 1994 election campaign is alleged to have received millions of dollars in Cali cartel drug money, has failed to support efforts to revive extradition in the past.
     But he suffered the public humiliation of having his U.S. travel visa revoked in July of last year, a month after he failed to respond to Washington's request for the extradition of jailed Cali cartel kingpins. And U.S. officials cited his government's failure to enforce a U.S.-Colombian extradition treaty, signed in 1979, as among thw reasons for the decision last February to leave Colombia on a U.S. drugs blacklist for a second consecutive year.
     U.S. lobbying and behind-the-scenes pressure tactics are widely seen as the reason for Samper's about-face on extradition, a practice that public opinion polls indicate that an overwhelming majority of Colombians oppose.
     Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus, who stepped down last weekend to launch an independent bid for the presidency, summed up the issue perhaps better than anyone else when asked why he would approve of extradition if he won the country's top job.
     "The gringos have got us by the balls," he said.
     If lawmakers approve of lifting the ban on extradition, and making it applicable under domestic law, the move is unlikely to come before December since constitutional reforms can only be enacted by two consecutive periods of Congress.
     At that point, and only after it, government sources say Samper would propose implementing legislation spelling out exactly how the practice will work and in what specific cases.
     According to Justice Minister Carlos Medellin, a leading proponent of extradition, the mere elimination of Article 35 of the constitution, the one prohibiting extradition of Colombian nationals, would give bilateral treaties like the one with Washington the full weight of international law.
     The only major Colombian trafficker extradited to the United States to date is Carlos Ledher Rivas, a founding member and mastermind behind the Medellin cartel. He was bundled off by U.S. drug agents in February 1987 and is serving a life sentence in the maximum security prison in Marion, Illinois in the company of other celebrated criminals like New York's "Dapper Don" John Gotti.
  REUTER


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Subject:  OLA_LA_ML_09Apr97_Mexico investigating 115 money-laundering cases.
Status: RO

		Mexico investigating 115 money-laundering cases

RTna 4/9/97 7:22 PM   


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    By Cecilia Cardenas
     MEXICO CITY (Reuter) - Mexican authorities opened 115 investigations into suspected cases of money-laundering last year, though no institution has yet been sanctioned for any crime, a senior banking official said late Tuesday.
     Pedro Zamora, the legal vice-president of Mexico's National Banking and Securities Commission, told reporters after a bankers' seminar on money laundering that the number of investigations had grown. He did not give comparative figures for the previous year.
     U.S. authorities say Mexico is a big money-laundering center, with billions of dollars of traffickers' proceeds being washed through its banking system every year.
     In response to heavy pressure from Washington, Mexican authorities announced last month new regulations requiring banks to report suspicious transactions, as well as all transactions worth more than the equivalent of $10,000.
     However, critics say similar regulations have existed for some time in Colombia without apparent effect on traffickers. They also point out that much money laundering in Mexico is done not through the banks but through exchange houses, where regulations and supervision are virtually absent.
     Zamora said the Finance Ministry was planning to close this loophole and to impose similar regulations on exchange houses, perhaps with a lower limit for reporting transactions of $3,000.
     Antonio del Valle, the president of the Mexican Bankers Association, told reporters that the huge sums of money laundered by traffickers were more noticeable in a smaller economy such as Mexico's than for example in the U.S. economy.
     One Swiss or U.S. bank, he said, could be larger than the entire Mexican banking system. That said, del Valle added, Mexican banks should be ready to identify any suspicious operations and help investigate to uncover money launderers.
     Miguel Garcia y Garcia, General Counsel for Mexico's second biggest bank Bancomer, told the seminar that it was "indispensable" that the banking system attacked laundering head-on.
     Mexican banks were preparing anti-laundering manuals for staff with expert advice from prosecutors, the Finance Ministry, the Mexican Banking Association and regulators, he said.
  REUTER


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Subject:  OLA_LA_ML_10Apr97_Chile drugs ring may have received protection.
Status: RO

		 Chile drugs ring may have received protection.

RTw  4/10/97 5:30 AM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    SANTIAGO, Chile, April 9 (Reuter) - Members of a huge drug money laundering ring smashed in Chile this week may have received police protection, police officials said on Wednesday.
     "There may have been this type of protection ... it is something we are going to resolve in coming hours," investigations police chief Nelson Mery told a news conference.
     Twelve people were arrested in Chile on Tuesday and several others detained in France and Belgium after police broke the network, the largest money laundering operation uncovered in Chile's history.
     Chilean authorities have charged members of the group with "illicit association" and money laundering. They have also frozen local and foreign bank accounts containing $100 million.
     The case will be the first to be tried under Chile's new anti-narcotics law, which gives courts wide powers to punish criminals for money laundering.
     According to police, the network bought cocaine in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru and smuggled it through the Amazon jungle hidden in logging trucks to the Brazilian port of Victoria. The narcotics were then shipped to Amberes in Belgium and taken overland to Rotterdam for sale.
     "The drugs were bought for a price which fluctuated between $1,500 and $2,000 (per kg) and were sold for approximately $30,000," said the police.
     Most shipments contained at least several hundred pounds (kg) of cocaine.
     One of the group's distributors, Chilean Lorena Carrillo, was arrested in Italy in December after being discovered carrying 4 pounds (2 kg) of cocaine.
  REUT


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Subject:  LA_ML_10Apr97_Citicorp's Reed Says Charges Possible In Salinas Probe.
Status: RO

	 Citicorp's Reed Says Charges Possible In Salinas Probe.

DJ   4/10/97 4:39 AM  


   By Stephen E. Frank
   Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
  MIAMI -- Citicorp's chairman and chief executive officer, John S. Reed, acknowledged for the first time that the bank could face criminal prosecution for its role in alleged money laundering by former Mexican official Raul Salinas de Gortari. Mr. Reed maintained, however, that such charges are unlikely.
  Responding to questions at the bank's annual shareholder meeting -- held outside New York for the first time in several years -- Mr. Reed said he thinks it is unlikely that the Justice Department, which is investigating the Salinas matter, will be able to prove that Citicorp knew or should have known that Mr. Salinas may have been involved in money laundering and drug trafficking. Mr. Salinas, who is the brother of former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, has been jailed in Mexico on corruption and murder charges. Carlos Salinas hasn't been accused of any crime.
  Citicorp's Citibank unit has been investigated in the matter because it provided private banking services to Raul Salinas, helping him move tens of millions of dollars out of Mexico. Over $100 million has been located in Swiss bank accounts controlled by Mr. Salinas. Swiss law-enforcement authorities say they are collecting evidence that at least some of the money came from drug traffickers. If it turns out that the money was the product of criminal activities, Citibank could be vulnerable to money-laundering charges.
  Mr. Reed said Citibank has investigated the matter thoroughly, paying about $4 million in legal fees so far to Robert Fiske, the former Whitewater prosecutor retained to handle the case, as well as to Shearman & Sterling, the bank's longtime law firm, and to lawyers for Amy Elliott, the Citicorp private banker who handled Mr. Salinas's account. Mr. Reed said Ms. Elliot remains an employee in good standing at the bank, though a Citicorp spokesman later said she is no longer working on Mexican accounts. He declined to specify what her current responsibilities include, other than noting that she continues to work in private banking.
  "The liability we're facing is that if the government were able to prove that somehow we knowingly aided the laundering of criminal money, then we'd be criminally indicted and convicted," Mr. Reed said in response to several shareholder questions about the Justice Department investigation. "To the best of our knowledge -- and we've looked, and we've looked, and we've looked -- there is no liability."
  Mr. Reed didn't comment further on the Salinas matter. A bank spokesman, Jack Morris, said after the meeting that because the investigation has lasted well over a year, Citibank is less certain than it once was that it isn't an actual target of the Justice Department investigation. Mr. Morris said the bank hasn't been notified that it is a target.
  Separately, Mr. Reed said the bank expects to meet analysts' expectations when it reports first-quarter earnings next week. And he said that while the company's overall prospects remain good, the next two years will be more challenging than 1996. "We expect that 1997 and 1998 will be more difficult than last year only because last year was remarkable," he said.
  Mr. Reed also acknowledged publicly for the first time that Citicorp held talks last year with American Express Co. regarding a possible merger, but he said "nothing came of them."
  (END) DOW JONES NEWS 04-09-97
  10 40 PM

Copyright 1997 Dow Jones & Co., Inc.  All rights reserved.


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Subject:  EURO_NEWS_09Apr97_TRIAL MAY MARK SETBACK FOR CROSS-BORDER DRUGS FIGHT.
Status: RO

	  TRIAL MAY MARK SETBACK FOR CROSS-BORDER DRUGS. FIGHT

PA   4/9/97 8:03 PM   


Copyright 1997 PA News.  Copying, storing, redistribution, retransmission, publication, transfer or commerical exploitation of this information is expressly forbidden.
  

  By Geoff Meade, PA News in The Hague
   A major Dutch drugs trial tonight called into question the future of vital cross-border police and Customs cooperation between Britain and Holland.
   The case involves seven Britons accused of taking part in a massive  100 million drugs racket designed to flood the UK with cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and hashish.
   But they face Dutch justice because the six-month joint operation codenamed Operation Crayfish to nail what police believe was one of Europe's biggest drug rings centred on a warehouse near the port of Rotterdam.
   There police found  75 million-worth of cocaine concealed in aluminium ingots unloaded from a cargo ship which had arrived in the Dutch port from Venezuela. Follow-up raids netted a further  25 million of drugs, as well as weapons and hand grenades.
   It was a joint exercise which went like clockwork - until defence lawyers today challenged the legality of Britain's evidence gathering and intelligence techniques.
   They may be valid in Britain, said one lawyer, but if they are not recognised in Holland then the resulting arrests and charges should be declared null and void.
   Tonight British police sources admitted that the future of combined operations is now in question, and a spokesman for HM Customs and Excise said: "If the legal systems fail us it is a setback for European cooperation."
   In the dock today was Liverpool businessman Curtis Warren, once dubbed "Target One" by Interpol.
   He faces charges of possessing drugs and weapons and being the leader of the drugs ring. He could face a maximum sentence of 16 years if convicted.
   But his lawyer Han Jahae asked presiding judge Irene De Vries in The Hague Criminal Court to throw out the case because Dutch evidence had become "contaminated" by British evidence.
   He explained that under Dutch law prosecutors must reveal the identities of their informants and the way they gathered evidence leading to arrests.
   Under British law such tactics need not be revealed in court.
   Mr Jahae complained of wire taps conducted by British police which were then used as the basis for Dutch police investigations into the drugs ring.
   He insisted that the evidence leading to Mr Warren's arrest and the detention of the six other Britons said to be his henchmen, could only be recognised by the court if it arose from Dutch detective work independent of the British police probe into Mr Warren's activities which began two and a half years ago.
 It was only after Warren moved to Amsterdam from his home in the Wirral that the combined Anglo-Dutch inquiry got under way.
   Tonight Warren was back in jail, remanded until June 5 so that senior British Customs officials Phil Byrne and Nick Baker can be called to give evidence about British evidence gathering tactics.
   Mrs De Vries made it clear she was not convinced that anything illegal had occurred under Dutch law - but police and Customs chiefs are deeply concerned about the implications for future cross-border operations.
   "Britain and all other governments are working hard to resolve this problem," said Customs and Excise spokesman Ranald Macdonald. "This whole question raises potential difficulties for our work in the future."
   Police sources pointed out that British criminal investigation tactics may have to be tailored in future to suit continental requirements in the case of criminals and crimes likely to spread beyond Britain's borders.
   Crimebusters are particularly bitter that the Dutch legal system throws additional difficulties into the way of British prosecutions abroad.
   Dutch justice is known to be liberal, but until now police had assumed evidence gathered legitimately under British law would be fully admissible in Dutch courts.
   Under present arrangements British courts trying a Dutch defendant will permit evidence to be heard if it has been gathered in Holland, even if the tactics of the authorities would not be recognised in Britain for a British case.
   However, the same does not apply in reverse.
   Ironically the case which has raised crucial questions about European criminal investigation cooperation is taking place a short walk from the headquarters of Europol, the EU's embryonic headquarters for cross-border cooperation.
   A data base has been set up to help police exchange information and cut the territorial obstacles faced by inquiries and criminals moving across EU borders.
   But it does not tackle the remaining national differences in evidence gathering.
   The raid which led to Warren's arrest also put six other Britons in the dock. Today John Farrell, 34, from Manchester, was remanded until June 9, on charges of possessing and importing drugs and possessing weapons. The case of 55-year-old William Fitzgerald, from Liverpool, went ahead, with the prosecutor calling for 10 years prison on the same charges.
   A lawyer for Fitzgerald insisted he had been innocently caught up in the drugs raids and was not a member of the gang.
   He was remanded in custody for two weeks to await sentence.
   The remaining four British defendants will face the court tomorrow.
 


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Subject:  Drug_Abuse_Cannabis_10Apr97_Roundup: Call for Legalizing Drug Use Sparks off....
Status: RO

		Roundup: Call for Legalizing Drug Use Sparks off.....

OTC  4/10/97 4:57 AM  

                   Debate in NZ 
   WELLINGTON (April 10) XINHUA - A call made by New Zealand Associate  Treasurer Tuariki Delemere for decriminalizing the use of cannabis has  sparked off a debate between politicians and a pro-cannabis lobby. 
   Delemere, a member of parliament from the NZ First party, said it is  unfair to stigmatize people for life by convicting them for cannabis  possession. 
   The local press reported that, 6,000 people were convicted for  cannabis-related offenses in NZ last year. 
   The cannabis use is also considered to be a serious problem among  school children, and Delemere's son was convicted recently for  possessing the drug. 
   More seriously, a total of 11 MPs have admitted that they had smoked  Marijuana earlier. 
   The 11 MPs are from all the parties represented in the 120-member  parliament except the National Party. Some of them also favor  decriminalizing the drug. 
   Mike Appleby, leader of the Aotearoa Legalize Cannabis Party, praised  Delemere for his "courage, honesty and realism in his approach to  cannabis use." 
   But Labor Party police spokesman George Hawkins said proposals to  legalize cannabis will be greeted with delight by criminals, and with  horror by health groups. 
   Cannabis has already created enough problems for schools and the health  system, and more money should be given to police to fight the drug, he  said. 
   Justice Minister Doug Graham has indicated that cannabis users might be  better dealt with by instant fines than convictions, despite opposition  from his colleagues in the Coalition government. 
   He said he is prepared to look at the issue. Commenting on Delemere's  call, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who is leader of the NZ  First party, said decriminalizing cannabis is not a priority for his  party because it has more important things to deal with. But he said  MPs are welcome to express their views because debate on the issue was  healthy. 
   Prime Minister Jim Bolger has made it clear that the government has no  intentions of pursuing the problem.   Enditem 
   =04100253 10/04/97 02:56 GMT 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  LA_10Apr97_Mexico-Drugs.
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				  Mexico-Drugs

APn  4/10/97 8:06 AM  


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
  
   MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico's most-wanted drug lord escaped a police raid with the help of a military major and personally handed over the keys to a luxury apartment as a bribe, a newspaper reported.
   The daily Reforma cited military documents based on testimony from Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, the former anti-drug chief who was arrested in February on charges of accepting bribes from Amado Carrillo Fuentes, head of the Juarez drug cartel.
   The documents indicate that in January, an unidentified major in the 9th Military Region tipped Carrillo Fuentes about an operation aimed at capturing him and helped him escape, the newspaper reported Wednesday.
   On Jan. 5, about 300 soldiers stormed a wedding ceremony for Carrillo Fuentes' sister in the northwestern state of Sinaloa. Several police officers who were guarding the party were arrested, but the drug lord himself was not found.
   Testimony by Gutierrez and others alleged that Carrillo Fuentes bribed law enforcement officials in Sinaloa as well as the states of Jalisco, Sonora, and Baja California.
   In October, Carrillo Fuentes gave apartment keys to a junior officer who had been sent by Gutierrez, the newspaper said.
   Gutierrez has denied the charges against him. He admits meeting with a lieutenant of the drug lord, but says he did not know of the connection between the two at the time.
   


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Subject:  10Apr97_EVIDENCE CHALLENGE DELAYS #75M DRUGS TRIAL.
Status: RO

		   EVIDENCE CHALLENGE DELAYS #75M DRUGS TRIAL

PA   4/10/97 10:57 AM 


Copyright 1997 PA News.  Copying, storing, redistribution, retransmission, publication, transfer or commerical exploitation of this information is expressly forbidden.
  

  By Geoff Mead, European Editor, PA News, in The Hague
   Convicted Liverpool drugs baron Stephen Mee was remanded in custody by a Dutch court today after his lawyer challenged the legality of British methods of gathering evidence.
   Judges in The Hague ordered a British Customs officer to be called as a witness when the major drug-smuggling case resumes on June 5.
   Mee's lawyer said afterwards that his client could be freed if the court finds British criminal intelligence methods incompatible with Dutch law.
   But Mee, 38, is unlikely to return to Britain if he is freed -- he has been on the run for more than three years after being convicted in another drug-smuggling trial.
   Mee, described as one of Europe's most wanted drugs barons, staged a spectacular escape from a prison van as he was being taken to Manchester Crown Court for sentence.
   He was given a 22-year jail term in his absence for his part in a  1 million Colombian drugs racket involving the smuggling of cocaine into Britain.
   Now he is accused of being part of a massive drugs ring intent on flooding Britain with heroin, hashish, cocaine and ecstasy.
   The same Dutch court was told yesterday that another Liverpuddlian, 33-year-old Curtis Warren, was the alleged ringleader of the gang.
   Mee, Warren and six others were arrested in Holland late last year after a joint Anglo-Dutch police and Customs operation led to a raid on cargo from a Venezuelan container ship which docked in Rotterdam.
   The haul included cocaine worth  75 million. Other drugs, worth  25 million, plus weapons and hand grenades, seized in follow-up raids in Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
 But now lawyers are challenging the right of the Dutch court to accept evidence gathered on the basis of British intelligence techniques.
   With rules on disclosure differing in Britain and Holland, the defence argues that the drugs case should be thrown out unless British authorities give details of their information sources, wire taps and other methods which led to the Rotterdam raid.
   Mee appeared in court for 30 minutes today while his lawyer Jan Schoneveld told the three judges that the joint police and Customs drugs raid was the result of evidence supplied by a British liaison officer in a fax.
   He said the court had to be told what events led up to the fax being sent.
   Presiding judge Irene De Vries order HM Customs officer Nick Baker to attend court on June 5 to give details of what led up to the cross-border drugs operation.
   Mr Baker has already been called to appear as part of the resumed case against Mr Warren, also being held on June 5.
   Outside court, Mee's lawyer said: "The problem is that there are questions about the evidence and whether it is legal. It relates to the fax from the English liaison officer which started the investigation in Holland.
   "The Dutch court must be able to see the methods the police and Customs have used.
   "The events leading up to the sending of the fax are not clear. There is a possibility that the way that evidence was gathered is not legal in Holland.
   "If it is decided that the evidence was not properly gathered under Dutch law, then Mee will be going home."
   But home for Mee would have to be somewhere on the Continent -- unless he wants to spend the next 22 years in a British jail.
 


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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_10Apr97_Zwei Rauschgiftbanden zerschlagen - Kiloweise Koka...
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	  Zwei Rauschgiftbanden zerschlagen - Kiloweise Koka..

dpa  4/10/97 11:25 AM 


Copyright dpa, 1997
    Zwei Rauschgiftbanden zerschlagen - Kiloweise Kokain gefunden 

   Wiesbaden (dpa) - Zwei international organisierte Rauschgifthandler-Ringe sind von der deutschen Kriminalpolizei im Bundesland Hessen im Marz und April zerschlagen worden. Dabei seien 35 Kilogramm Kokain und funf Kilogramm Heroin sichergestellt worden, berichtete die Polizei in Wiesbaden am Donnerstag. 13 Verdachtige seien gefast worden, gegen alle ergingen inzwischen Haftbefehle.

   Bei der ersten Aktion Mitte Marz hatte die Polizei 32 Kilogramm Kokain aus Kolumbien abgefangen. Das Rauschgift war in Fluggepack versteckt und uber den Flughafen Frankfurt am Main eingeschmuggelt worden.

   Die Polizei nahm zehn Verdachtige im Rhein-Main-Gebiet fest. Gefast wurden sieben Niederlander - darunter zwei Frauen - zwei Slowenen und ein in Grosbritannien lebender Turke.

   Bei der zweiten Aktion waren funf Kilogramm reines Heroin aus der Turkei sichergestellt und drei Verdachtige turkische Staatsburger festgenommen worden. Die Festgenommenen haben nach Ansicht der Polizei seit Jahren grosere Mengen Heroin nach Deutschland geschmuggelt. dpa mb ra


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Subject:  LA_10Apr97 PERU:  FUJIMORI ON RELATIONS WITH THE MEDIA, HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS.
Status: RO

10Apr97 PERU:  FUJIMORI ON RELATIONS WITH THE MEDIA, HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS.
Source: Television Panamericana, Lima, in Spanish 0212 gmt 7 Apr 97
President Fujimori has said the government had chosen to be cautious in its relationship with the media during the hostage crisis because of the "delicate situation"; the idea was to ensure the release of the hostages rather than grab headlines. Asked in an interview about the negotiations with the MRTA (Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement), he said he could not disclose this type of information as the Guarantors Commission had to have the correct conditions in order to make progress. The following are excerpts from a live interview with Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori by Guido Lombardi on the " Panorama" news from the Panamericana Television station in Lima; broadcast by Peruvian Panamericana TV on 6th April:
[Lombardi] ... Mr President, why did you travel to Bolivia? This was your second trip to Bolivia. What was your specific objective?
[Fujimori] In reality, there were three issues on the agenda of the trip to Bolivia. First, the impending meeting of the Andean Presidential Council which will be taking place in Sucre on 21st, 22nd and 23rd April, where Peru will be defining its position with respect to the Andean Community. This issue is of far-reaching significance, not only at this time, but also for the future, as relates to what Peru will be doing...
The second issue most naturally included in the visit, was to discuss with President Sanchez de Lozada, update him, and personally keep him abreast of the current situation. Third, an issue which is not so urgent, but necessary all the same, was to coordinate the topics and steps to be followed in the struggle against drug trafficking, as relates to aspects such as plans and options.
[Q] Then, you had an opportunity to discuss all the issues included in the agenda, but we are interested mainly in the second issue. What did you tell President Sanchez de Lozada, because immediately after your meeting with the Bolivian president, you said in a news conference that the conditions had been established for an imminent and definite solution to the crisis. Did you inform him of those conditions? Can you reveal those conditions to the country at this time?
[A] What I said during the news conference is that there are some issues that can be disclosed and some that cannot; issues such as the framework of the operations, communications at the level of guarantor members and the MRTA, the search for a peaceful solution. However, topics such as the issues to be discussed between the guarantors and Minister Palermo and strategies will continue to be classified.
[Q] And they remain classified until the end?
[A] For the good of a peaceful solution we cannot disclose everything. It would even be counterproductive...
[Q] President, perhaps one of the most criticized aspects of your handling of the crisis is the government's relationship with the media. For example, this opportunity that you now have either to deny or explain something is not a daily or regular occurrence. The foreign and local media are complaining about this. This is not the first time this has happened to the government, and this is not the first time the government has been criticized for it. There are no fluid channels of communication between the government and the media during times of crisis. Can you be self-critical on this issue, or do you view it as an unfounded criticism?
[A] Well, I would say that part of it is founded, while some is unfounded. I believe that the criticism of the first four days was unfounded. We were facing an extremely delicate situation. Foreign Minister [Francisco] Tudela was threatened through the media, and we had to be very cautious. We, therefore, chose to maintain a closed lid and not rush into things. We did not want to spark negative reactions. Fortunately, this never happened. Perhaps at times we could have done what other governments do, by releasing statements or communiques. Yet, it is not customary here. Instead, reports are released at the international level. Now, the main objective is the release of the hostages. That is our main goal, I mean, we can all fully agree that the idea is not just to grab headlines. We must, in fact, keep quiet about certain things...
[Q] ...Over the past week even your visit to Bolivia fanned rumours about preparations for intervention. It must surely be part of some contingency plan, but it will not be implemented unless you are faced with an uncontrollable situation, to paraphrase your words.
[A] You called it a contingency plan. Surely, there is a plan in place. Now, I think it is important to stress the following: we are seeking a peaceful solution. I am repeating myself, but I cannot go on repeating this forever...
[Q] Mr President, if this is so, then we have to talk about the negotiations. What is being negotiated. You are being criticized. Each time Cerpa Cartolini said there would be no solution to the crisis without the release of MRTA prisoners, you replied, there will be no release of MRTA prisoners under any circumstances. If we are negotiating, if we are favouring a peaceful solution, there has to be something to negotiate. What can the government offer?
[A] That is precisely the type of information -
[Lombardi, interrupting] That is the type of information you prefer to keep secret.
[A] - we cannot disclose. The framework for the negotiations - [pauses] I do not want to repeat this so as not to provoke a reaction similar to the reaction you mentioned. We have to provide the Guarantors Commission and Minister Palermo with the proper conditions to continue to make progress in the negotiations, and not have a government official, or the president, make comments that provoke a negative reaction. I repeat, our objective is to obtain the release of the 72 hostages, alive and well.
[Q] The role of the Guarantors Commission seems to have changed slightly. They have changed form guarantors to mediators. The mechanics of the meetings have also changed. They used to be meeting between three parties: the Peruvian government, Cerpa Cartolini or one of his representatives, and the Guarantors Commission. Now, the guarantors meet Cerpa in one place, then they meet the interlocutor, or you, in different place. They have almost become messengers of what each side says. Their becoming mediators may seem positive, I am not so sure whether turning them into messengers is positive.
[A] No, they must be mediators and they should clear all obstacles from the path. That is positive. In this regard, I believe every member of the Guarantors Commission has contributed to create the proper conditions for a meeting between Cerpa Cartolini and Minister Palermo. Minister Palermo cannot simply have a big meeting with the MRTA. We have to meet under favourable conditions in which one can say let us make progress on this issue...
I would believe it is necessary to insist and reiterate the government's position and that of the people of Peru. We permanently have each of the 72 hostages on our minds. I believe our message of solidarity towards them is permanent. The fact that the president of the republic is in Bolivia, or visiting a specific province does not mean that I have forgotten about them. This is not the case. Each and every one of the hostages is permanently in our mind. Therefore, I would like to transmit through this programme, to which I hope they are listening, that they are nowhere forgotten. We are with them and with each of their relatives. When I say with each of their relatives, let me add, with my brother...
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: LATIN AMERICA 10/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_10Apr97 EU:  EU/LATIN AMERICA - SUMMIT PLANS.
Status: RO

10Apr97 EU:  EU/LATIN AMERICA - SUMMIT PLANS.
PLANS FOR A SUMMIT TAKE SHAPE BUT SEVERAL ASPECTS (INCLUDING LIST OF PARTICIPANTS) STILL HAVE TO BE SETTLED.
 
Noordwijk, 08/04/1997 (Agence Europe) - Officially, the idea of a Summit of Heads of European and Latin American States, suggested by France and Spain, was not on the agenda of the 7th Rio Conference of Foreign Ministers of EU states and of the Rio Group, held in Noordwijk on Tuesday. It was nevertheless the highlight of debates, under pressure by the French, and the final declaration "expresses the interest" of participants in the idea, more dynamic wording than the initial version (while respecting the conclusions the EU Council adopted on 24 March, which deferred the project for further study). "The idea was given a very favourable reaction by the Latin American participants and by most Europeans", said French State Secretary for European Affairs Michel Barnier, mentioning the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany and of course Spain. Several Member States called for the project to be more clearly defined with regard to participants, place, date, and so on. Austria expressed considerable reluctance, especially i
f the summit were to be slated during its presidency (second half of 1998). For its first European presidency, Austria wishes to concentrate on eastern Europe, according to certain European sources.
 
The summit is politically important, insisted Michel Barnier, saying France is of the view that "impetus must be injected at the highest level into ties between the two regions. Structures for political meetings already exist, such as the San Jose dialogue, the Rio Conference, the dialogue with Mercosur and the Andean Pact, but as President Chirac said during his visit to Latin America, these meetings are too scattered and do not give the necessary visibility to ties between Europe and Latin America. The EU, it will be recalled, is the leading investor, biggest customer and supplier and leading donor of public development assistance in Latin America. A new spark must be given to political relations." For Mr Barnier, the three subjects of the discussions should be: 1) political dialogue on international issues; 2) economic consultation on bilateral and multilateral (WTO) issues; 3) establishment of a partnership on culture and education, "to which France is particularly attached".
 
Brazil and Panama proposed organising such a meeting. The participants remain to be determined: only the Mercosur countries, as its members would like? Or else Latin America as a whole, including the Caribbean and Cuba? Spain is not against Cuba's participation in the summit, on the contrary, Spain's Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ramon de Miguel told the Spanish press. For him and for Mr Barnier, "it will be up to each region to determine the participants of its continent" (like in the case of the Europe/Asia summit). "Joint declaration" without surprises, veiled criticism of United States on drug matters
 
Sustainable development, in its environmental and social aspects, and the fight against drugs, were the main topics of the VIIth Rio Conference (in addition to the theme of the Euro/Latin American Summit). The EU's fifteen Foreign Ministers, under the Dutch Presidency of Hans van Mierlo, and the 12 countries of the Rio Group, under the pro-tempore presidency of the Minister of Paraguay, Ruavan Melgarejo Lanzoni, adopted at the end of their meeting a joint declaration which: reaffirms the importance of political dialogue launched in 1990 between the two regions, underlines the role of cooperation in sustainable development matters, recalls current economic projects and envisages developing energy cooperation. The declaration reaffirms that responsibility in drug trafficking matters is shared between consumer and producer countries. Without accepting a Latin American statement directly condemning the policy of "certificates" granted by the United States to Latin American countries whose anti-drugs policy it ap
proves, EU Ministers accepted an implicitly critical statement of the United States. "We do not at all agree with this decertification policy," Commission Vice President Manuel Marin told the press, positively underlining, like Spanish Foreign Minister Jamon de Miguel, Colombia's policy on human rights, a country "decertified" by the United States a year ago. EUROPE will return to the "joint declaration" in detail.
Not Available for Re-dissemination.
(c) Agence EUROPE, Brussels 1997. 
EUROPEAN UNION 
AGENCE EUROPE 10/4/97 



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Subject:  Ecstasy_Drug_Abuse_10Apr97 UK:  ECSTASY AND LEAH BETTS - THE BOUNCER'S TALE.
Status: RO

10Apr97 UK:  ECSTASY AND LEAH BETTS - THE BOUNCER'S TALE.
By Emma Daly.
Bernard O'Mahoney (left) has written the story of his involvement with the gang he claims supplied ecstasy to Leah Betts. This week, Leah's father demanded that the cover of the book be changed; but what's inside, he believes, deserves to be read. By Emma Daly
 
There is a new addition to the rapidly growing canon of books about ecstasy, one that is rather better written than many of the short stories in the recent anthology Disco Biscuits and rather grimmer than Irvine Welsh's latest. So This Is Ecstasy? comes from the (ghosted) pen of Bernard O'Mahoney, last seen on the witness stand at the trial of the teenager accused of buying the tablet that killed Leah Betts.
Bernie, who is more accustomed to standing in the dock, was the doorman at Raquels, a Basildon night-club, and, he says, a member of the Essex gang ("the firm") that supplied Leah's hit. His book has come under fire even before publication, for using on the cover an image that shocked the country: Leah Betts unconscious in intensive care after she collapsed at her 18th birthday party in November 1995.
This week Paul Betts, Leah's father, who owns the copyright to the photograph, complained to Mainstream Publishing. The company, which says its use of the picture was due to a misunderstanding, has postponed publication for 10 days in order to cover up the jacket. "The book is about Mr O'Mahoney's past history and gang warfare in Essex, I'm led to believe, so I did not see that Leah dying in hospital was appropriate," Mr Betts says.
So far, so predictable. But while Mr Betts does not want his daughter's memory used to market O'Mahoney's memoirs, he says he welcomes any book that promotes the debate about ecstasy, even one written by a man whose livelihood depended, to an extent, on sales of the drug.
O'Mahoney's memoirs can be read for all the usual reasons we read crime stories: vicarious thrills, horrifying detail, a brush with a criminal underclass that we hope never to meet in real life. But his story is also an antidote to the happy, smiley face of ecstasy. It opens with Leah Betts's death and ends with the triple murder in an Essex country lane of three fellow gang-members.
O'Mahoney has told parts of his tale before: at the trial of Steven Packman, the 18-year-old accused (and cleared) of buying the tablet that killed Leah, he testified that the drugs on sale at Raquels were controlled by a man called Mark Murray, alleged to be the club's main dealer, and by Tony Tucker, head of the "firm".
But in the book he adds a great deal of unpleasant detail. According to O'Mahoney, he and Tucker (subsequently murdered) "co-owned" the door at Raquels - they ran security for the club. O'Mahoney tells lurid tales of the violence on show at Raquels, where vicious fights were the norm and where the bouncers apparently had a tendency to strike first and hardest.
The most interesting part is his explanation of the drug-dealing system set up by "the firm" at Raquels and other clubs. According to O'Mahoney, he more or less licensed drug-dealers to work in the club; Mark Murray (who has since fled to Spain, allegedly) would supply his dealers, and they would sell ecstasy around the dance-floor.
There was even a method in place to detect rivals: a customer would be sent in to the club to buy drugs and would then describe the seller to the bouncers. They would grab the dealer, rob him of money and drugs, and pay the customer. That was the way, O'Mahoney says, "we would keep rogue drug dealers out of Raquels".
He tells this story, rather aggrieved, to undercut the claims of "a publicity-seeking idiot" who told The Mirror (in the wake of Leah's death) that he and others routinely sold poisoned pills in Raquels. O'Mahoney attacks this tabloid canard - "the pushers don't give a damn" - by pointing out that any dealer who did so "would get rid of one or two, cause one or two deaths, and they'd be out of business".
The dealers at Raquels were far better organised. O'Mahoney says that for each tablet of ecstasy sold in the club, the firm would get L1 (plus free supplies of cocaine, ecstasy and speed), the junior dealer would get L1, and Murray would take the rest. The author reckons that came to about L3 a pill, and Murray "probably sold 400-plus per night".
That seems plausible, given that Raquels, a standard white-stiletto disco, had relaunched itself as a rave club playing house and garage music. And, as one of the more famous of recent statistics has it, around a million ecstasy pills are taken in Britain each weekend.
"When I was a police officer I was very ignorant as far as drugs went," Mr Betts says. "It's not until you have educated yourself in relation to the drug culture that you realise how integrated it is."
Most parents, he says, still see drug use as "a dirty syndrome", as something alien to their nice kids. "They are still a carbon copy of what I used to be like: 'it will not happen to me'."
But part of E's appeal is its wholesome, loving image among clubbers (and the fact that it is fun). Heroin may be newly fashionable in some quarters, but it is still perceived to be a loser's drug, while cocaine is simultaneously sleazy and yuppie and expensive. Ecstasy, which induces a sense of euphoria and well-being, is seen as the happy drug - which is why the O'Mahoney view may be disturbing to those users who don't want to think about the pillars upholding the culture: money, greed and violence.
According to O'Mahoney, Murray, the main Raquels dealer, owed money to his boss at the firm. Tony Tucker, in an attempt to recoup the cash, forced Murray to buy stronger, more expensive Es - the "Apples" (named after the motif stamped on the tablet) that Leah and her friends took to celebrate her birthday.
The night before Leah's party, O'Mahoney says he saw a teenage boy who had taken an Apple collapse at the club; he told the boy's friends to take him away, and when the police arrived later to ask about a 15-year-old admitted to hospital, the club denied all knowledge.
A week later, O'Mahoney was in big trouble himself with the firm, because the News of the World (with which the bouncer had dealings) had named Murray as a suspect in the ecstasy sale that killed Leah. Tucker, with his two friends Pat Tate and Craig Rolfe, was said to be furious and looking for O'Mahoney.
By this time, the author tells us, he was sick of his life of crime in Essex and wanted to move on and out. "I didn't want my children growing up surrounded by people like myself and my friends. I wanted them to have a future," he writes.
But quitting the firm was not so simple. "It's easy to understand why people turn to crime," he muses in the book. "The hours are good and the pay substantial. But there is a downside. Getting the bullet isn't a phrase used when your services are terminated. It is usually the method used to bring about that termination."
O'Mahoney was worried. But, as it turned out, the men gunning for him were taken out first. Three weeks after Leah Betts's death, Tucker, Tate and Rolfe were shot dead in an apparent execution as they sat in Tucker's blue Range Rover in a quiet lane in Rettendon, Essex.
Two men are due to stand trial at the Old Bailey for the triple murder, which means that the Essex police cannot discuss any of O'Mahoney's theories about the killings. As to why he should choose to write the book now, one answer is that with Tucker dead and Murray fleeing to Spain, the coast must seem a bit clearer for him. According to Bill Campbell, joint managing director of Mainstream, O'Mahoney spent some time under police protection, but has now come out of hiding.
O'Mahoney says his motive for testifying at the Packman trial, and, presumably, for repeating his story in print, is to "shed the criminal make-up I have worn for so long". Leah's death was the catalyst. "Blame lies with the firm," he writes. "Blame lies with the management [of Raquels]. Blame lies with the police, but nobody forced anyone into that club and nobody forced anyone to take drugs. The burden of blame and the burden of the drug culture lies with us all."
Some might argue that O'Mahoney bears a little more blame than some other citizens, but his words are echoed by Paul Betts. "When Leah died, as big as Bernie is, I would have physically torn him apart," he says. "I needed somebody to pin the blame on. But when you come to cold light of day - nobody forced Leah to take that pill, I was partly to blame because I knew nothing about drugs, and therefore couldn't talk to her."
Mr Betts criticises the author because "he knew who was supplying the drugs and he never stopped it", but, he says, when it comes to the book: "Anybody that can keep this debate going ... I'm perfectly happy with"n. 
UNITED KINGDOM 
INDEPENDENT 10/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_UK_press_Heroin_10Apr97 NETHERLANDS:  INTERPOL'S TOP TARGET WINS DELAY IN $100M DRUG TRIAL.
Status: RO

10Apr97 NETHERLANDS:  INTERPOL'S TOP TARGET WINS DELAY IN L100M DRUG TRIAL.
By Kim Sengupta.
The trial in the Netherlands of a Briton accused of running Europe's biggest drugs ring was halted yesterday after claims that the evidence against him may have been contaminated.
The development in the case against 32-year-old Curtis Warren, codenamed Target One by Interpol and charged in connection with an alleged L100m cocaine smuggling plot, raised immediate questions over cross-border co-operation between European police and customs.
Han Jahae, for the defence, maintained that methods used by British investigators to gather information on Mr Warren, a businessman from Liverpool, rendered the prosecution null and void. He demanded the UK authorities reveal exactly how the evidence was obtained.
Mr Jahae told the central criminal court at The Hague that the use of phone taps, and the fact that British authorities would not divulge details of their informants, were contrary to Dutch procedure.
He maintained that information obtained in the UK which had been used to charge Mr Warren in Britain on a previous occasion should not be admitted. The only evidence admissible was that obtained by an independent Dutch investigation.
The presiding judge, Irene De Vries, adjourned the case until 5 June, and asked for four extra witnesses to be called, including two British customs officers, Nick Baker and Phil Byrne.
Mr Warren was acquitted in l993 at Newcastle Crown Court on charges involving L250m worth of drugs hidden in ingots.
In October last year he was arrested by Dutch police near Rotterdam Europort. A raid on a ship in the dock led to the recovery of 800kg of Colombian cocaine, with a street value of L75m, secreted in aluminium ingots. Raids in Amsterdam and Rotterdam netted more drugs, bringing the total value to L100m, as well as a cache of hand grenades, automatic weapons, and CS gas canisters.
Dutch police had acted on information from Britain as part of a six-month operation, codenamed Crayfish, involving Dutch investigators, British customs, and officers from the North-West Regional Crime Squad.
Six other Britons were arrested and charged with Mr Warren. They include Stephen Mee, from Liverpool, who escaped from a prison van on the way to Manchester Crown Court in 1993 but was sentenced in absentia to 22 years in jail on charges of smuggling cocaine from Colombia.
Mr Mee, and another defendant, Ray Nolan, 28, from Liverpool, allegedly gave false names to the Dutch police. The other defendants are John Farrell, 34, from Manchester; Stephen Whitehead, also 34, from Oldham; William Fitzgerald, 55, and William Riley, 47, both from Liverpool.
Yesterday, after being remanded in custody until 5 June, Mr Warren said: "It is important that you investigate how the English got their information. Why did they need to claim public immunity?" 
UNITED KINGDOM 
INDEPENDENT 10/4/97 P9 



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Subject:  DRUG_ALERT_10Apr97_Eleven dead from high-grade heroin in Greece.
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		  Eleven dead from high-grade heroin in Greece

RTw  4/10/97 10:47 AM 


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    ATHENS, April 10 (Reuter) - Eleven Greeks died from using high-grade heroin in the past week while the number of drug users in Greece was rapidly increasing, government officials said on Thursday.
     Police said the high-grade heroin had been on the market for the past month and if used with alcohol or sleeping pills could be fatal.
     The health ministry announced on Wednesday that it was setting up three new centres in Athens and the northern port of Salonika to provide users with methadone as a substitute for heroin.
     It will also set up a a special ambulance service to treat emergency cases relating to drug use.
     "The increased number of heroin-related deaths, drug infiltration in schools and low age of drug users are a cause for alarm and indicate that drug abuse in Greece is growing steadily," Health Minister Costas Gitonas said.
     He said that in 1987 there were 56 drug-related deaths, reaching 176 in 1996, while turnover from the drug trade was estimated at around $2 billion a year.
  REUTER


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Subject:  ML_10Apr97 USA:  REGULATORY ROUNDUP - ACTION EXPECTED SOON.
Status: RO

10Apr97 USA:  REGULATORY ROUNDUP - ACTION EXPECTED SOON.
FOREIGN BANKS: Although four months behind schedule, the Fed is expected shortly to propose a major overhaul of its rules governing foreign banks. The proposal would relax rules limiting the amount of income foreign banks may earn outside the United States from insurance and securities activities. It also would eliminate scores of duplicative filing requirements, and it would make it easier for foreign banks to expand their operations here. Release of the rule has been delayed several times as Fed officials worked on changing Regulation Y and the section 20 rules.
MONEY LAUNDERING: The Fed is expected to unveil a proposed know-your-customer rule this summer. The regulation would require banks to take specific steps to verify the identity of each customer. Regulators have been working on draft rules since May 1996.
CALL REPORTS: The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council is expected by mid-April to vote on whether to require all banks to file call reports electronically. The agencies have planned to begin phasing in electronic filing June 30 but are likely to push back the starting date until early next year.
RECOURSE: The exam council's supervision task force is weighing a proposal that would reduce the amount of risk-based capital banks must hold against some assets sold with recourse. The plan, which regulators are expected to issue for comment by June 30, also may require banks to hold more capital in recourse arrangements involving letters of credit, warranties, and other "direct credit substitutes."
Regulators have been wrestling with the plan for more than five years. The major cause of the delay: determining how much capital a bank should hold when pieces of its loan pool are securitized and sold to different buyers. An advance notice of proposed rulemaking was issued for comment in May 1994. Comments were due that July.
(c) American Banker 1997. 
BANKING/FINANCE 
AMERICAN BANKER 10/4/97 P5 



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Subject:  ML_10Apr97 ITALIA:  IL FIGLIO CARLO - MA LA CHIAVE E' NEI PROCESSI SU ANDREOTTI.
Status: RO

10Apr97 ITALIA:  IL FIGLIO CARLO - MA LA CHIAVE E' NEI PROCESSI SU ANDREOTTI.
ROMA - "Sorpreso? No, affatto. Questo provvedimento della magistratura romana coincide con quello che nel corso degli anni noi abbiamo saputo e cioe' che Carboni a Londra poteva contare sul sostegno di malavitosi italiani trapiantati nella capitale inglese, su questo ormai c'e' una mole enorme di riscontri. Noi abbiamo sempre creduto molto a questa pista, che via via e' diventata sempre piu' concreta".
Per Carlo Calvi, figlio del presidente del Banco Ambrosiano, e' il momento della rivincita dopo che per anni la tesi dell'omicidio era stata snobbata.
"Finalmente la verita", gli fa eco la madre Clara, vedova del banchiere, che ha accolto con sollievo, nonostante sia gravemente colpita dal morbo di Parkinson, la notizia dell'arresto dei due presunti assassini del marito.
Eppure, e' una verita' amara perche' il movente, in fin dei conti, sarebbe stato quello di tappare la bocca a suo padre perche' coinvolto nel riciclaggio di capitali di Cosa Nostra. Dice Carlo Calvi: "Vede, noi crediamo molto al fatto che negli ultimi anni si sia data giustamente un'importanza notevole all'interferenza che la mafia avrebbe avuto negli affari dell'Ambrosiano. Noi vogliamo distinguere pero' la normale attivita' commerciale del Banco Ambrosiano, dal fatto specifico della morte di mio padre. Con ogni evidenza, ci sono stati negli ultimi mesi di vita di mio padre parecchi trasferimenti e operazioni che possono essere interpretati in quel modo, senza per questo dire che mio padre faceva tout court affari con la mafia. Posso portare ad esempio due episodi. Uno e' che, senza dubbio, Carboni rientrando in Svizzera, dopo la trasferta a Londra, non si aspettava che gli venissero subito bloccati sui conti quaranta milioni di dollari da parte del giudice Bernasconi. Quaranta milioni di dollari nell'ambit
o della vicenda Ambrosiano sono pochi soldi, ma certo per lui non erano tanto pochi e sono senz'altro un movente sufficiente per un omicidio, se vogliamo parlare di Carboni soltanto".
Poi continua: "Se vogliamo fare riferimento a somme superiori, bisogna ricordare le famose somme documentate nella sentenza di Dublino ottenuta dai liquidatori dell'Ambrosiano contro Tassan Din. Il problema e' che i soldi furono sequestrati solo a Tassan Din, mentre la gran parte di quelle somme, che facevano capo al banchiere Umberto Ortolani, non sono state recuperate. L'ordine di grandezza e' di oltre centosessanta milioni di dollari, i famosi fondi Bellatrix, su cui e' noto che esisteva un dissidio notevole tra mio padre e questi signori. Ed era per questo che mio padre voleva recarsi a Zurigo e non a Londra. Perche' i fondi Bellatrix (relativi anche a Licio Gelli) erano movimentati dalla Rothschild Bank di Zurigo".
L'operazione Bellatrix - secondo la sentenza sul crack del Banco Ambrosiano - e' stata l'operazione finanziaria che piu' di tutte ha contribuito a distruggere il capitale della banca. Alla Rothschild Bank, del resto, era stato credit manager quel Juerg Heer che in un'esplosiva intervista al Wall Street Journal nel '92 affermo' di aver pagato con cinque milioni di dollari i killer di Calvi, per ordine del braccio destro di un esponente della P2.
"Un personaggio questo Heer - dice Carlo Calvi - le cui tracce si sono perse nel nulla. Poi si e' messo in contatto con noi Francesco Pazienza, dicendo che attraverso la faccenda della contessa Agusta (implicata nella vicenda dei fondi esteri di Bettino Craxi) aveva avuto dei contatti lui; ma Pazienza, si sa, e' un personaggio da prendere sempre con le pinze...".
Certamente, questi provvedimenti contro Pippo Calo' e Flavio Carboni costituiranno un puntello importante per i processi di Palermo e Perugia a carico di Giulio Andreotti.
"Secondo noi, quei due processi sono i processi piu' importanti in corso, dal punto di vista interpretativo - conclude Carlo Calvi -. Su questo non c'e' alcun dubbio. Soprattutto quello di Perugia. La dinamica dei due delitti e' identica, anche a Londra Carboni era telecomandato da Vitalone, basta pensare alle telefonate tra i due. Ma Vitalone era solo cinghia di trasmissione di un'altra persona che mia madre ha sempre indicato in Giulio Andreotti".
 
(c) CORRIERE DELLA SERA. 
ITALIAN LANGUAGE 
CORRIERE DELLA SERA (ITALIAN LANGUAGE) 10/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_ML_09Apr97 COLOMBIA:  GOBIERNO EXTREMA CONTROL DE LAVADO POR BOLSAS.
Status: RO

09Apr97 COLOMBIA:  GOBIERNO EXTREMA CONTROL DE LAVADO POR BOLSAS.
BOGOTA, abr 9 (Reuter) - Colombia publico el miercoles un exahustivo manual de procedimiento para que las bolsas de valores y los comisionistas del pais prevengan el blanqueo de dinero proveniente del narcotrafico.
La Superintendencia de Valores, adscrita al Ministerio de Hacienda, hizo publica la circular externa 3 del pasado 3 de abril, en la que hace mas estrictos mecanismos de prevencion establecidos en una circular previa de 1995.
Los nuevos procedimientos ordenan identificar el mercado en el cual se desempenan las sociedades e intermediarios de valores y hace enfasis en la obligacion que tienen de reportar las operaciones que consideren sospechosas, es decir, que por su monto, no guarden relacion con la actividad economica de sus clientes.
"Una vez se determine una operacion como sospechosa, debera hacerse el respectivo reporte a la Fiscalia General de la Nacion, para lo cual no se requiere que la institucion vigilada tenga certeza de que se trata de una actividad delictiva o que los recursos utilizados provienen de esta clase de actividades: solo se requiere la consideracion de la operacion como sospechosa", indica la nueva circular.
La Superintendencia extremo lo controles tras denunciar a la Fiscalia General que dos firmas comisionistas habrian sido utilizadas para efectuar transacciones sospechosas con titulos de renta fija y cheques por unos 40 millones de dolares en 1996.
"Por no constituir en ningun caso el reporte de operaciones sospechosas a la Fiscalia General denuncia penal, no se exige que este deba estar suscrito", anade la Superintendencia, aparentemente despejando temores de los corredores de bolsa sobre la vinculacion de sus nombres a las investigaciones de la Fiscalia.
La Superintendencia ordena un analisis de "verificacion especial", no contenido en la circular de 1995, sobre las cuentas de los clientes cuyo acumulado en cada mes calendario sea o exceda de 850 y 3.500 salarios minimos mensuales, entre 146,20 millones y 602,01 millones de pesos actuales.
"Las operaciones que queden cobijadas por estos parametros entraran a ser evaluadas en forma especial por los respectivos intermediarios, con base en los antecedentes de informacion que tengan con relacion a un cliente, a si como su experiencia en el desarrollo de este tipo de actividades", indica la circular.
Anade que la evaluacion servira para determinar si la cuantia o caracteristicas de la operacion no guardan relacion con la actividad economica del cliente, por su numero, cantidad o caracteristicas o con el tipo de operacion que se trate y que puedan llevar a "sospechar" que se trata de blanqueo de dinero.
La Superintendencia ordena que los mecanismos para prevenir el lavado de dinero deberan ser incorporados en un Manual Especifico de Procedimiento, aprobado por la junta directiva de cada entidad.
Aclara que la junta debera nombrar un funcionario que verificara que se cumplan los procedimientos que sigan las entidades vigiladas, el cual debera presentar un reporte mensual acerca de las labores de prevencion.
Tambien se incorpora a los comisionistas independientes y las administradoras de fondos de inversion para que obliguen a sus clientes a diligenciar un formato en el que se solicita detallada informacion.
La Superintendencia ordena que los clientes que hagan aportes al fondo de valores o al fondo de inversion, iguales o superiores a 105 salarios minimos mensuales (unos 18 millones de pesos), deberan informar su domicilio, direccion y numero telefonico.
Algunos clientes podran ser eximidos del cumplimiento de algunos requisitos de la circular, pero seran de exclusiva responsabilidad del presidente o gerente de la entidad.
La Superintendencia ordeno que las entidades deberan dejar constancia con un formulario especial del dinero que reciban en efectivo para desarrollar su encargo o para participar en portafolios colectivos e inversion.
El formulario debera ser llenado cuando el dinero entregado sea superior al equivalente a cinco salarios minimos, unos 860.025 pesos actuales, cuando anteriormente se exigia sobre 7,5 millones de pesos.
La informacion en los formularios de transacciones en efectivo debera ser remitida a la Superintendencia en los 10 primeros dias calendario de abril, julio, octubre y enero, cuando antes era en los 20 primeros dias.
((-Javier Mozzo, Redaccion Bogota, 571 6110473.)).
(c) Reuters Limited 1997. 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Status: RO

10Apr97 ITALIA:  "LA MAFIA ORDINO' E LA CAMORRA UCCISE CALVI".
ROMA - Roberto Calvi e' stato ucciso dalla camorra per ordine della mafia. Cosa Nostra non aveva perdonato al presidente del Banco Ambrosiano lo sperpero di centinaia di miliardi, investiti in attivita' rivelatesi fallimentari.
Sono le conclusioni alle quali e' giunta la magistratura romana che, per l'omicidio del banchiere, avvenuto a Londra nel giugno del 1982, ha emesso due ordini di custodia cautelare.
Il primo e' per il cassiere delle cosche, Pippo Calo', l'altro per il faccendiere sardo Flavio Carboni, al quale ieri la Dia ha perquisito la casa romana e che non e' stato rinchiuso in carcere perche' era stato estradato dalla Svizzera per altri reati. Bisognera' aspettare, quindi, che le autorita' elvetiche concedano l'autorizzazione anche per l'omicidio volontario: per il giudice istruttore Mario Almerighi sono loro i mandanti dell'assassinio.
Sul registro degli indagati del pubblico ministero Giovanni Salvi sono iscritti i nomi di altre quattro persone. Il primo della lista e' l'ex capo della P2, Licio Gelli. Il secondo e' il boss mafioso pentito Francesco Di Carlo.
Gli altri sono elementi della camorra legati a Cosa Nostra, probabilmente del clan Nuvoletta, che avrebbero avuto un ruolo marginale nella vicenda.
Nell'ordinanza di 94 pagine, il giudice ha ripercorso tutte le tappe che portarono alla decisione della mafia di assassinare Calvi: un contributo importante alle indagini l'hanno dato le dichiarazioni di numerosi pentiti, primi tra tutti Tommaso Buscetta e Francesco Marino Mannoia.
Almerighi ha sottolineato che il delitto fu commesso a poche ore di distanza dal momento in cui il consiglio di amministrazione del Banco Ambrosiano aveva tolto la presidenza a Roberto Calvi.
Nel capitolo relativo al movente e' stato sottolineato come Calo' e Carboni avessero almeno tre ottimi motivi per farlo ammazzare: avevano "paura che Calvi, stretto tra la fondata probabilita' di essere colpito da provvedimenti restrittivi e la fondata prospettiva di essere esautorato dalla carica di presidente del Banco, potesse trasformarsi in quella "scheggia impazzita inaffidabile" di cui hanno parlato i pentiti.
Entrambi temevano che "Calvi potesse rivelare le informazioni di cui era in possesso sui movimenti di riciclaggio di ingentissime somme di denaro provenienti dalle attivita' illecite collegate a Cosa Nostra (movente specifico)".
Almerighi ha anche sottolineato come Pippo Calo' e Flavio Carboni avessero paura che "Calvi potesse tentare di salvarsi attraverso manovre ricattatorie nei confronti dei suoi vecchi alleati coi quali fino a un certo punto aveva gestito l'investimento di tali ingentissime somme di denaro".
A dare la svolta alle indagini sono state soprattutto le rivelazioni di Francesco Di Carlo degli ultimi tempi. E' stato il pentito a dire che l'esecutore materiale dell'omicidio e' stato Vincenzo Casillo, il luogotenente di Raffaele Cutolo saltato in aria sulla sua auto a Roma nel gennaio 1983: gli investigatori sospettano che sia stato ucciso per evitare che raccontasse chi gli aveva dato l'ordine di strangolare il presidente dell'Ambrosiano e di abbandonare il suo corpo sotto il ponte dei Frati Neri di Londra.
Dalle indagini sono arrivate conferme dei collegamenti tra la mafia e la famigerata banda della Magliana, gli intrecci tra politici e affaristi e tra massoni e spezzoni della magistratura, i depistaggi dei servizi segreti. Il giudice ha ricordato l'attentato al vicepresidente del Banco Ambrosiano, Roberto Rosone e il tentativo di Carboni di inserirsi per conto di Cosa Nostra nelle trattative per la liberazione di Aldo Moro. E, a proposito di Licio Gelli, ha scritto come anche l'ex capo della P2 "avesse motivi assai seri per volere la morte di Calvi".
Perche'? "Basta rilevare - ha scritto Almerighi - come Gelli, insieme con altri correi, si fosse reso protagonista del piu' grave dei fatti di spoliazione del Banco Ambrosiano, e cioe' dell'appropriazione di enormi quantita' di denaro in occasione delle operazioni di ricapitalizzazione della Rizzoli".
Immediata la replica di Gelli: "Pippo Calo'? E chi e'?".
 
(c) CORRIERE DELLA SERA. 
ITALIAN LANGUAGE 
CORRIERE DELLA SERA (ITALIAN LANGUAGE) 10/4/97 



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Status: RO

09Apr97 MEXICO:  INDIGACIONES SOBRE "LAVADO" SE DUPLICARON EN DOS ANOS - CNBV.
Por LETICIA GRANDE.
El vicepresidente juridico de la Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV), Pedro Zamora, admitio que entre 1995 y 1996 el numero de investigaciones relacionadas con el "lavado de dinero" practicamente se duplico en Mexico, al pasar de 60 a 115.
Paralelamente advirtio que los bancos que no reporten las transacciones consideradas como "sospechosas" o "relevantes" seran sancionados con multas economicas por hasta el 100% del monto de las mismas, y anuncio que en breve la Secretaria de Hacienda fiscalizara a los mas de 200 centros de cambio de divisas que existen en el pais.
Tales aseveraciones las hizo el funcionario ayer, al termino del seminario Mexico-Canada sobre Lavado de Dinero que congrego a cerca de 300 participantes, entre los que se encontraban Gordon Kennedy,
vicepresidente del Banco de Canada; David Winfield, ex embajador de esa misma nacion; Paul Fraser, presidente de la Camara de Comercio canadiense; Helen Sinclair, directora general de Bank Work Trading, y Michael Ballard, vicepresidente de seguridad de la Asociacion de Banqueros de Canada.
En esa oportunidad el funcionario senalo que los bancos locales van en tiempo para remitir a la autoridad sus respectivos manuales de operacion - el plazo vence el 1 de septiembre-, y reitero que se esta armonizando nuestra legislacion para salvaguardar en todo momento el llamado "secreto bancario".
Con la franqueza que le caracteriza, el vicepresidente juridico de la CNBV admitio que en Mexico, como en el mundo entero, la actividad criminal de las bandas organizadas ha venido en aumento.
En todo el orbe, y solo a nivel de sistemas financieros, la Organizacion de Naciones Unidas (ONU) calcula el monto de recursos involucrados en el "blanqueo de dinero" entre 300 y 500 mil millones de dolares, anadio.
Sin embargo, explico que a nivel bancario, la participacion en delitos como el de lavado de dinero ha sido extraordinaria.
Mas adelante subrayo que aquellos empleados que no reporten con periodicidad la deteccion de "operaciones sospechosas o relevantes" se haran acreedores a sanciones de tipo penal, y rechazo que este tipo de controles pudiera ocasionar una menor captacion de recursos entre los intermediarios crediticios.
Respecto a las 115 investigaciones del ano pasado preciso que la mayor parte de las mismas estan relacionadas con evasion fiscal, toda vez que el delito de lavado de dinero recien se tipifico en la legislacion mexicana, aunque resalto que este ultimo ilicito no prescribe.
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Subject:  LA_09Apr97 MEXICO:  CONSTANTE CONTRADICCION EN PROCESOS VS NARCOS.
Status: RO

09Apr97 MEXICO:  CONSTANTE CONTRADICCION EN PROCESOS VS NARCOS.
Por Guadalupe Rivera Loy .
Mexico D.F., 9 de abril (FINSAT).-Con excepcion de Francisco Guerra Barrera "Don Paco" y Jesus "Chuy" Labra Aviles, todos los narcotraficantes mexicanos enfrentan problemas con la justicia, informaron fuentes de la Procuraduria General de la Republica.
Empero, las contradicciones son la constante en la informacion sobre los procesos penales contra los contrabandistas en el contexto previo a la llegada a Mexico del zar antidrogas Barry McCaffrey.
Fuentes de la PGR afirman por un lado y niegan por el otro que se le haya abierto otra averiguacion previa a Humberto Garcia Abrego por blanqueo.
Lo cierto es que Humberto quedo libre cuando el Segundo Tribunal Colegiado de Tamaulipas, con sede en Ciudad Victoria, le concedio el 25 de febrero un amparo contra los cargos de haber blanqueado 32 mil pesos.
A Garcia Abrego se le juzgo dos veces por este delito (averiguacion previa 682/M/94), del que fue absuelto el 22 de septiembre de 1995 por el Primer Tribunal Unitario de Toluca por falta de pruebas. Al salir fue nuevamente aprehendido y encarcelado.
Tambien son inexistentes los datos sobre una orden de aprehension en contra de Miguel Angel Caro Quintero, a quien autoridades judiciales y castrenses buscan en Sinaloa.
De entre los criminales mexicanos dedicados al comercio de estupefacientes y considerados como "extraditables" sobresale Amado Carrillo Fuentes "El Senor de los Cielos", con 22 cargos criminales en Estados Unidos.
En Mexico tiene una orden de aprehension por asociacion delictuosa, acopio de armas y posesion de cartuchos, y otra de arresto provisional con fines de extradicion por delitos contra la salud.
Miguel Angel Caro Quintero tiene cinco ordenes de detencion en Estados Unidos y una de aprehension en nuestro pais. Y los Arellano Felix dos averiguaciones previas por delitos contra la salud, homicidio, asociacion delictuosa y acopio de armas de uso exclusivo del ejercito y una demanda por blanqueo de capitales.
Otros contrabandistas en la mira del Departamento de Justicia son Jesus Amezcua, Humberto Garcia Abrego, Oscar Malherbe de Leon, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Ismael "Mayo" Zambada, Hector "El Gu"ero" Palma, Rafael Munoz Talavera, Jose Luis Sosa Mayorga, Francisco Guerra Barrera, Jesus Labra e Ismael Higuera Guerrero "El Mayel".
De entre ellos, solo Francisco Guerra Barrera "Don Paco" y Jesus "Chuy" Labra Aviles no enfrentan cargo criminal alguno. Hecho sobresaliente si se toma en cuenta que el primero es el brazo fuerte del cartel del Golfo y el segundo uno de los fundadores del cartel de Tijuana.
En su testimonio ante el Congreso estadounidense el 25 de febrero pasado, Thomas A. Constantine, jefe de la DEA, ubico a Miguel Angel Caro Quintero como el jefe del cartel de Sonora, especializado en el cultivo, produccion y distribucion de mariguana y en el trafico de cocaina.
El jefe de la DEA asevero que "Caro Quintero es objeto de varias acusaciones en Estados Unidos y frecuentes ordenes de arresto provisional".
A pesar de ello, "en un acto de arrogancia sorprendente", Caro Quintero llamo a una estacion de radio diciendo que los cargos contra el eran falsos. "Entonces tuvo la audacia de dar su direccion e invitar a los oficiales de Mexico y Estados Unidos a visitarlo", se lamento Constantine.
En 1992 Caro enfrento cinco procesos por delitos contra la salud en Mexico. Fue detenido el 17 de enero de 1992 y salio en libertad 86 dias despues, por orden de los jueces de distrito Otoniel Gomez Ayala, Rosa Martha Valenzuela y Sergio Novales Castro, quienes fueron destituidos de sus cargos.
Se le absolvio y regreso a tomar las riendas de sus ranchos en Sonora. Apenas este 26 de marzo escapo de agentes que lo pretendian detener en Badiraguato, Sinaloa.
Oficialmente no se ha informado de que se le acusa.
El testimonio de Constantine se dio en el marco de la controversia sobre la certificacion. Inevitablemente, el espinoso asunto de la extradicion de narcos salio a relucir.
Se supo entonces que el gobierno mexicano habia aceptado una lista de extraditables, entre los que destaca Amado Carrillo Fuentes, el escurridizo "Senor de los Cielos", con orden de detencion provisional con fines de extradicion emitida el 19 de enero de 1996 (EL FINANCIERO, 17/03/97).
El 20 de marzo el canciller Jose Angel Gurria se refirio a la figura de "extradicion temporal" para zanjar la cuestion y acepto que el actual convenio de extradicion senala que ningun mexicano puede ser extraditado si tiene cargos, aunque Juan Garcia Abrego - identificado como mexicano por el FBI el 27 de octubre de 1993-fue entregado a Estados Unidos a pesar de que aqui enfrentaba los procesos 34/90, 87/90 y 47/94 por delitos contra la salud y homicidio.
Por "seguridad nacional" Estados Unidos ha hecho de Carrillo Fuentes su "most wanted" (el mas buscado), despues de la detencion y extradicion de Juan Garcia Abrego.
Amado tiene 22 cargos criminales en Miami, Florida, por distribucion de mariguana y heroina, y en Dallas, Texas, por posesion y conspiracion para distribuir cocaina (1988).
Aqui tiene una orden de aprehension, librada por el Primer Tribunal Unitario de Circuito el 14 de junio de 1994 por asociacion delictuosa, acopio de armas y posesion de cartuchos. Se le nego el amparo el 28 de febrero por resolucion del Primer Tribunal Colegiado en Materia Penal en el Distrito Federal (EL FINANCIERO, 17/03/97), y con una orden de arresto provisional con fines de extradicion internacional emitida el 19 de enero de 1996 por el juez Septimo de Distrito en Materia Penal, Ricardo Ojeda Bohorquez. Ahora se trabaja en la integracion de la averiguacion previa 19/97, abierta a raiz de los sucesos en Navolato, Sinaloa.
Contra los Arellano Felix las autoridades integraron las averiguaciones previas 4384/DGI/93 y 1384/93 por delitos contra la salud, homicidio, asociacion delictuosa y acopio y portacion de armas de uso exclusivo de las Fuerzas Armadas. En 1996 la Secretaria de Hacienda presento la querella 529-V-32644 por lavado de dinero.
Tras su detencion en junio de 1995, cuando el avion en que viajaba se accidento, Hector "El Gu"ero" Palma Salazar enfrento el proceso 101/95.
El 7 de enero de 1997 fue exonerado por Hector Lopez Valdivier, secretario del Juzgado Noveno de Distrito en Materia Penal en Guadalajara, por delitos contra la salud y lo condeno a seis anos de prision y una multa de 333 mil pesos por portacion de armas de uso exclusivo del Ejercito.
Y es que las pruebas de la Procuraduria en contra del "Gu"ero" Palma por narcotrafico no podian ser mas debiles: unas cuantas hierbas de mariguana guardadas en unos frascos de Nescafe.
La exculpacion de Palma causo revuelo en la opinion publica, sin embargo, paso desapercibida la de junio de 1996, cuando el juez Octavo de lo Penal en Jalisco, exonero al mismo Palma y a Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman - ambos presos en Puente Grande-por los homicidios de Minerva Guzman Rios, Jorge Barba Franco, Marcos Agustin Toledo y Manuel Perez Davila, cometidos el 9 y 10 de diciembre en Guadalajara.
"El Gu"ero" enfrenta dos procesos mas: uno en Sonora por delitos contra la salud y asociacion delictuosa (39/96) y otro en el Juzgado 2o de Distrito del Estado de Mexico por asociacion delictuosa y usurpacion de funciones (148/96).
Aun asi, el delegado de la PGR en Sonora informo el pasado 9 de enero que Palma no tiene antecedentes de narco en la entidad.
Guzman Loera enfrenta 13 procesos penales por delitos contra la salud, portacion de arma de fuego, asociacion delictuosa, dano en propiedad ajena, ataques a las vias generales de comunicacion, almacenamiento e introduccion de armas, cohecho, homicidio, tentativa de homicidio, usurpacion de funciones publicas, robo agravado y privacion ilegal de la libertad (secuestro).
"El Chapo" fue absuelto por los cuatro homicidios mencionados y en el Juzgado Primero de lo Penal en Puerto Vallarta fue exculpado por los seis asesinatos cometidos durante una balacera en la discoteca Christine (8 de noviembre de 1992).
El Financiero Satellite News Service (Finsat), Mexico D.F., fax (525) 227-76-53.
Copyright El Financiero, 1997. 
SPANISH LANGUAGE 
FINSAT (SPANISH LANGUAGE) 9/4/97 



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Subject:  Ecstasy_Drug_Abuse_10Apr97 UK: HEALTH - BRAIN DAMAGE FOUND IN ECSTASY USER.
Status: RO

10Apr97 UK: HEALTH - BRAIN DAMAGE FOUND IN ECSTASY USER.
Doctors have described how a 26-year-old woman suffered brain damage and had her memory blotted out after taking just half an ecstasy tablet.
Dr Josef Spatt of Vienna's Ludwig Bolzmann Institute for Epilepsy and Neuromuscular Disease said she had a seizure three days after taking the drug and later showed "regressive infantile behaviour and fear". She recovered, but was plagued by memory problems which eventually led to her being admitted to Dr Spatt's clinic. After nine months there was only slight improvement in her memory. Writing in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, Dr Spatt said brain scans showed lesions in an area of the brain essential for episodic memory function and known to be where ecstasy causes damage in experiments with laboratory animals. 
UNITED KINGDOM 
INDEPENDENT 10/4/97 P2 



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Subject:  Ecstasy_09Apr97 ITALIA:  CREMA, I GIOVANI - BENE NEL VORTICE DELL'ECSTASY.
Status: RO

09Apr97 ITALIA:  CREMA, I GIOVANI - BENE NEL VORTICE DELL'ECSTASY.
CREMA - La polizia di Crema ha arrestato il grossista che riforniva di sostanze stupefacenti il Cremasco. Il successo dell'operazione, condotta dagli uomini del commissario Francesco Scalise, ha reso piu' difficile a Crema e nel circondario il consumo di droghe, "non piu' percepito dai giovani - sottolinea Scalise - come un'azione illecita". L'operazione antidroga, avviata un mese fa con l'arresto a Madignano di un piccolo spacciatore cremasco, Davis Fusar Bassini, 19 anni, e conclusasi con la fine dell'attivita' del grossista lodigiano, Alessio Pirotto, studente 19enne incensurato, residente a Riozzo di Cerro al Lambro, ha portato alla segnalazione al prefetto di Cremona di 20 giovani cremaschi, tutti di eta' compresa tra i 16 e i 18 anni: studenti senza particolari problemi ne' a scuola ne' in famiglia. "Colpisce - spiega Scalise - la giovane eta' di spacciatori e assuntori, ragazze e ragazzi normali".
Lo "sballo", soprattutto nel fine settimana, anche nel Cremasco sembrerebbe essere divenuto quasi parte del costume, se non della cultura giovanile. Sarebbe un'ulteriore inquietante conferma di quanto gia' e' stato registrato da un'indagine condotta due anni fa dal Sert, il Servizio per le tossicodipendenze dell'Usl 24 di Crema, tra gli studenti del primo biennio delle scuole superiori, la cui recente diffusione ha fatto suonare il campanello d'allarme nelle scuole e nelle famiglie. In sostanza, addirittura un ragazzo su cinque, di eta' compresa fra i 14 e i 16 anni, ha ammesso di aver consumato droga: in 252 su 2.368 intervistati tramite questionario anonimo, almeno una volta; in 203 piu' volte. Sul mercato cremasco il costo di una pasticca di ecstasy si aggira fra le 30 e le 35 mila lire. I giovani che hanno soldi in tasca e si possono permettere l'acquisto, non solo non ritengono di fare alcuna trasgressione ma non temono di subire alcun danno fisico. Opinioni in piu' occasioni contestate dall'Usl 24, che
 ha dimostrato come sia proprio l'assunzione di droga leggera l'anticamera dell'abuso di sostanze stupefacenti.
Le ultime inchieste sembrano dunque far cadere del tutto lo stereotipo di un consumo di droga legato soprattutto a particolari circostanze di disagio sociale ed economico giovanile. I venti consumatori cremaschi segnalati dal commissariato alla prefettura di Cremona, come prevede il testo unico relativo alle sostanze stupefacenti, sono tutti studenti e figli modello. Fra essi ci sono anche molte minorenni, nonostante sia opinione corrente che il fenomeno droga interessi piu' i maschi e solo marginalmente le femmine. Anche il grossista che riforniva dioscoteche e pub cremaschi era un giovane studente incensurato. In casa sua gli agenti hanno sequestrato 400 pastiglie di ecstasy, 300 di metadone olandese, 30 grammi di cocaina gia' pronta per lo spaccio. L'occorrente, ritiene Scalise, per rifornire pub e discoteche per la durata di un fine settimana. Un introito calcolabile attorno ai 15 - 20 milioni. Nel Cremasco le droghe sintetiche come l'ecstasy fanno la parte del leone. Nuovo boom per la marijuana, mentre 
hanno sempre mercato metadone olandese e eroina.
 
(c) CORRIERE DELLA SERA. 
ITALIAN LANGUAGE 
CORRIERE DELLA SERA (ITALIAN LANGUAGE) 9/4/97 



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Subject:  Cocaine_10Apr97 OSTERREICH: KOKAIN - WEITERE HAUSDURCHSUCHUNGEN.
Status: RO

10Apr97 OSTERREICH: KOKAIN - WEITERE HAUSDURCHSUCHUNGEN.
Justizministerium kritisiert Exekutive wegen "allzu offenherziger Informationspolitik"
 
Das uberraschend offensive Vorgehen der Exekutive in den Ermittlungen in der Kokain-Szene, namlich Hausdurchsuchungen und Festnahmen offentlich anzukundigen, hat nun auch zu einer Reaktion des Justizministeriums gefuhrt. Justiz-Sprecher Gerhard Litzka ubte recht unverblumte Kritik am kriminaltaktischen Vorgehen. Er habe angesichts der "allzu offenherzigen Informationspolitik" der Ermittlungsbehorden seine Zweifel "ob das noch sinnvoll ist, oder ob da nicht der Ehrgeiz, bekannt zu werden, uberwiegt", sagte Litzka. Via Radio anzukundigen, in den nachsten Tagen Hausdurchsuchungen vornehmen zu wollen, sei "wohl das Dummste, was man tun kann".
Durch ein solches Vorgehen wurden "kriminaltaktische Ziele verletzt". Die Justiz sehe es "uberhaupt nicht gerne, wenn die Sicherheitsbehorden sagen, was sie zu tun gedenken", meinte Litzka.
Die Ermittlungen der Schwechater Drogenfahnder im Wiener "Kokain-Milieu" laufen dennoch auf Hochtouren. Von Dienstag nachmittag bis Mittwoch in den fruhen Morgenstunden fanden wieder zehn Hausdurchsuchungen statt, bestatigte Polizeidirektor Franz Schnabl.
Die Schwechater Beamten unter Oberst Alfred Rupf ermitteln vorwiegend in der "Kokain-Connection". Der Polizeidirektor sprach am Mittwoch von bisher etwa 40 Festnahmen. An die 30 Personen davon seien in Haft.
Schnabl bestatigte auch, das es bei den Ermittlungen um 15 Kilo Kokain geht, die in Umlauf gebracht worden sein sollen. Der Handel mit sechs Kilo "Schnee" sei bereits nachweisbar. Etwa ein Kilo wurde sichergestellt.
Die Entscheidung, ob der am Freitag verhaftete Tony Wegas noch vor seinem drohenden Prozes in Strafhaft uberstellt wird, fallt voraussichtlich in der kommenden Woche. Dann tritt im Wiener Landesgericht ein Dreier-Senat zusammen, der einen Widerruf jener auf Bewahrung ausgesprochenen sechs Monate Haft beschliesen konnte, zu der Wegas im November 1995 von einem Wiener Schoffensenat wegen Drogenmisbrauchs verurteilt worden war. (vol). 
GERMAN LANGUAGE 
DER STANDARD (GERMAN LANGUAGE FULL TEXT) 10/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_10Apr97_France says EU fully backs summit with Latam.
Status: RO

		  France says EU fully backs summit with Latam

RTw  4/10/97 4:56 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    PARIS, April 10 (Reuter) - President Jacques Chirac said on Thursday France's European Union partners fully supported his proposal for a first summit between EU and Latin American countries next year.
     Chirac said he received Helmut Kohl's backing in talks with the German Chancellor on Wednesday night. He was talking to reporters after meeting Chilean President Eduardo Frei, who also backed the proposed summit.
     Chirac made the suggestion last month during a tour of the four members of the fast-growing Mercosur trade group -- Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay -- and Bolivia, which is an associate of the group.
     He has said the 1998 summit should gather EU and Mercosur leaders and extend to all Latin American leaders. No dates or venue for a summit have been fixed.
     The EU, which has an accord with Mercosur, has become the group's main trade partner.
     Chirac said he agreed with Frei to boost political, economic and cultural relations between their two countries, which share a common view on the future of relations between the two continents.
     "Bilateral relations are bound to develop considerably in view of Chile's spectacular and exemplary development," Chirac said. Frei said Chirac, who has vowed to tour all Latin American countries, would visit Chile in coming months.
     France has slipped behind some of its EU partners in trade with most Latin American countries and is eager to boost exchanges and investment now that the region has regained political stability and economic growth.
     Frei said Paris and Santiago will cooperate on fighting drug-trafficking and money-laundering.
     The two countries signed cooperation accords on education and agriculture and were due to sign three diplomatic cooperation deals later in the day. In all, eight cooperation agreements are to be signed during Frei's four-day state visit.
     France is only the 10th largest investor in Chile with trade between the two countries worth $950 million last year.
     French business leaders attended a seminar at the CNPF employers association on possible investment in Chile. Frei, who was attending a state banquet with Chirac on Thursday evening, is to address businessmen at Paris Chamber of Commerce on Friday.
  REUTER


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Subject:  Balkan_Route_Drug_Seizures_Heroin_10Apr97_29 Kilograms of Pure Heroin Seized in Turkey.
Status: RO

		  29 Kilograms of Pure Heroin Seized in Turkey

OTC  4/10/97 5:41 PM  

 ANKARA (April 10) XINHUA - Turkish police have seized 29 kilograms  of pure heroin in an operation against drug trafficking in eastern  Turkey, the semi-official Anatolia News Agency reported today. 
   The agency said that the police, acting on a tip-off, stopped a  passenger bus in Ercis town of Van province bordering Iran and found  the heroin filled in empty iron pipes, which has a market value of half  a million U.S. dollars. 
   The report quoted a police officer as saying that the haul was taken  from Baskale town of Van on the way to Istanbul. 
   The police have taken under custody one suspected smuggler  in  connection with the drug trafficking, said the agency. However, it  failed to give the date when the drug was seized. 
   In 1996, the Turkish police seized 4.4 tonnes of heroin, accounting for  40  percent of the world's total haul, 12.3 tonnes of hashish, 233  kilograms of opium, 13 kilograms of cocaine and 1,157 kilograms  of  base morphine.  Enditem 
   10/04/97  15:12 GMT 
   =04101519 10/04/97 15:19 GMT 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  OLA_LA_EU_Press_10Apr97 EU:  EU/BOLIVIA - COCA CROPS. 
Status: RO

10Apr97 EU:  EU/BOLIVIA - COCA CROPS. 
COMMISSION SIGNS FINANCIAL AGREEMENT ON GRANTING ECU 19 MILLION TO DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE CROPS TO COCA.
 
Noordwijk, 08/04/1997 (Agence Europe) - European Commission Vice President Manuel Marin and Bolivia's Foreign Minister, Antonio Aranibar, signed on the sidelines of the EU/Rio Group Conference (see other news item) a financing agreement for a programme to fight the production of coca in the region of Chapare. It is the first instalment of ECU 19 million which are part of a ECU 30 million programme approved by the Commission several months ago.
 
"Our intention is to contribute in a concrete manner to the efforts of Latin American countries involved in this fight, continuing to scrupulously respect the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of these countries and their sovereignty," Mr Manuel Marin said during the signing (in a barely concealed allusion to the United States policy of pressure towards Colombia). "We have in Europe, contrary to other countries, an effective partner who defends the notion of corresponsibility between consumer and producer countries," Antonio Aranibar underlined.
The Chapare programme is aimed: 1) to support the development of substitute crops and eradicate (within 5 years) 30,000 hectares of coca in the Chapare region in Central Bolivia; 2) to favour the improvement of living conditions and the creation of income-generating activities in two regions from where most of the people employed in the cultivation of coca are from.
 
For this purpose, the Commission will soon finance two new measures of the project, involving support for agricultural development in the regions of Arque and Tapari (ECU 6 million) and the reconversion of the production of certain Altiplano regions (ECU 5 million).
Not Available for Re-dissemination.
(c) Agence EUROPE, Brussels 1997. 
EUROPEAN UNION 
AGENCE EUROPE 10/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_Organised_Crime_Russian_Crime_10Apr97 POLAND: POLAND, GERMANY TIGHTEN CRIME-FIGHTING TIES.
Status: RO

10Apr97 POLAND: POLAND, GERMANY TIGHTEN CRIME-FIGHTING TIES.
WARSAW, April 10 (Reuter) - Poland and Germany on Thursday decided on tighter cooperation between their frontier guard and police forces, as Poland nears EU membership, and they signed an agreement on cross-border help in dealing with disasters.
The steps, announced after talks in Warsaw between interior ministers Leszek Miller and Manfred Kanther of Germany, will include the two border guard services working together and exchanging liaison officers to be based in Warsaw and Koblenz.
The police forces will set up joint investigative teams and the Poles will ask for German experts to advise on battling organised crime groups, Miller told a news conference.
These and other moves, including the possible future creation of joint police and border guard command centres, are largely prompted by Poland's drive to join the European Union which it hopes to enter not long after the year 2000.
"Poland is approaching the EU with great strides," Kanther told the news conference, adding that a key part of the Union's role was to guarantee common security.
"As Mr Miller said...questions of security are in our common interest and we are in the same boat," Kanther added.
Poland wants to keep its eastern border open to visitors from the former Soviet Union but Warsaw and Western Europe are both concerned that it should not become a conduit for illegal immigrants or crime gangs from the East. Hence the drive for German help to beef up Poland's border security safeguards.
These concerns are especially marked as, after Poland joins the EU it plans to subscribe to the Schengen principles freeing up internal movement in the Union.
Poland has recently submitted a memorandum in Brussels on strengthening the security of its Eastern borders which will be those of the European Union and Miller asked for German support for this.
Miller has also held talks with his Moscow counterpart on improving the anti-crime security of transport links across Poland and fighting drug and mafia-style crime organisations.
"As a future member of NATO and the EU we will not be a country blocking or limiting the flow of people and economic links. We will be a barrier for crime in the interests of the countries of East and West," Miller's ministry said in a statement.
The agreement signed on coping with natural disasters or major accidents will allow services of each country easily to cross the border to help citizens of the other in times of crisis.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  LA_10Apr97 EEUU:  EEUU Y MEXICO DEFIENDEN COOPERACION EN LUCHA CONTRA LAS DROGAS.
Status: RO

10Apr97 EEUU:  EEUU Y MEXICO DEFIENDEN COOPERACION EN LUCHA CONTRA LAS DROGAS.
Por Peter Bate
WASHINGTON, abr 9 (Reuter) - Funcionarios de Estados Unidos y Mexico defendieron el miercoles su cooperacion en el plano politico contra el narcotrafico, aunque reconocieron que aun deben resolver diferencias en el campo practico.
El estratega de la politica antidrogas de la Casa Blanca, el general Barry McCaffrey, y el subprocurador mexicano Eduardo Ibarrola Nicolin, quienes asistieron a una asamblea panamericana sobre drogas, insistieron ante periodistas en la voluntad politica de sus gobiernos para luchar juntos contra el narcotrafico.
"Vamos a tener que lidiar con este problema por anos", dijo el funcionario estadounidense en una conferencia de prensa. "La gente responsable a ambos lados de la frontera sabe que no hay otra opcion que cooperar".
Por su parte, el funcionario mexicano afirmo en una conferencia de prensa posterior que la colaboracion bilateral sigue vigente a pesar de las tensiones generadas durante marzo por la llamada "certificacion".
"La cooperacion no se ha perdido. Seguimos trabajando", dijo Ibarrola. "La prueba esta en que el general McCaffrey va a viajar dos veces en las proximas dos semanas a Mexico.
La "certificacion" es una evaluacion anual que realiza Estados Unidos sobre como combaten otros gobiernos el narcotrafico.
Estados Unidos siempre ha aprobado a Mexico, su mayor socio comercial en America Latina, a pesar de que gran parte de las drogas ingresan por su frontera comun.
Sin embargo, este ano el Congreso estadounidense intento revertir la decision del presidente Bill Clinton de "certificar" al pais latinoamericano, con el argumento de que la corrupcion ha alcanzado niveles descomunales en Mexico.
El detonante de esa iniciativa fue el arresto del jefe antidrogas mexicano, el general Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, por sus presuntos vinculos con un cabecilla del narcotrafico.
El gobierno mexicano habia detenido a ese funcionario a principios de febrero, pero las autoridades estadounidenses solo se enteraron del caso por informaciones publicadas en diarios mexicanos casi dos semanas mas tarde.
McCaffrey, quien dijo que viajara a Mexico para preparar la visita que realizara en mayo el presidente Bill Clinton, afirmo que la corrupcion amenaza a ambas naciones.
"Hay 6.000 millones de dolares en dinero de la droga destinado para la corrupcion que ataca a las instituciones democraticas a ambos lados de la frontera", afirmo.
Mas alla de esas declaraciones, los funcionarios reconocieron que aun no han resuelto diferencias concretas que quedaron expuestas por la "certificacion".
Durante ese proceso funcionarios de la Direccion de Lucha Antidrogas de Estados Unidos (DEA) dijeron en el Congreso que Mexico no permite que los agentes de ese organismo federal ingresen armados a territorio mexicano.
El jefe de la DEA, Thomas Constantine, llego a decir que no podia nombrar una sola agencia policial mexicana que gozara de su confianza.
Ibarrola, sin embargo, dijo que Estados Unidos y Mexico estan buscando mecanismos para proteger a los agentes de la DEA que entren ocasionalmente a territorio mexicano.
"Estamos trabajando sobre formulas que les brinden la debida proteccion sobre la base de que no pueden realizar actos de autoridad y sobre las bases que tienen negociadas Mexico y Estados Unidos, (que) implican claramente el no poner en peligro su situacion", afirmo.
El funcionario mexicano declino precisar si esas formulas incluian o no la posibilidad de que los agentes de la DEA portaran sus propias armas.
Ibarrola expreso tambien dudas sobre las especulaciones estadounidenses de que los contrabandistas mexicanos han superado a los carteles colombianos, que dominaron desde la decada pasada el trafico de la cocaina.
Acerca de la afirmacion del jefe de la DEA sobre los cuerpos policiales mexicanos, Ibarrola comento: "La cooperacion juridica con Estados Unidos es mucho, pero mucho mas amplia que la relacion con una sola agencia".
Constantine recomendo este ano negarle la "certificacion" a Mexico.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  LA_10Apr97 EEUU:  EEUU EXPRESA PREOCUPACION POR "CERTIFICACION" LUCHA ANTIDROGAS.
Status: RO

10Apr97 EEUU:  EEUU EXPRESA PREOCUPACION POR "CERTIFICACION" LUCHA ANTIDROGAS.
Por Peter Bate
WASHINGTON, abr 9 (Reuter) - Estados Unidos, preocupado por la repercusion diplomatica de la "certificacion" de la lucha antidrogas, dijo el miercoles ante sus socios de la OEA que quiere trabajar cooperativamente contra el narcotrafico.
La declaracion la formulo el principal estratega de la politica antidrogas de la Casa Blanca, el general Barry McCaffrey, en una asamblea de la Comision Interamericana para el Control del Abuso de Drogas (CICAD).
"El problema de las drogas es una agonia compartida en este hemisferio", dijo McCaffrey en su discurso ante los delegados de la CICAD.
"Nadie debe dudar de que la demada de drogas ilegales esta en el centro del problema global de las drogas. Nosotros en Estados Unidos reconocemos que somos una parte grande del lado de la demada en la ecuacion de la droga", senalo.
Estados Unidos tiene unas 12 millones de personas que toman, fuman, aspiran o se inyectan drogas, generando un mercado anual de casi 50.000 millones de dolares.
A pesar de que una gran parte del presupuesto antidrogas estadounidense esta reservado a reducir el consumo y castigar a los traficantes, para los otros paises la faz mas visible de la politica de Washington es la llamada "certificacion".
Ese polemico proceso es una evaluacion anual que realiza el gobierno de Washington sobre como combaten otros paises el trafico de drogas.
Los paises que no "aprueban" ese examen, como Colombia en los ultimos dos anos, quedan expuestos a sanciones economicas de Estados Unidos.
La "certificacion" ha sido fustigada por gobiernos latinoamericanos, que la consideran una medida hipocrita y contraproducente.
Incluso funcionarios que mantienen un trato amistoso con Washington, como el jefe antidrogas de Venezuela, Carlos Humberto Tablante, cuestionaron ese mecanismo.
"Seria interesante que, asi como se exige la erradicacion de cultivos ilegales en otros paises, Estados Unidos erradique sus cultivos de marihuana, que estan entre sus principales cosechas", dijo a un grupo de periodistas Tablante.
En una conferencia de prensa posterior a su intervencion en la asamblea, McCaffrey reconocio que Estados Unidos es tanto un pais consumidor de drogas como un productor de sustancias estupefacientes y psicotropicas.
Agrego que el proposito del gobierno del presidente Bill Clinton es actuar como un socio en el esfuerzo conjunto de los paises miembros de la Organizacion de los Estados Americanos contra las drogas.
"Esto ya no es un problema de adictos estadounidenses, por un lado, y productores de coca peruanos, por el otro", dijo.
Aunque insistio en que la "certificacion" esta dictado por una ley que data de 1986 y no es una politica decidida por el gobierno de Clinton, McCaffrey admitio que dentro del gobierno estadounidense hay dudas acerca de ese proceso anual.
"(La certificacion) se ha convertido en un foco de amargura", dijo el ex jefe del Comando Sur de las fuerzas armadas estadounidenses.
"Creo que muchos de los que sentimos la responsabilidad de actuar en cooperacion con nuestros socios internacionales estamos preocupados por ello. Y vemos una preocupacion similar en el Congreso", agrego.
Sin embargo, McCaffrey no especifico que pensaba hacer el gobierno de Clinton al respecto, limitandose a decir que no estaba seguro de cual seria el paso mas acertado.
El delegado de Mexico a la reunion de la CICAD, Eduardo Ibarrola Nicolin, destaco la coincidencia de las declaraciones de McCaffrey con la tradicional posicion mexicana sobre la cooperacion contra las drogas.
"La unica formula para combatir eficientemente al crimen organizado derivado del narcotrafico es la cooperacion internacional", dijo Ibarrola, subprocurador para asuntos juridicos e internacionales de la Procuradoria General de la Republica.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  OLA_LA_10Apr97_Argentine ? ? Public Enemy'' defends himself.
Status: RO

		   Argentine ``Public Enemy'' defends himself

RTna 4/10/97 6:29 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    By Stephen Brown
     BUENOS AIRES (Reuter) - A businessman accused by ex-Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo of being the godfather of organized crime in Argentina appeared before Congress Thursday to try to dispel his image as "Public Enemy No. 1."
     "They have summoned me here and I'll say what is required. I will answer every question I can," postal tycoon Alfredo Yabran told reporters with a smile before a grilling by the twin-chamber Committee on Security and Intelligence.
     Opposition congressmen demanded his presence to clarify whether he had interests in private security firms allegedly linked to the recent murder of a news photographer. Yabran denied he had any such businesses.
     He took out full-page advertisements in Argentine papers
 Thursday accusing Cavallo of lying in the allegations he has made since mid-1995 and of corruption.
     "In 1995 Cavallo made me a business proposal. It consisted of sharing out the postal market between two firms so that one would be under my charge, after beating other Argentine firms into submission with his help," Yabran said in the signed ad.
     "I refused and because of my 'insolence' Cavallo started a systematic campaign of defamation," said Yabran, whose reported friendship with President Carlos Menem was denied by the president but confirmed by the president's former wife.
     Yabran sued Cavallo for accusing him of building up virtual monopolies in the deregulated postal business and in bonded airport warehouses for criminal ends with the aid of government ministers and senior judges Cavallo has named.
     "With his hysterical verbiage, Cavallo has tried to make me Public Enemy No. 1," Yabran wrote, accusing Cavallo of persecuting him to score political points in his campaign to be voted a deputy in congressional elections this October.
     Yabran emerged from his accustomed secrecy to declare his innocence to the media after reports linked security firms he allegedly owns with the brutal murder of news photographer Jose Luis Cabezas in January.
     Cabezas, who worked for top-selling news magazine Noticias on stories about Yabran and about corruption in the Buenos Aires Provincial Police, was handcuffed, beaten and shot and his body doused with fuel and burned.
     Yabran denied any link with the murder. A gang of Buenos Aires police officers has been arrested in the crime that touched off memories of military death squads.
  REUTER


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Subject:  Asian_Organised_Crime_Drug_Trafficking_10Apr97_U.S. Wants Hong Kong Drug Help.
Status: RO

			 U.S. Wants Hong Kong Drug Help

APO  4/10/97 8:10 PM  


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By LAURA MYERS
 Associated Press Writer
   WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. drug and law enforcement officials expressed confidence Thursday that it will be "business as usual" in getting police cooperation after Hong Kong reverts to Chinese rule.
   But skeptical lawmakers said they aren't so sure an authoritarian Beijing, often suspicious of U.S. motives, will collaborate to catch crooks after the United Kingdom cedes control July 1. The island is a nexus for international trafficking in drugs, immigrants and money laundering.
   "Isn't it true that, really, none of you has any idea of what China will do to cooperate?" Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., asked Clinton administration officials at a congressional hearing. "It's almost like trying to read the entrails of goats. ... Even they don't know what they're going to do yet.
   "I'm not at all sure Beijing will in fact honor the `one-country, two-system' policy," he added, referring to communist China's promise of Hong Kong autonomy. "You're going to be in a world of hurt pretty soon."
   Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific affairs, said he called the hearing because of concern China was removing freedoms in Hong Kong.
   Although Hong Kong is supposed to have an independent judiciary and legislature, China appointed a committee to run things for a year. And the government-in-waiting this week detailed limits it would put on Hong Kong liberties, such as requiring police approval for protests.
   On mainland China, the government has for several years refused U.S. government requests for the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Agency to open a liaison office in Beijing, he also noted.
   "The Chinese are quick to point to the entire matter as an `internal' one in which we have no legitimate interest," Thomas said. "But we have a direct and undisputed interest in ensuring a continued U.S. law enforcement presence in" Hong Kong.
   Officials representing the DEA, FBI, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the State Department, Treasury and the attorney general assured lawmakers they expect no changes in their relationships with Hong Kong. They described the current working associations with the royal Hong Kong police as outstanding, leading to extradition to the United States of 67 suspects for prosecution since 1991, mostly on drug charges.
   "We do not anticipate any interruption in our operation," said James Milford Jr., acting deputy DEA administrator.
   Alan Ringgold, deputy assistant FBI director, said his agency has had difficulties persuading Beijing to let U.S. law enforcement open an office there, but otherwise he has been assured of future cooperation. The FBI is operating on the assumption "that it will be business as usual in Hong Kong," he said.
   Phyllis Cover, director of international affairs for the INS, said she expects to expand the working relationship with Hong Kong to combat the increase in immigrant smuggling amid the changeover in rule.
   Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mark Richard said he's hoping to increase law enforcement on intellectual property issues -- protecting business secrets -- where not much progress has been made.
   
   


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Subject:  OLA_LA_11Apr97_GUYANA:  DRUG TRAFFICKERS LOOK OUT -- POLICE COULD ....
Status: RO

	 GUYANA:  DRUG TRAFFICKERS LOOK OUT -- POLICE COULD ...

OTC  4/11/97 3:50 AM  

GEORGETOWN, (Apr. 9) IPS - If Guyana's top law enforcement agents  have their way, they will soon be able to listen in on the  conversation of drug traffickers as they set up deals with their  counterparts in different countries. 
   Legislation aimed at giving this right to police officers is now  being discussed in this South American republic. 
   Observers say this move is the result of a successful wiretapping  and video surveillance operation staged by local and Canadian  federal police last year. 
   The sting operation led to the arrest of several suspected players,  including two young millionaire city businessmen with extensive  real estate holdings in Georgetown and other areas. Both are  awaiting trial. If found guilty, they could spend a minimum of 15  years behind bars. 
   The plan to tap the telephones of these drug barons is a reflection  of a new thinking among Caribbean police chiefs, who admit to being  hopelessly outgunned by the drug dealers, observers say. 
   Commissioners in several Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries  are calling for this new legislation. Guyana's Home Affairs  Minister, Feroze Mohamed, says this is the only other serious  available option left to them as they seek to step up the fight  against drug trafficking. 
   The proposal to give authorities greater powers in the fight  against drug trafficking is contained in a just-completed narcotics  master plan that President Samuel Hinds and other officials  fine-tuned last week here. 
   The three-year program, which runs until the year 1999, covers all  aspects of the fight against illegal drugs, including the  tightening up of money laundering laws, the training of bank  officials to detect suspicious money transfers, and better  coordination among intelligence agencies. 
   "We plan to look at all options available to us. Where there are  no laws, there will be new ones that we would bring into play,"  says Mohamed, vowing that government will do everything in its  power to bring the drug traffickers to justice. 
   Mohamed last year asked the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to  open an office in Guyana. He and other officials were told that  while Washington is aware of their concerns about the drug problem,  Guyana is still considered a relatively inconsequential player  compared to other South American and Caribbean states. 
   But recently Guyana signed a treaty with the United States  permitting DEA officials to pursue suspected drug traffickers into  its territorial waters and airspace. A small base is to be built  close to the Timehri International Airport to house DEA personnel. 
   Meanwhile, drug seizure figures bear out official suggestions that  enforcement agencies are still losing the fight. 
   Last year, police seized 91 kilograms (kgs) of cocaine and 52,000  kgs of marijuana. Since the beginning of the year it has picked up  19 kgs of cocaine and 14,000 kgs of marijuana, much of it grown in  heavily forested and swampy terrain. 
   About 90 percent of the cocaine was picked up at the main airport,  but officials say it is difficult to estimate the amount which  leaves the country hidden in rice and other major exports via the  waterfront where surveillance is poorest. 
   The master plan also involves the purchasing of video and other  electronic equipment for police to compile the kind of evidence  that would make state cases stick in the courts. 
   In the Canadian case last year, police staked out a deal from a  hotel using electronic surveillance equipment. 
   The case broke new legal ground in that even defense lawyers did  not object to the tendering of audio and video recordings in the  courtroom. 
   Laws here do not allow for the admission into evidence of  information gathered in that way, but attorneys say that precedent  will not allow for such evidence until the state puts in place more  specific legislation. 
   "We are looking at five main areas, intelligence, education  operations, rehabilitation and the legal aspects of drug  interdiction," says Mohamed, whose office will be the center of  operations. 
   Consideration is being given as well to the setting up of a special  court that will deal expeditiously with drug cases. Police in the  past have complained of long delays in getting drug-related cases  to trial. They say that sometimes by the time a case is brought to  trial witnesses have left the country and there is nothing that can  be done. 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  ML_LA_11Apr97_Group demands illicit funds be returned to Mexico.
Status: RO

	   Group demands illicit funds be returned to Mexico

RTw  4/11/97 1:46 AM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    MEXICO CITY, April 10 (Reuter) - A group of prominent Mexican intellectuals and artists on Thursday demanded that Swiss and U.S. officials return to Mexico any monies seized in money laundering probes against former Mexican officials.
     Switzerland and the United States are currently investigating hundreds of millions of dollars in secret bank accounts held by several former Mexican officials that prosecutors suspect is linked to the illegal drugs trade.
     The United States last month seized some $7.9 million found in a Houston bank account that belonged to Mario Ruiz Massieu, a former assistant attorney general in Mexico, after a civil trial jury ruled he took bribes from traffickers.
     In Switzerland, if authorities prove that more than $100 million deposited by Raul Salinas, brother of ex-president Carlos Salinas, was laundered, they could seize the funds.
     But the Group of 100, Mexico's most influential environmental organisation formed by writers, painters and intellectuals, said in a signed statement that the money, if seized, should be donated to poor Indians in Mexico.
     "It is not fair that a country like Switzerland, which made its fortune from ill-gotten money from the Nazis during the Holocaust, or the United States, the world's richest country, keep money from Mexican citizens while in Mexico there are sectors of the population that urgently need this money to survive," the statement said.
     The Group of 100 suggested a committee of prominent Mexicans be set up to oversee use of the money.
     Mexico is a main conduit for drugs from South America to the United States and officials on both sides of the border estimate that billions of dollars in proceeds pass through Mexico's economy every year.
  REUTER


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Subject:  OLA_LA_11Apr97_Colombia nabs reputed mafioso and Peru drug king.
Status: RO

		Colombia nabs reputed mafioso and Peru drug king

RTw  4/11/97 1:35 AM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
 (Updates with arrest of accused Italian mobster)
     BOGOTA, April 10 (Reuter) - A reputed Italian mobster and a Peruvian drug lord were arrested on Thursday in separate incidents in Bogota and Colombia's steamy Caribbean port of Cartagena, authorities said.
     A statement from the state security police, known as the DAS, identified the Italian man who was nabbed in Cartagena as Domenico Nirta and described him as a leading figure in N'Drangheta, the Calabria-based mafia crime family.
     The statement said Nirta, a fugitive from Italian justice wanted on heroin trafficking charges in Milan, would be extradited within the next few days.
     In addition to its role at the world's largest producer of cocaine, Western drug experts say Colombia has recently become a leading supplier of heroin to the United States. They say links havbe existed between the Italian mob and Colombia's powerful drug cartels for years.
     Police earlier announced the arrest of a Peruvian who allegedly supplied cocaine base to Colombian traffickers.
     The National Police said in a statement that Enrique Cardenas Guzman, known as "Mosquito" or "Little Fly," was wanted on two outstanding drug charges in Peru where he was the target of an extradition request from Interpol.
     Cardenas was arrested by detectives after being found with a woman in a luxury apartment in Bogota, the statement said.
     It said he had taken over as head of a powerful drug gang after his father, nicknamed "Crazy Fly" and the group's previous boss, died in a Lima prison riot.
     Three-quarters of the world's cocaine is produced in Colombia. U.S. drug agents say most of it is produced in clandestine drug laboratories that refine cocaine base smuggled into the country by air and water routes from Peru.
  REUTER


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Subject:  OLA_LA_11Apr97_Bogota defense head takes office calling for peace.
Status: RO

	   Bogota defense head takes office calling for peace

RTw  4/11/97 12:59 AM 


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    BOGOTA, April 10 (Reuter) - Embattled President Ernesto Samper swore in his fourth defence minister on Thursday after losing two to drug corruption scandals and naming a third as Colombia's envoy to Washington.
     Gilberto Echeverri Mejia, a 62-year-old business leader and chemical engineer from northwest Antioquia province, took the oath under the eyes of top military brass in a solemn ceremony at an army training school in the capital.
     In a keynote address, he reiterated calls made since his appointment in March for concerted efforts to seek a negotiated settlement of the leftist guerrilla war that has been tearing Colombia apart for more than three decades.
     His earlier calls for a peaceful settlement of the conflict were publicly rebuked by armed forces commander Gen. Harold Bedoya, a veteran guerrilla fighter, who told reporters: "Peace is made by waging war."
     Echeverri's predecessor Guillermo Alberto Gonzalez, a vocal critic of the military's poor human rights record, stepped down on March 16 after less than two months in office after it was revealed that a reputed drug trafficker donated $3,000 to his congressional campaign in 1989.
     Gonzalez's predecessor, Juan Carlos Esguerra, was named to the Colombian Embassy post in Washington in January and Samper's first defence minister, Fernando Botero, has been detained on drug corruption charges since August 1995.
     The charges against Botero, son of the famous painter and sculptor of the same name, stem from his involvement in Samper's election campaign and its alleged receipt of millions of dollars in payoffs from the Cali drug cartel.
  REUTER


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Subject:  OLA_LA_10Apr97 CHILE: CHILE DRUGS RING MAY HAVE RECEIVED PROTECTION.
Status: RO

10Apr97 CHILE: CHILE DRUGS RING MAY HAVE RECEIVED PROTECTION.
SANTIAGO, Chile, April 9 (Reuter) - Members of a huge drug money laundering ring smashed in Chile this week may have received police protection, police officials said on Wednesday.
"There may have been this type of protection ... it is something we are going to resolve in coming hours," investigations police chief Nelson Mery told a news conference.
Twelve people were arrested in Chile on Tuesday and several others detained in France and Belgium after police broke the network, the largest money laundering operation uncovered in Chile's history.
Chilean authorities have charged members of the group with "illicit association" and money laundering. They have also frozen local and foreign bank accounts containing $100 million.
The case will be the first to be tried under Chile's new anti-narcotics law, which gives courts wide powers to punish criminals for money laundering.
According to police, the network bought cocaine in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru and smuggled it through the Amazon jungle hidden in logging trucks to the Brazilian port of Victoria. The narcotics were then shipped to Amberes in Belgium and taken overland to Rotterdam for sale.
"The drugs were bought for a price which fluctuated between $1,500 and $2,000 (per kg) and were sold for approximately $30,000," said the police.
Most shipments contained at least several hundred pounds (kg) of cocaine.
One of the group's distributors, Chilean Lorena Carrillo, was arrested in Italy in December after being discovered carrying 4 pounds (2 kg) of cocaine.  
(c) Reuters Limited 1997 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_10Apr97 MALAYSIA:  500GMS HEROIN SEIZED, 19 SUSPECTS DETAINED.
Status: RO

10Apr97 MALAYSIA:  500GMS HEROIN SEIZED, 19 SUSPECTS DETAINED.
9 Apr 1997, page 10
KLANG, Tues. - Police detained 19 suspected traffickers and addicts and recovered 500 grammes of heroin in the district last week.
Five are expected to be charged under section 39B of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952 which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Another four are likely to be charged under section 39A of the same Act which carries life imprisonment.
The remaining 10 were addicts, Klang police chief Assistant Commissioner Aziz Ariarasa Abdullah said today.
Acting on a tip off, police picked up two men, aged 29 and 30, at a sundry shop in Kampung Pendamar, Pandamaran, about 10.30am.
Police seized 106 straws of heroin from the duo.
On Sunday, a 19-year-old suspected trafficker was picked up in Taman Desawan about 10.45am. Police found 137 packets of heroin on the youth.
Yesterday, two youths, aged 18 and 19, were held at a house in Taman Sri Andalas about 4pm after they were found with 15 packets and a straw of heroin.
Last Tuesday, three men, aged between 27 and 41, were arrested in a house in Teluk Gadong about 3.15pm on suspicion of possessing 15 straws of heroin.
Copyright 1997 The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad.
(c) 1997 Chamber World Network International Ltd. 
ASIA INTELLIGENCE WIRE 
NEW STRAITS TIMES 9/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Abuse_German_10Apr97 DEUTSCHLAND:  MEHR DROGENTOTE IM JAHR 1997 BEFURCHTET.
Status: RO

10Apr97 DEUTSCHLAND:  MEHR DROGENTOTE IM JAHR 1997 BEFURCHTET.
Dusseldorf (Reuter) - Der nordrhein-westfalische Gesundheitsminister Axel Horstmann rechnet im Jahr 1997 mit einem Anstieg der Zahl der Drogentoten in Deutschland. Die Sparmasnahmen der Bundesregierung und die Ablehnung einer kontrollierten Abgabe von harten Drogen durch die CDU/CSU fuhrten zu mehr Beschaffungskriminalitat und mehr Drogentoten als 1996, sagte der Minister am Donnerstag in Dusseldorf. Durch Kurzungen von Bundesmitteln sei in Nordrhein-Westfalen jeder funfte Therapieplatz gefahrdet. Das werde sich negativ auf die Drogenstatistik auswirken.
Nur die kontrollierte Abgabe von Rauschgift, etwa Heroin, konne langjahrige Drogenabhanige vor Verelendung und Tod bewahren, sagte Horstmann weiter. Eine Verwirklichung dieses sogenannten Hamburger Modells scheitere aber an der ablehnenden Haltung der Bundesregierung. Deren Drogenpolitik sei halbherzig und inkonsequent. Die Zahl der Drogentoten in Nordrhein-Westfalen stieg den Angaben des Ministers zufolge im Jahr 1996 auf 412 von 380 im Vorjahr. Die Zahl der drogenverwandten Straftaten sei im gleichen Zeitraum um 23,7 Prozent auf rund 55.000 gestiegen.
gwb/bro/imi.
(c) Reuters Limited 1997. 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  ML_10Apr97 USA:  MARKET MONITOR - BASEL COMMITTEE PROPOSES GUIDELINES.
Status: RO

10Apr97 USA:  MARKET MONITOR - BASEL COMMITTEE PROPOSES GUIDELINES.
By Jaret Seiberg.
WASHINGTON - The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a list Wednesday of 25 proposed principles for regulation.
The principles, which were released here by the Federal Reserve Board, would encourage banking supervisors to evaluate a bank's owners, management plan, and capital before issuing a charter. Examiners would review lending policies, risk-management systems, and safeguards against money laundering.
The committee urged that supervisors have the right to conduct on-site exams and to collect financial data periodically from the institution. The principles also say supervisors should be able to punish banks that do not hold enough capital or take reckless actions that put depositors at risk. The panel is accepting comments on the principles, through June 16.
(c) American Banker 1997. 
BANKING/FINANCE 
AMERICAN BANKER 10/4/97 P24 



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From: "Mulschlegel, F.J." <Mulschlegel@EUROPOL.EUROPOL.unisource.nl> (DN=MULSCHLEGE, RECIPIENTS, EUROPOL, EUROPOL)
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Subject:  Drug_Abuse_Traffic_11Apr97 ESPANA:  MADRID. DROGAS. DETENIDA EN BARAJAS UNA COCINERA CON COCAINA IMPREGNADA EN LA ROPA.
Status: RO

11Apr97 ESPANA:  MADRID. DROGAS. DETENIDA EN BARAJAS UNA COCINERA CON COCAINA IMPREGNADA EN LA ROPA.
CHANO MONTELONGO
MADRID.-Maria, harta de freir huevos, decidio cambiar su delantal de cocinera por una maleta llena de droga. La mujer fue detenida ayer en el aeropuerto de Barajas con decenas de prendas de vestir y toallas impregnadas en cocaina.
Ayer fue un dia movidito en la terminal de internacional del aeropuerto madrileno. Guardias civiles y policias nacionales tuvieron que agudizar sus sentidos para poder detectar varios y curiosos metodos para introducir droga en Espana. En total se detuvo a cuatro personas, entre ellas dos culeros, con mas de 10 kilos de cocaina.
El primero de los casos se produjo en un vuelo de la compania KLM procedente de Buenos Aires y Amsterdam. Un guardia civil de paisano del Servicio Fiscal de aeropuerto observo un comportamiento extrano, nervioso, en una pasajera, e hizo una senal a un companero de uniforme para que le requiriera su equipaje.
Al abrirlo, los agentes observaron que la ropa tenia un aspecto sospechoso. Estaba como almidonada, toallas y albornoz incluidos. Tras una comprobacion mas detallada descubrieron que 5 toallas, 1 albornoz, 15 camisas y 18 pantalones estaban impregnados en cocaina. En total 5,5 kilos de esta sustancia estupefaciente.
La mujer, Maria G.P., de 40 anos, cocinera, espanola y residente en Hospitalet de Llobregat, declaro que le habian robado el dinero y el equipaje en Buenos Aires y que un taxista le ofrecio la oportunidad de regresar a Espana si llevaba consigo ese equipaje. Del contacto al que deberia entregar el alijo nada se supo.
Poco despues, la Guardia Civil tambien arrestaba al comerciante argentino Juan Ernesto Del'Avo, de 61 anos, que llevaba 3.160 gramos de cocaina camuflada entre sus objetos personajes. La droga estaba diluida en un champu y en crema limpiadora, en el doble fondo de un maletin y en las zapatillas.
Por su parte, el Cuerpo Nacional de Policia descubrio a dos correos que venian de Bogota (Colombia) con bolas de droga dentro del intestino.
El primero de ellos, Sergio C.G., de 29 anos, tenia previsto seguir viaje hacia Gran Canaria. Se habia tragado 115 bolas de cocaina, con un peso total de 1.200 gramos. Ademas tenia una bolsa de viaje de 3.000 dolares.
El otro culero, Jose Leonardo R.R., de 33 anos, portaba 100 bolas de cocaina en el estomago y 1.995 dolares en su bolsillo, de los que 1.400 eran falsos.
APOYO
Whisky con sorpresa
El ingenio de los narcotraficantes no tiene limite. Cualquier sitio es bueno para ocultar la droga. Sin embargo, los agentes de la Guardia Civil de Barajas tambien se las saben todas... o casi todas.
Sin ir mas lejos, anteayer fueron arrestados dos ciudadanos de nacionalidad polaca que se dirigian a Zurich y que portaban escondidos en su equipaje 14,9 kilos de cocaina pura.
Los detenidos son Wolczak Tadeusz Kasimier, de 45 anos y de profesion mecanico, y Jankowski Dariusz Ludwik, de 35 anos, y ya han sido puestos a disposicion judicial, segun indicaron fuentes de la Guardia Civil de Barajas.
Los dos polacos llegaron a Madrid procedentes de Bogota para enlazar con un vuelo con destino a Zurich.
Los pasajeros fueron interceptados en el control de Aduanas de la terminal Internacional. La droga la transportaban escondida en cuatro botellas de whisky, en el doble fondo de dos bolsos y en dos carpetas con dobles tapas, segun las mismas fuentes.
(c) Diario El Mundo, 1997. 




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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_Police_Tech_11Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  AFP SNIFFS OUT DOGS.
Status: RO

11Apr97 AUSTRALIA:  AFP SNIFFS OUT DOGS.
Federal police who borrowed Customs Service drug detector dogs to combat an illicit drugs trade in Civic are now seeking to enlist their own dogs. The AFP said yesterday it was planning a dog-training course to increase the size of the dog squad, and wanted the public to donate suitable "sniffer" dogs.
Sergeant Gary Baker, of the dog squad, said dogs should be aged between one and three years, of either sex, and medium-to-large breeds or crossbreeds.
Any person wanting to "donate a dog" could call 256 7777.
 
(c) 1997 The Canberra Times. 
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND 
CANBERRA TIMES 11/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_11Apr97_South Chinese Province Destroys Large Drug Haul.
Status: RO

		South Chinese Province Destroys Large Drug Haul

OTC  4/11/97 4:23 PM  

 BEIJING (April 11) XINHUA - Authorities in south China's Guangdong  Province today destroyed some 300 kilograms of heroin and 100 kilograms  of "ice" confiscated in recent years during a public meeting in a new  crackdown on drugs. 
   Some 2,000 local people attended the meeting. According to local  sources, the drug situation in the coastal province is difficult as  drug-related crimes become more frequent and trafficking becomes  rampant. 
   To crack down on crime, Guangdong authorities have decided to start a  campaign against drugs from April to September of this year.  Enditem 
   11/04/97 14:20 GMT 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_11Apr97_16 Kilo Heroin an bulgarisch-rumanischer Grenze be...
Status: RO

	  16 Kilo Heroin an bulgarisch-rumanischer Grenze be..

dpa  4/11/97 2:12 PM  


Copyright dpa, 1997
    16 Kilo Heroin an bulgarisch-rumanischer Grenze beschlagnahmt 

   Sofia (dpa) - Der bulgarische Zoll hat am Grenzubergang zu Rumanien am Freitag mehr als 16 Kilo Heroin beschlagnahmt. Das meldete die amtliche Nachrichtenagentur BTA. Der Marktwert dieser Menge betragt in Bulgarien mehr als zwei Milliarden Lewa.

   Das Rauschgift wurde unter dem Boden eines Minibusses mit deutschem Kennzeichen entdeckt, der von einem turkischen Staatsburger gefahren wurde. Der Mann wollte nach Rumanien reisen.

   In diesem Jahr haben bulgarische Zollner bereits insgesamt 101 Kilo Rauschgift beschlagnahmt. dpa el ov


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Subject:  UK_Press; Drug_Traffic; Cocaine; OLA_; Latin_14Apr97_CRIME COCAINE.
Status: RO

				 CRIME COCAINE

PA   4/14/97 6:19 AM  


Copyright 1997 PA News.  Copying, storing, redistribution, retransmission, publication, transfer or commerical exploitation of this information is expressly forbidden.
   DIVERS IN  20m DRUG SEIZURE AT DOCKS
   By Andrew Woodcock, PA News
   Customs officers were today seeking confirmation they had foiled a plot to flood Britain with cocaine after a  20 million drug seizure.
   They found around 200kg of high-purity cocaine yesterday in a ship which arrived in Avonmouth, near Bristol, after sailing from Colombia.
   The seizure -- thought to be the largest cocaine haul so far this year -- was hailed as an "enormous success" for Customs authorities and police.
   The drugs were found in watertight kitbags concealed below the water-line of the Cyprus-registered Margo L by divers from Avon and Somerset police.
   They were called in by Customs officers carrying out a routine search of the ship.
   The 42,000-tonne vessel docked at Avonmouth on April 9, carrying coal from the Colombian port of Santa Marta, and was subjected to a thorough internal and external search lasting four days.
   The drugs were found behind grilles in a duct which feeds sea-water past the ship's engines to cool them down.
   Customs and Excise spokesman Ranald Macdonald said the drugs could have been concealed without the knowledge of the ship's 26-strong Greek and Filipino crew.
   He explained: "There have been cases where smugglers have been able to use divers at each end to carry out this sort of operation, using the vessel as a conduit and leaving the crew blissfully unaware of what they have on board.
   "There have been no arrests at this stage, and the crew and shipping company are being very helpful.
   "The Customs and Excise national investigations service is now carrying out an inquiry into the origins and intended destination of the cocaine, which may or may not have been intended for offloading in the UK."
   The ship is understood to have been en route for Estonia at the time of the seizure.
   The high-purity drug would be worth up to  100,000 a kilogram on the illicit market in the UK, said Mr Macdonald.
   He added: "This search was carried out as part of routine preventative Customs controls. The discovery was an enormous success and it is a great reflection on the hard work and dedication of uniformed officers.
   "We are very grateful for the assistance of the police divers."
 


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Subject:  Drug_Seizures; Cocaine; Yugoslavian_Albanian_13Apr97_Police seize more cocaine in Croatian port.
Status: RO

		   Police seize more cocaine in Croatian port

RTna 4/13/97 9:32 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    ZAGREB, Croatia (Reuter) - Police and customs in the Adriatic port of Rijeka Sunday confiscated 85 pounds of cocaine a day after they made the largest-ever drug seizure in Croatia, state television reported.
     The cocaine, hidden in a container, was discovered by a police dog.
     Police Saturday found 330 pounds of cocaine at the port. The two seizures were worth $10 million, the television report said.
     A police spokesman in Rijeka said they were continuing the search.
     The cocaine was believed to have come from Ecuador and to be destined for Western European markets.
  REUTER


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Subject:  OLA_LA_ML_13Apr97_Report: France to Try Noriega.
Status: RO

			 Report: France to Try Noriega

APO  4/13/97 12:13 AM 


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
  
   PARIS (AP) -- France plans to bring former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to trial on charges he laundered drug money in French banks and real estate, a newspaper reported Saturday.
   Noriega, who is serving a 40-year sentence in Miami for protecting U.S.-bound cocaine shipments through Panama, is to be tried in absentia for allegedly investing $25 million of illegal funds in France, Le Monde said. The daily newspaper did not give a date for the trial.
   It said French authorities, cooperating with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, have traced money Noriega allegedly obtained from the Colombian Medellin drugs cartel into three major French banks.
   The money was deposited in Banque Nationale de Paris, Credit Industriel et Commercial and Credit Lyonnais accounts by Noriega's wife, his two daughters and the Panamanian ambassadors to France and Britain, the newspaper said.
   Le Monde said the Noriega family also invested in three apartments in Paris, including one that reportedly cost $2.6 million.
   French authorities placed Noriega under formal investigation in 1995. Earlier this month, prosecutors filed their final report, Le Monde said.
   Noriega's French lawyer, Olivier Metzner, told Le Monde that Noriega will argue the money came from the CIA and the sale of personal assets.
   Noriega was on the CIA payroll in the 1980s.
   The former general was the de facto ruler of Panama from 1981 until he was deposed during a U.S. invasion at the end of 1989. He went into hiding but surrendered in January 1990.
   He is the only foreign leader ever captured and brought to the United States for trial. He was convicted in 1992 and serves his sentence at a prison southwest of Miami.
   Noriega's lawyers have asked the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to grant the deposed Panamanian leader a new trial.
   


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Subject:  LA_12Apr97_EU, U.S. Reach Deal on Cuba Trade.
Status: RO

		   EU, U.S. Reach Deal on Cuba Trade

APO  4/12/97 8:49 AM  


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By GEORGE GEDDA
 Associated Press Writer
   WASHINGTON (AP) -- After more than a year of transatlantic bickering, the United States and the European Union appear on their way to a compromise in their dispute over U.S. sanctions against Cuba.
   And Canada, whose relations with the United States have been strained by the sanctions issue, says it also wants to be included in any settlement.
   The EU agreed Friday to suspend temporarily a complaint filed before the World Trade Organization that the sanctions violate international trade rules. The WTO had been due to take up the issue on Monday.
   At issue is the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, which seeks to punish foreign companies that invest in property confiscated from Americans after the 1959 communist revolution in Cuba.
   The Europeans maintained that the legislation was a violation of WTO rules governing international trade. The United States contended that the legislation related to a foreign policy dispute with Cuba and was outside the WTO's purview.
   In announcing the agreement, Undersecretary of Commerce Stuart Eizenstat said the United States and the EU had pledged to "develop disciplines" to deter investments in expropriated property.
   Eizenstat said the goal is to develop standards for dealing with the property rights issue worldwide, not just in Cuba.
   For its part, the United States pledged to support the Europeans in trying to persuade Congress to eliminate a provision of Helms-Burton that denies U.S. visas to executives of corporations that have invested in expropriated property.
   In Brussels, Belgium, EU Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan emphasized the preliminary nature of Friday's agreement. He said the European Union reserves its right to reinstate its complaint before the WTO if there is no final resolution.
   Canadian Trade Minister Art Eggleton said in Ottawa that the deal must treat all countries that do business in Cuba equally. "We will insist that it apply to Canada or to any other country and I think the way the law's written it would have to, anyway," he said.
   Several Canadian business executives are among those who have been barred from the United States under the Helms-Burton Act.
   Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Western Hemisphere affairs, said the agreement could break new ground in international property rights protection.
   "If successful, these discussions will ensure that rules against trafficking in stolen property will become the international norm," he said.
   However, Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., co-author of the Helms-Burton law with Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., said only an act of Congress could change its provisions. Burton and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., a Cuban-American, said in a joint statement efforts by the EU or the Clinton administration to alter the law in any way "would be met with stiff resistance by the Congress."
   An effort by the WTO to impose penalties or sanctions on the United States because of the law would also meet with "great resistance," the two lawmakers said. "This may include the strong possibility that the Congress will move to remove the United States from the WTO," they said.
   Francisco J. Hernandez, president of the anti-Castro Cuban-American National Foundation, welcomed the EU decision to suspend its case against the United States before the WTO.
   But Hernandez said the foundation's support for Helms-Burton remains unwavering. It said its allies in Congress have indicated "they are not about to trade a concrete enforcement mechanism in Helms-Burton for vague assurances or promises from Europe to do something about their trade with Castro."
   


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Subject:  LA_12Apr97_Mexico unveils record funding to fight crime wave.
Status: RO

	   Mexico unveils record funding to fight crime wave

RTna 4/12/97 4:48 AM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    MEXICO CITY (Reuter) - Mexico unveiled a plan on Friday to raise spending for fighting crime to a record $300 million, saying eight of every 10 Mexicans were at risk.
     In the midst of a crime wave that soared when Mexico's economy plunged into crisis in 1995, Interior Minister Emilio Chauyffet said the anti-crime budget had been raised to four times as much as the total amount spent in the previous seven years.
     Chauyffet admitted one of the main causes of the national affliction -- one of the most pressing concerns of most citizens -- was the "chronic insufficiency of financial support" to crime fighters in Mexico's 32 states.
     President Ernesto Zedillo said during a ceremony to announce the new funding that the problem was compounded by "years of inadequate laws, bogged-down institutions, scarce resources and zero coordination between the different levels of government."
     According to official figures, between 1980 and 1994 reports of common crime such as robbery and murder doubled, while federal crimes such as drug trafficking and illegal arms possession quadrupled.
     Since 1994, crime has turned into a virtual epidemic, with kidnappings, bank robberies, violent theft and petty crime exacerbated by an economic crisis that for at least a year threw more than a million people out of work.
     The government has sought to tackle the problem by increasing the army's role in police work, retraining police officers, and firing thousands of corrupt agents. The economy is also showing the first signs of recovery.
  REUTER


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Subject:  LA_12Apr97_Zedillo urged to scrap Mexico's main anti-drug unit.
Status: RO

	  Zedillo urged to scrap Mexico's main anti-drug unit

RTw  4/12/97 2:19 AM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    By Rene Villegas
     MEXICO CITY, April 11 (Reuter) - A task force of legal experts on Friday urged President Ernesto Zedillo to immediately scrap Mexico's main anti-drug unit, saying it was corrupt and overrun by organised crime.
     To replace the ill-starred National Institute for Combatting Drugs (INCD), they recommended the setting up of a "Special Prosecutors Office for Crimes against Health," with rigorous entry tests, higher salaries and other benefits to avoid the temptation to accept pay-offs.
     The INCD, set up by former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari in 1991, suffered the worst setback of its history this year when Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, appointed in December to head it, was arrested on drug corruption charges.
     His arrest threw a pall over joint anti-narcotics efforts between Mexico and the United States, and Mexico is still struggling to regain credibility.
     The recommendations of the 12 experts, members of a task force set up in February to reform the Attorney General's Office, were detailed in a blunt statement issued by Zedillo's office.
     "The Task Force presented for the consideration of the president of the republic the following urgent transition measures: That as soon as possible the National Institute for Combatting Drugs be scrapped," the statement said.
     The move, it said, was due to the advanced deterioration of the institution, including "documented corruption...the deplorable infiltration of organised crime...as well as the lack of efficiency it has shown in dismantling drug cartels."
     Gen. Gutierrez Rebollo, currently in a maximum-security jail outside Mexico City awaiting trial, was the first army official to head the INCD. He was considered the equivalent of the U.S. anti-drug czar in the White House.
     He denies the allegations.
     On Friday, Mexican authorities issued two new charges against him, for stockpiling weapons and undue use of public office.
     His replacement at the INCD, Mariano Herran, told a news conference authorities were also probing deeper into his alleged links with Juarez Cartel leader Amado Carillo Fuentes, so-called "Lord of the Skies" for the large air shipments of cocaine he has flown into Mexico bound for the United States.
  REUTER


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Subject:  LA_12Apr97_Ex-Mexico Drug Czar Accused.
Status: RO

			  Ex-Mexico Drug Czar Accused

APO  4/12/97 12:47 AM 


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By BILL CORMIER
 Associated Press Writer
   MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexico's former drug czar, arrested in February on suspicion of being in the pay of a powerful druglord, was accused by his successor Friday of possessing illegal firearms.
   The accusations against Army Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo and a former aide were announced by Mariano Herran Salvatti, the general's successor at the National Institute for the Combat of Drugs.
   Herran said authorities seized 45 weapons including four machine guns, one submachine gun, 19 handguns, a shotgun, 15 carbines, other rifles and a large amount of ammunition.
   The weapons were found Feb. 19 in one of the offices occupied by a former aide at the drug-fighting institute, Herran said.
   Herran claimed investigators traced the weapons back to confiscations made in the western state of Jalisco when Gen. Gutierrez was commander of the 5th Military Region there.
   He accused the general of failing to inform the National Defense Secretariat of the weapons seizures and of having them shipped to the capital for his personal use when he assumed command of the institute.
   A Gutierrez aide, Capt. Javier Garcia, is accused of following his boss's orders to have the weapons moved to Mexico City from Guadalajara, capital of Jalisco state.
   Herran said the investigation against Gutierrez was not over. The former drug czar was arrested just 10 weeks into his stint at the helm of Mexico's top drug-fighting agency, accused of protecting a reputed Mexican cocaine smuggler, Amado Carrillo Fuentes.
   Carrillo Fuentes remains at large. He is under indictment in Florida and Texas for his alleged activities as head of the Juarez drug cartel.
   Held in a high-security prison west of Mexico City, Gutierrez has vehemently proclaimed his innocence.
   Until the Gutierrez arrest, Mexico was a shoo-in for U.S. recertification as a fully cooperating drug-fighting ally. President Clinton went ahead and recertified Mexico's it, but only over bitter protest in the House.
   U.S. authorities estimate that as much as 70 percent of all South American cocaine bound for U.S. markets is smuggled through Mexico, which also produces half of the marijuana used in the United States.
   


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Subject:  OLA_LA_ML_12Apr97_Chile arrests two more in drug laundering scandal.
Status: RO

	   Chile arrests two more in drug laundering scandal

RTw  4/12/97 12:40 AM 


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    SANTIAGO, April 11 (Reuter) - Chilean police arrested two more people on Friday in the country's biggest drug scandal, while officials called for greater powers to investigate narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
     Police have arrested 15 people and frozen bank accounts containing $100 million this week after breaking the largest money laundering ring discovered in Chilean history.
     "Banks and financial institutions need to ... report suspicious operations which cross their desks and which they are aware of, even though we are not carrying out any investigation," Clara Sczaranski of the State Defence Council told reporters.
     Investigations showed the group, led by Chilean Carlos Mario Silva, smuggled cocaine from Peru, Bolivia and Colombia through the Amazon to a port in Brazil for shipping to Antwerp, Belgium. Each shipment contained at least several hundred pounds (kg) of cocaine.
     Police chief Nelson Mery called on the government to extend the 20-day time limit for wiretapping during an investigation for an additional 20 days.
     "I think the law should be more generous and extend these time limits," Mery told reporters after a meeting of the National Committee of Narcotics Control.
     He said authorities were still investigating whether the gang received protection from police officers.
     Chile has been congratulated by U.S. drug chief Gen. Barry McCaffrey over the arrests, newspaper La Tercera reported.
     McCaffrey told Deputy Interior Minister Belisario Velasco at a meeting in Washington that the operation owed part of its success to Chile's modern drugs legislation, it said.
     The case will be the first to be tried under Chile's new anti-narcotics law that gives courts wide powers to punish criminals for money laundering.
  REUTER


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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_Cannabis_11Apr97_Morocco arrests 18,000 drug traffickers in 1996.
Status: RO

		Morocco arrests 18,000 drug traffickers in 1996

RTw  4/11/97 7:34 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    RABAT, April 11 (Reuter) - Moroccco seized 103 tonnes of cannabis bound for Europe in 1996 and arrested more than 18,000 drug traffickers, including 342 foreigners, the official MAP news agency said on Friday.
     Interior Minister Driss Basri, who was addressing a meeting of Western Mediterranean interior ministers in Paris, was quoted by MAP as saying: "The nation-wide campaign against drug trafficking launched by Morocco in 1996 led to the seizure of 103 tonnes of cannabis and 91 kg (200 lbs) of cocaine."
     The drugs were destined for the European market, MAP said.
     Security forces also arrested 18,794 people involved in drug smuggling, including 342 foreigners, most of them Europeans, MAP quoted Basri as saying.
     The meeting was attended by ministers of Algeria, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Tunisia and Morocco, the agency said.
     "It is an occasion today, to take measures to overcome the obstacles which hamper an efficient multilateral cooperation to combat the drug trafficking, organised crime and clandestine immigration networks in our region," Basri told the meeting.
     The Moroccan minister is expected to hold a news conference in Paris on the issue on Friday, officials said.
     Earlier, Prime Minister Abdellatif Filali announced a government plan to invest 1.5 billion dirhams ($160 million) in 1997/98 to upgrade infrastructure in the Moroccan northern provinces to eradicate drug trafficking and halt clandestine immigration to Europe.
     Filali said, the government's long term plan, called "the long-lasting integrated development programme for the northern provinces," requires a total investment of 15.4 billion dirhams.
     The authorities aim to substitute cannabis cultivation with fruit and other crops to improve the country's image abroad and attract foreign investments to the region.
     ($1- 9.4 dirham


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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_13Apr97_Iran executes 13 for drug smuggling, killing police.
Status: RO

	  Iran executes 13 for drug smuggling, killing police

RTna 4/13/97 5:04 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Reuter) - Iran has executed 13 people who were convicted of drug smuggling and killing several police agents during clashes, an Iranian newspaper said Sunday.
     The men were executed in seven cities in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, which lies on the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, the daily Iran said. It did not say when the executions, usually carried out by hanging, took place.
     The official Iranian news agency IRNA said agents Sunday confiscated 1,540 lbs. of opium from smugglers in an armed encounter in the same province.
     According to Iranian law, possession of 11 lbs. of opium or just over an ounce of heroin is punishable by death. More than 1,000 people have been executed under the law since it took effect in 1989.
     Iran is a key transit route for drugs, mostly opium from which heroin is made, which reach Europe via Turkey from Afghanistan and Pakistan -- the "Golden Crescent."
  REUTER


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Subject:  Heroin_Drug_Traffic_12Apr97_BRF--Cambodia-Drugs.
Status: RO

			  BRF--Cambodia-Drugs

APn  4/12/97 7:05 PM  


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
  
   PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- Police arrested the wife of a high-ranking military officer after finding nearly 10 pounds of heroin worth $1.2 million in her home.
   The woman was arrested Friday night after a yearlong investigation, Heng Pao, chief of the municipal anti-drug police, said Saturday. Her name was not released.
   "The woman reported that she got the heroin from a military general who had long been involved in the drug business," Heng Pao said. He said the heroin had been smuggled into Cambodia from Thailand.
   Although Cambodia is not a heroin producer, the United States has labeled it as a major transit point for drug shipments heading to other countries, due in part to general lawlessness following two decades of civil war.
   International narcotics agents have long suspected official complicity in Cambodia's drug trade.
   


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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_Cannabis_12Apr97_Trois tonnes de cannabis saisies dans un semi-remorque.
Status: RO

	 Trois tonnes de cannabis saisies dans un semi-remorque

FAP  4/12/97 1:53 PM  


Copyright 1997 L'Associated Press.


   
   MONTPELLIER (AP) -- Trois tonnes de cannabis ont ete saisies vendredi dans un entrepot de la region parisienne par les policiers de l'Office central de repression du trafic illicite de stupefiants (OCRTIS), rapporte samedi le quotidien regional le "Midi Libre".
   Les policiers francais auraient ete prevenus par leurs homologues marocains de la presence de la drogue dans un camion. Le vehicule a ete discretement pris en filature a son debarquement du car-ferry "Le Marrakech" dans le port de Sete (Herault) en milieu de semaine.
   Selon le "Midi Libre" l'operation a permis d'interpeller les convoyeurs mais egalement les complices charges de receptionner la drogue. 


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Subject:  UK_Press_Drug_Seizures_12Apr97_MAN ACCUSED OF #664,000 CANNABIS SMUGGLING CHARGE.
Status: RO

	   MAN ACCUSED OF #664,000 CANNABIS SMUGGLING CHARGE

PA   4/12/97 1:05 PM  


Copyright 1997 PA News.  Copying, storing, redistribution, retransmission, publication, transfer or commerical exploitation of this information is expressly forbidden.
  

  By Jonathan Brown, PA News
   A man was today charged with attempting to smuggle cannabis resin worth
 664,000 into Britain, Customs and Excise officials said.
   William Crossan, 57, from Northwood, Middlesex, was arrested at Plymouth Ferryport on Friday after officers with sniffer dogs allegedly found a haul weighing 200kg.
   Mr Crossan, a painter and decorator, was returning from Santander in northern Spain aboard the Brittany Ferries ship the Val de Loire.
   He will appear before Plymouth magistrates on Monday.
 


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Subject:  Cannabis_11Apr97_FRC Speaks Out Against Drug Legalization and ....
Status: RO

		FRC Speaks Out Against Drug Legalization and ...

PR   4/11/97 8:00 PM  

                   FRC Speaks Out Against Drug Legalization
                   and Needle Exchange at Swiss Conference

    WASHINGTON, April 11 /PRNewswire/ -- "As our nation flirts with the idea of medical marijuana and toys with failed needle exchange programs, it is clear that the U.S. is following the Swiss example on drug policy," Family Research Council's Senior Policy Analyst Robert Maginnis said Friday.  "That's why it's so appropriate that the Second International Symposium Against Drugs takes place in the heart of drug policy 'experimentation' in Switzerland."
    On April 12-13, Maginnis will discuss the AIDS crisis and the drug legalization movement at an international symposium held in Stadtsaal Zofingen and hosted by AIDS Information Switzerland and Swiss Physicians Against Drugs. Lawmakers and activists will espouse policy solutions and profile the impact of drug addiction and its link with the spread of the virus that causes AIDS.
    Also attending the symposium will be U.S. Representative J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Daniel Schecter, Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. State Department.  Participants will include experts from many nations and 26 non-government AIDS and drug prevention organizations.
    Maginnis said: "Switzerland has just completed a multi-year heroin give-away experiment.  Although the Swiss have declared their quasi-legalization 'experiment' successful, other nations are very skeptical. This fall the Swiss people will decide whether to endorse or put an end to drug legalization.
    "The medicalization of illicit drugs like marijuana and heroin (via needle exchanges) are popular ideas fueled by those advocating drug legalization. These ideas are clear precursors for 'experiments' like the one recently completed in Switzerland.  How far behind the 'successful' Swiss 'experiment' is America?"
     During his visit to Switzerland, Maginnis will be filming a video which will be used by the Swiss organization, "Youth Without Drugs," to educate voters and Swiss parliamentarians on the consequences of drug legalization.

SOURCE  Family Research Council
    -0-                             04/11/97
    /EDITORS' ADVISORY: Maginnis will be available for interviews upon his return April 17.  Contact the FRC press office to arrange interviews./
    /CONTACT:  Kristi S. Hamrick, or, for radio, Kristin Hansen, both of the Family Research Council, 202-393-2100/

CO:  Family Research Council ST:  District of Columbia IN: SU:





Copyright 1997 PR Newswire.  All rights reserved


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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_Cannabis_11Apr97_French police make major drug haul.
Status: RO

		   French police make major drug haul

RTna 4/11/97 7:50 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    PARIS (Reuter) - French police seized three tonnes of Morocco cannabis Friday and arrested four men, Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre announced.
     Debre told a news conference the drugs, valued at $7.7 million), were tracked from Tangiers to France in a joint operation with Moroccan police and seized in the Alpine Savoie region. Those detained were French and Moroccan.
  REUTER


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Subject:  OLA_LA_ML_12Apr97_Le general Noriega aurait blanchi en France de l'argen....
Status: RO

	 Le general Noriega aurait blanchi en France de l'argen....
FAP  4/12/97 9:54 PM  


Copyright 1997 L'Associated Press.


   
   PARIS (AP) -- L'ancien homme fort du Panama, le general Manuel Noriega, soupconne d'avoir blanchi sur le territoire francais de l'argent de la drogue du cartel colombien de Medellin, pourrait etre juge "par defaut" par le tribunal correctionnel de Paris, affirme Le Monde dans son edition date de dimanche/lundi.
   Selon le quotidien, l'ancien dicateur panameen, qui purge actuellement une peine de 40 ans de prison dans un penitencier de Miami, en Floride, pour trafic de stupefiants, serait implique dans une affaire de recyclage d'argent sale, depose sur des comptes ouverts a la BNP, au CIC, au Credit Lyonnais et au Banco do Brazil, et estime a 25 millions de dollars (environ 130 millions de FF).
   Le resultat de l'enquete, menee par le juge parisien Parisien Fievet a la suite de l'ouverture d'une information judiciaire en decembre 1989, a ete transmis au parquet de Paris le 2 avril.
   Le Monde precise que tous les avoirs du general Noriega, soit plusieurs dizaines de millions de FF, ont ete geles par le juge. Celui-ci a egalement decouvert que la famille Noriega avait investi dans l'achat de trois appartements dans les quarties chics de Paris: quai d'Orsay (15 millions de FF), quai de Grenelle et rue de l'Universite. 


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Subject:  Cannabis; Central_Asian_Drugs_Crime; Drug_Trafficking_14Apr97_Taliban Stamping Out Hashish.
Status: RO

			  Taliban Stamping Out Hashish

APO  4/14/97 9:09 AM  


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By GRETCHEN PETERS
 Associated Press Writer
   ARGHANDAB, Afghanistan (AP) -- Talk about cold turkey.
   The Taliban religious army, known for its strict interpretation of Islamic law and its stiff punishments for those who break it, has established its own three-step program for hashish smokers:
   --Beat them until they confess who their dealer is.
   --Give them an automatic jail term.
   --Dunk them in an ice-water bath for three excruciating hours a day until their habit is broken.
   In a country where hashish use has long been epidemic, with young men smoking up to 20 drug-laced cigarettes a day, the approach is remarkably effective.
   Market sellers in nearby Kandahar, the southern city where the Taliban movement began nearly three years ago, said they no longer sell the cannabis-based drug.
   One convicted user said he had completely sworn off the stuff. "When they put me in that cold water, I forget all about hashish," said Bakht Mohammed.
   The Taliban's tough approach has some international organizations wondering why it has not mounted an equally enthusiastic campaign against the production of opium, which is used to make heroin sold in Western nations.
   The Taliban controls southern Afghanistan, where most of the country's 2,300 tons of opium is produced each year. According to the U.N. Drug Control program, Afghanistan now rivals Burma as the world's largest opium producer.
   Sitting in his dark shoe box of an office, Abdul Rashid, who heads the anti-drug effort in Kandahar, says he lacks the resources to take on the opium trade. The Taliban administration has given him 10 men and a single rusty motorbike to chase smugglers along the bumpy, dirt roads.
   The smugglers they do catch generally get one year in jail and have their goods confiscated.
   Rashid also fears trouble from farmers, if anyone tried to ban cultivation of the blood-red poppy that opium comes from.
   "We should not forget about the people -- if they need money it is unfair to stop them from growing it," he said.
   Poppies sell for five times the price of other crops, including wheat, cucumber and grapes. What's more, local traders pay in advance, giving impoverished farmers much needed cash to buy seeds and fertilizer.
   One poppy farmer, Wali Jan, said he earns the equivalent of $1,300 a year from his crop -- a huge sum in a country where a lawyer might make $100 a year. With 14 mouths to feed in his family, Jan calls it a matter of survival.
   "How can I feed them otherwise?" he said.
   When the Taliban took control of the area nearly three years ago, some foreign governments hoped their strict version of Islamic life would prompt them to outlaw poppy production.
   Instead, the trade in opium, which unlike hashish is an item for export to the West rather than local consumption, has flourished.
   The farmers say the local mullahs, or clerics who administer the area, have not told them to stop growing poppies, and some even charge them the 10 percent tax levied for agricultural products.
   With its well-known talent for inspiring fear of punishment, the Taliban would only have to ban poppy cultivation for it to stop, farmers say.
   "No one would dare oppose the Taliban," said Abdul Parveen as he tilled his poppy plants on small plot of land.
   However, Kandahar's governor, Mohammed Hassan Rehman, insists the Taliban is "very much interested in substituting this crop with another."
   But in the lush valley of Arghandab, less than six miles from Kandahar, fields of poppies stretch for miles.
   Smuggled to small laboratories tucked away in the rugged tribal region along the border with Pakistan, the opium is processed into heroin and transported by truck south to Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast or west through neighboring Iran, international drug enforcement agencies say.
   The United Nations says most of it eventually ends up in Europe and the United States.
   


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Subject:  Asian_Organised_Crime; Heroin; Drug_Trafficking_14Apr97 VIETNAM:  ? TRIAL OF YEAR' SET TO EXPOSE DRUG RING'S POWERFUL LINKS.
Status: RO

14Apr97 VIETNAM:  `TRIAL OF YEAR' SET TO EXPOSE DRUG RING'S POWERFUL LINKS.
By GREG TORODE in Hanoi.
It is set to be Hanoi's trial of the year, involving about 40 people accused of running Vietnam's biggest drug-smuggling syndicate linked to one of its most powerful institutions - the Interior Ministry.
Announcing the trial for May 2, Hanoi police revealed the syndicate might have been responsible for smuggling more than 140 kilograms of heroin and even more opium over several years.
With the help of border guards and police in Hanoi and the northwestern mountains, the group moved heroin from Thailand via Laos to Hanoi and beyond, moving car loads of the drug down through the historic Dien Bien Phu valley.
Two police drivers, Dung Duy Loc and Tam Dung Minh, used official vehicles to deliver heroin to a senior colleague, Captain Vu Xuan Truong, sources said.
They were arrested this month after reports they twice delivered up to 6 kg of high-grade heroin from the border province of Lai Chau to Truong's Hanoi home. Truong was arrested last year in the first major scandal of its kind to rock the omnipresent Interior Ministry, which remains one of the country's most secretive institutions.
Truong had worked in Lai Chau - the closest point in Vietnam to the Golden Triangle - before promotion to a state position in an anti-drug and "social evils" unit.
He was allegedly arrested at one of his three Hanoi villas with more than 5 kg of heroin and nearly $100,000 in cash after a "gallows confession" from a convicted Laotian drug dealer. The Laotian remains in solitary confinement, well away from Truong.
He named the captain in a plea for mercy before a firing squad and managed to bring the issue to the office of President Le Duc Anh, who put Hanoi's municipal police in charge of the probe.
Truong's arrest led to the arrest of three other senior Interior Ministry officials - including Lieutenant-Colonel Vu Ban, head of the economic section of the Ministry's Investigation Police. The seniority of some of the accused has led Hanoi People's Court Judge Dang Minh Ngoc to call for the most thorough investigation possible.
"Almost all of the accused in this case are experienced officials, so the investigators cannot avoid facing their tricks during confessions to reduce their guilt," he said.
The arrests come amid growing community pressure for the Communist Party and Government to clean up the streets of Hanoi, where high-grade heroin is common. 
EAST ASIA 
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST 14/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_14Apr97 CZECH REPUBLIC: CZECH-PARAGUAYAN TRADE AGREEMENT SIGNED.
Status: RO

14Apr97 CZECH REPUBLIC: CZECH-PARAGUAYAN TRADE AGREEMENT SIGNED.
Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1133 gmt 12 Apr 97
Text of report by the Czech news agency CTK
Prague, 12th April: Czech Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec met his Paraguayan counterpart Ruben [Melgarejo] Lanzoni today to discuss the state of mutual trade and its expansion.
Earlier [Melgarejo] Lanzoni, who arrived on a one-day visit today as the first member of the Paraguayan government to visit the Czech Republic, signed a Czech-Paraguayan trade agreement at the Czech Industry and Trade Ministry.
Zieleniec told journalists after the meeting that both countries were interested in expanding trade which had not been very intensive so far. For example, the Skoda Plzen engineering company is preparing big projects in Paraguay concerning the construction of assembly plants for small cars, sugar plants or city transport systems, Zieleniec said.
The two politicians agreed that their countries would negotiate an agreement on mutual support and protection of investment and would sign an agreement on the abolition of visa requirements at least for diplomats and businessmen.
The problem of drug smuggling via Paraguay was also discussed. [Melgarejo] Lanzoni made assurances that his government intended to put an end to the picture of Paraguay as a country of the transit of Bolivian cocaine.
"We have approved a law which prevents money laundering and enables fighting drug trafficking within our constitutional system," Lanzoni said. He added that in solving the problem Paraguay was intensively cooperating with the Organization of American States as it believed that the problem should be dealt with on the international level.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: CENTRAL EUROPE & BALKANS 14/4/97 



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Subject:  Cannabis_13Apr97 UK:  LETTER TO THE EDITOR - THE DANGER OF CANNABIS.
Status: RO

13Apr97 UK:  LETTER TO THE EDITOR - THE DANGER OF CANNABIS.
Your new supplement, Rx, is both informative and entertaining. I do, however, have some reservations on the article "Out of the closet" (April 6). While I can understand the plea for the availability of cannabis for those with severe illness, the liberalisation of this drug could only add to the crisis resulting from drugs misuse.
The fact that cannabis is described as a "soft drug" implies that it is relatively harmless. This is, however, far from reality.
Evidence is growing concerning psychiatric disturbance associated with long-term use of cannabis. This condition is often described as drug-induced psychosis, where symptoms are very similar to schizophrenic illness. Acute admissions to psychiatric units show that as many as 30 per cent have a history of abusing cannabis.
Cannabis is psychoactive agent and its most active component is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is fat-soluble and can therefore act directly in cell cytoplasm, interfering with a number of metabolic processes.
Drugs misuse is a major threat to society, and current surveys show that just over half of youngsters in the 14-16 age group have tried drugs. Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug, and while there is no evidence to confirm progression hypothesis, those who have taken cannabis are frequently persuaded to try the more dangerous compounds, such as Ecstasy and LSD.
(Dr) Tony Blowers
Chairman, Surrey Drug
Action Team
Farnham
Surrey.
(c) Telegraph Group Limited, London, 1997. 
UNITED KINGDOM 
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 13/4/97 P32 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_14Apr97 COLOMBIA:  COURT ANNULS DRUG TRAFFICKER'S SENTENCE, ORDERS RETRIAL.
Status: RO

14Apr97 COLOMBIA:  COURT ANNULS DRUG TRAFFICKER'S SENTENCE, ORDERS RETRIAL.
Source: `El Tiempo' (Internet version), Bogota, in Spanish 11 Apr 97
Text of report by Colombian newspaper `El Tiempo' on 11th April
Jorge Eliecer Rodriguez Orejuela, "Canengo", the youngest of the Cali Cartel mafia clan, must stand trial once again. This was decided by the [Sole] National Tribunal, which annulled the prison sentence of 15 years and six months imposed on Rodriguez six months ago by a faceless judge in the capital of Valle del Cauca.
In the tribunal's opinion, Cali's regional courts made errors, as a result of which "Canengo" must again stand trial based on the initial charges levelled against him.
Rodriguez was sentenced for sending two shipments of cocaine to the United States in 1990 and 1995. He confessed to a faceless judge that he had shipped 180 kg of the drug.
"Canengo" accepted a suspended sentence [Spanish: sentencia anticipada] and was convicted for the crimes of drug trafficking, illicit enrichment and forging of public documents.
At present Rodriguez is serving his sentence in the maximum security cell at La Picota prison in Bogota. He has been under arrest since 3rd March 1995, when Search Bloc agents seized him in Cali while he was on the way to consult a fortune teller.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: LATIN AMERICA 14/4/97 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_12Apr97 COLOMBIA:  POLICE ARREST PERUVIAN, ITALIAN ON CHARGES OF DRUG TRAFFICKING.
Status: RO

12Apr97 COLOMBIA:  POLICE ARREST PERUVIAN, ITALIAN ON CHARGES OF DRUG TRAFFICKING.
Source: Inravision TV1, Bogota, in Spanish 0000 gmt 11 Apr 97, monitored from live relay by Sistema Unido de Retransmision, Lima
Excerpts from report by Colombian TV on 10th April
Generals Rosso Serrano [director of National Police] and [Luis Enrique] Montenegro [director of the Administrative Department of Security, DAS] today dealt foreign criminals who take refuge in Colombia another harsh blow. The police captured a Peruvian drug lord and detained an Italian citizen on heroin-trafficking charges.
Carlos Enrique Cardenas Guzman, alias Mosquito, is known in Peru as the new drug boss. According to the authorities, he supplies coca paste to the northern Valle Cartel in Colombia and other drug traffickers in Brazil. In Peru, four outstanding warrants and an Interpol request are pending for his arrest. He was captured in northern Santa Fe de Bogota today...
In Cartagena, the DAS captured Italian citizen Nirta Domenico, whose extradition has been requested by his country. In Italy, a warrant has been issued for his arrest for heroin trafficking...
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: LATIN AMERICA 12/4/97 



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Subject:  ML_12Apr97 SLOVAKIA:  NARODNA OBRODA - NEW LEGISLATION AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING.
Status: RO

12Apr97 SLOVAKIA:  NARODNA OBRODA - NEW LEGISLATION AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING.
by Magdalena Sedlackova
Bratislava, April 12, (SLOVAKIA) - In the first quarter of 1997, the Slovak financial police office (UFP) has investigated 51 alleged white collar crimes. The estimated damage is about eight billion Sk. Out of 27 white collar crimes which the UFP has handed over to pertinent investigation authorities, legal steps are being taken against 13 cases. These were some of the UFP activities in the first quarter of 1997 dealt by a two-day national meeting that ended on Friday April 11. The meeting was also aimed at determining further tasks in disclosing and documenting serious organized white collar crimes.
A department of financial intelligence service has been operating within the UFP since November 1996. The Slovak financial intelligence service became an observer in the Egmont Group, an international association of national financial intelligence units. The Egmont Group deals with issues related to money laundering and other suspicious bank operations. The Slovak financial intelligence service is applying for full membership in the Egmont Group.
According to Jan Jucha, Director of UFP, the establishment of the Slovak financial intelligence department has been in compliance with Council of Europe's recommendations for forming financial intelligence units for collecting, documenting, analyzing, and notification of suspicious bank operations.
In accordance with the bill on the fight against organized crime Coll. No. 249/1994, the financial intelligence department is preparing a comprehensive obligatory regulation that amends banks' obligation to notify the authorities about suspicious bank operations. Jucha emphasized that the new legislation is another legal step in the fight against money laundering.
SOURCE: Narodna Obroda, April 12, 1997, pg. 1,2. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
SLOVAK NEWS AGENCY -- TASR 12/4/97 



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Subject:  ML_14Apr97 SUISSE:  PEINES DIMINUEES DANS UNE AFFAIRE DE NARCODOLLARS A GENEVE.
Status: RO

14Apr97 SUISSE:  PEINES DIMINUEES DANS UNE AFFAIRE DE NARCODOLLARS A GENEVE.
La Cour correctionnelle de Geneve a condamne vendredi un avocat genevois a 15 mois de prison avec sursis et un homme d'affaires a 10 mois de prison avec sursis. Condamnes en 1994 dans l'affaire dite des narcodollars, ils etaient rejuges partiellement a la suite d'un arret du Tribunal federal (TF). En 1988, l'avocat et l'homme d'affaires, aujourd'hui ages respectivement de 42 et 72 ans, avaient aide des trafiquants americano-cubains, les freres Tico et Kenny Rodriguez, a recuperer 15,6 millions de francs provenant du trafic de drogues. Depose a Geneve et Lugano, cet argent avait ete sequestre par l'Office federal de la police (OFP), a la demande de la DEA, les services antidrogue americains. La somme sequestree avait ete debloquee grace a des faux contrats de pret, passes entre les trafiquants et des hommes de paille. Mandataire de ces derniers, l'avocat genevois avait touche 440.000 francs a titre d'honoraires. Lors du premier proces, il avait ete condamne a 18 mois d'emprisonnement avec sursis et l'homme d'
affaires a 12 mois de prison ferme. Les deux condamnes ont ete partiellement rejuges a la suite d'un arret du TF qui leur avait donne gain de cause sur un point. Les nouveaux jures ont egalement rendu un verdict favorable aux accuses. Ils ont estime que le fait d'utiliser un contrat falsifie ne constituait pas un faux dans les titres au sens de la loi. Ils ont en outre accorde des circonstances attenuantes aux deux hommes. Ce second proces a dure une seule journee. Le premier avait dure deux semaines. Initialement, l'affaire comptait trois accuses, dont un gerant de fortunes. Condamne a 15 mois avec sursis, celui-ci n'avait pas recouru contre son jugement. La loi sur le blanchissage n'etait pas encore entree en vigueur au moment des faits reproches aux accuses. En consequence, ils avaient ete condamnes pour infraction a la loi federale sur les stupefiants.
 
(c) 1997 L'AGEFI
Le Quotidien Suisse des Affaires et de la Finance. 
AGEFI (FRENCH LANGUAGE) 14/4/97 



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Subject:  Cyberbanking_ML_14Apr97 USA:  FUTUREBANKER - PAYMENTS - NEW FEDWIRE FORMAT ON SCHEDULE.
Status: RO

14Apr97 USA:  FUTUREBANKER - PAYMENTS - NEW FEDWIRE FORMAT ON SCHEDULE.
As the May 23 kickoff for "sends" approaches, whispers have been circulating that some big-if unnamed-banks will not meet the new FedWire Expanded Funds format compliance deadline, implying they will run afoul of the Money Laundering Act-also known as the Travel Rule-and begin the fall of civilization as we know it.
 
The facts suggest otherwise. Enforcement of the deadline was delayed until January 1, 1998 by the federal Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which makes May 23 merely the beginning of a six-month phase-in period instead of a drop-dead date."A lot of (the banks) won't be able to send on May 23, but none (of them) won't be able to send by the last business day of 1997," says Dara Hunt, svp of wholesale payment products at the New York Fed.
 
The Expanded Funds format is one of the banking success stories so rarely reported. In development since 1993 in cooperation with the American Bankers Association, it standardizes electronic payment formats and incorporates information that allows law enforcement agencies to track drug-related and other money laundering schemes which attempt to spirit money out of the country. Most banks use FedLine software developed by the Fed itself; the nation's big banks use private software sold by companies like Framingham, MA-based IntraNet, which has folded the format into its Money Transfer System, and Jersey City, NJ-based FundTech Corp.
 
Many banks will be ready for the May 23 "receives" date and have been working closely with the New York Fed to meet the deadline. IBJ Schroeder Bank's New York branch, for instance, has been running since last December, says vp Joseph Jacovina, and can now receive in the Expanded Funds format both through FedWire and CHIPS, though sends won't be allowed until the May 23 date. Jacovina says he expects to be able to do "sends" by around the fourth quarter of this year. "We had to dedicate a person on our staff for whatever time the Fed allowed us to sit here and run through their test scripts, and they were very, very, very extensive test scripts."
- reinbach
(c) American Banker 1997. 
BANKING/FINANCE 
AMERICAN BANKER 14/4/97 P18 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_ML_12Apr97 VENEZUELA:  VENEZUELA FIRMARA ACUERDO CON EEUU PARA EVITAR NARCOLAVADO.
Status: RO

12Apr97 VENEZUELA:  VENEZUELA FIRMARA ACUERDO CON EEUU PARA EVITAR NARCOLAVADO.
CARACAS, abr 12 (Reuter) - El gobierno venezolano espera suscribir un acuerdo de cooperacion con Estados Unidos para evitar que dinero proveniente del narcotrafico ingrese en su economia, dijo el sabado un portavoz oficial.
Carlos Tablante, presidente de la Comision Nacional Contra el Uso Ilicito de las Drogas indico que proximamente representantes del Centro de Investigacion Contra el Crimen Financiero (FINCEN), dependencia del departamento del Tesoro estadounidense, visitaran Venezuela para establecer las necesidades del pais en la lucha contra el narcolavado.
"Los funcionarios del FINCEN, que llegaran en los proximos 30 dias, van a conocer nuestras necesidades. En base a ellas se va a hacer un convenio de cooperacion que estara financiado por el sector privado y el propio FINCEN", dijo Tablante a la prensa.
"Ellos asesoraran a los organismos nacionales para crear una Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera", anadio.
Tablante indico que esta unidad permitira recabar informacion sobre transacciones hechas a traves de la banca, del mercado de capitales y de los casinos que "puedan ser sospechosas".
"Esta unidad permitira a Venezuela ingresar en las redes mundiales que se encargan de la comunicacion y coordinacion para el combate del delito de legitimacion de capitales vinculados al narcotrafico", anadio.
"La idea es evitar que los capitales sucios, vinculados al crimen y al narcotrafico invadan nuestra economia. Queremos evitar que seamos una lavanderia, una secadora de dinero ilicito", senalo. REUTER/ AIM CV 1951 GMT.
(c) Reuters Limited 1997. 
REUTER NEWS SERVICE



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Subject:  Cyberbanking_ML_12Apr97 OSTERREICH: TELEBANKING BRINGT EINSPARUNGEN FUR INTERNET IST SICHERHEIT WICHTIG.
Status: RO

12Apr97 OSTERREICH: TELEBANKING BRINGT EINSPARUNGEN FUR INTERNET IST SICHERHEIT WICHTIG.
Private profitieren beim Telebanking durch die Unabhangigkeit von den Offnungszeiten der Filialen.
 
WIEN (per). Telebanking bringt Firmenkunden enorme Einsparungen bei den Transaktionskosten. Private profitieren durch die Unabhangigkeit von Filial-Offnungszeiten. Wann sich der virtuelle Zahlungsverkehr auch im Internet durchsetzen wird, hangt primar von den Sicherheitsstandards ab, waren sich Banken-Experten bei einer "Presse"-Diskussion auf der am Freitag zu Ende gegangenen ifabo einig. "Wir investieren Millionen in Verschlusselungsprogramme, um den Kunden Sicherheit zu bieten", sagte Julius Schauerhuber von Raiffeisen. Als Mathematiker und Informatiker befurchtet er jedoch: "Hacker werden immer Schlupflocher finden." Eine Moglichkeit, Transaktionen zu schutzen, sei die elektronische Unterschrift, erklarte Markus Seyffertitz (Bank Austria). Allerdings stellen die Kosten fur die dafur benotigte Chipkarte plus zusatzlicher Hardware ein Problem dar. Der "Multi-Bank Standard", auf den sich die heimischen Banken nach acht Jahren Telebanking im vergangenen Jahr geeinigt haben, sei nur ein Anfang. Endgultig durc
hsetzen werde sich das Internet-Banking durch den elektronischen Handel im Netz, meinen die Experten. Bis zum Vorjahr seien es in erster Linie Firmenkunden gewesen, die sich fur den virtuellen Zahlungsverkehr interessiert haben. Grund: Sie konnen bis zu vier Schilling pro Transaktion einsparen. Die Masse der Privatkunden konne nur uber offentliche Netze wie das Internet serviciert werden, glaubt Seyffertitz. Dort liegen auch die grosen Wachstumsraten: "Wir rechnen noch heuer mit signifikanten Zuwachsen", sagte Schauerhuber. Zu Bedenken gab er, das grose Kundenkreise durch den erforderlichen "hohen Security-Grad" des Systems gar nicht sofort bedient werden konnten. Die Bawag tragt den neuen Kundenwunschen mit der filiallosen easybank Rechnung. Josef Schwarzecker: "Wir verstehen uns als Schrittmacher in Osterreich." Mit Internet-Polizzen, Internet-Kredit und direktem Draht zu Discount-Brokern sei man Branchenprimus. Durchwegs alle Banken bieten im Rahmen des Telebanking derzeit die Abwicklung des Inlandszahlun
gsverkehrs und eine online Kontostandsabfrage. Wie sich Telebanking auf die Personalsituation und das Filialnetz auswirken wird, bleibt abzuwarten. Seyffertitz: "Das wir in bestimmten Gebieten zu viele Geschaftsstellen haben, ist ja kein Geheimnis." Einig sind sich die Banker, das es zu einer Verschiebung von herkommlichen Berufen hin zu High-Tech-Personal kommen wird. 
GERMAN LANGUAGE 
DIE PRESSE 12/4/97 



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Subject:  ML_14Apr97 SUISSE:  L'ARGENT DE MOBUTU EST-IL ENCORE EN SUISSE?
Status: RO

14Apr97 SUISSE:  L'ARGENT DE MOBUTU EST-IL ENCORE EN SUISSE?
Serge Romensky
Une chose parait sure: le chef de l'Etat zairois, aux prises avec la rebellion de Laurent-Desire Kabila, ne reviendra plus en Suisse ou il avait ete opere en aout dernier d'un cancer de la prostate, passant ensuite une partie de sa convalescence a Lausanne.
Franz Egle, chef de la communication au Departement federal des Affaires etrangeres, a confirme dimanche a l'AFP des informations de presse selon lesquelles M. Mobutu ne recevrait plus de visa pour la Suisse, ou il possede pourtant une somptueuse villa pres de Lausanne.
C'est juste, a dit M. Egle, interroge sur ces informations, en se refusant a toute explication sur la decision de Berne de ne plus permettre a M. Mobutu de venir en Suisse.
On ne donne jamais de raison pour un visa, a-t-il dit. L'an dernier neanmoins, c'etait officiellement pour des raisons humanitaires que le visa de M. Mobutu avait ete prolonge durant sa convalescence, jusqu'a ce qu'en novembre une nouvelle reconduction soit refusee, tandis que M. Mobutu allait poursuivre son traitement dans le sud de la France.
Les milieux politiques avaient alors largement considere ce refus comme une consequence indirecte des violentes critiques subies par la Suisse dans l'affaire des fonds juifs du temps du nazisme restes dans les banques helvetiques.
L'eventuel blocage des avoirs en Suisse de M. Mobutu est du ressort du gouvernement federal.
Mais nombre d'observateurs sont enclins a penser que M. Mobutu a des l'annee derniere commence a transferer ailleurs les avoirs personnels qu'il possedait en Suisse.
Rien ne permet de dire que les fonds de Mobutu se trouvent dans les banques suisses, a declare la porte-parole de l'Association suisses des banquiers, Silvia Matile, interrogee vendredi par l'AFP.
Pour les banques suisses, les risques sont grands et la responsabilite lourde avec quelqu'un dont on sait qu'il n'est pas un client ideal depuis plusieurs annees, a-t-elle ajoute.
Plusieurs precedents peuvent inciter a la prudence tant les banquiers suisses que les personnalites depositaires de comptes.
On pense en particulier au blocage depuis dix ans d'un demi-milliard de dollars ayant appartenu au dictateur philippin Ferdinand Marcos, aujourd'hui decede.
Ces fonds, deposes aupres du Credit suisse et de la Societe de Banque Suisse, sont bloques depuis la chute de Marcos en 1986 mais n'ont toujours pas ete restitues.
Ils font en effet l'objet d'un imbroglio juridique entre le gouvernement philippin qui les reclame, et 10.000 victimes du regime de Marcos auxquelles la justice americaine a attribue un droit a compensation.
Les banques suisses disent qu'elles veulent bien rendre cet argent mais ont d'abord besoin de savoir a qui, pour ne pas payer deux fois.
Un autre precedent est la saisie en 1996 dans plusieurs banques suisses de quelque 100 millions de dollars deposes par Raul Salinas, frere de l'ancien president mexicain Carlos Salinas, sous le soupcon que cet argent provenait de trafiquants de drogue.
Cette accusation a ete constamment niee par Raul Salinas, actuellement emprisonne au Mexique pour une autre affaire.
Contrairement a une opinion repandue, les comptes bancaires totalement anonymes n'existent pas en Suisse, car meme si un compte n'est connu a l'exterieur que par un code ou un numero, la direction de la banque concernee sait qui est son proprietaire.
De plus, la loi fait obligation aux banques suisses de declarer aux autorites les depots qui leur paraissent suspects au regard du blanchiment d'argent sale.
Enfin, et en depit de la rigueur du secret bancaire en Suisse, une entraide judiciaire peut etre demandee depuis l'etranger pour connaitre les mouvements d'un compte dans les affaires penales ou criminelles. Toutefois cette procedure se prete a des recours repetes, qui peuvent prendre des annees.
 
(c) 1997 L'AGEFI
Le Quotidien Suisse des Affaires et de la Finance. 
AGEFI (FRENCH LANGUAGE) 14/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_14Apr97_U.S. officials arrest Pakistani airman for drugs.
Status: RO

		U.S. officials arrest Pakistani airman for drugs

RTw  4/14/97 4:58 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    ISLAMABAD, April 14 (Reuter) - U.S. drug officials have arrested a senior Pakistan Air Force (PAF) officer in New York for allegedly carrying heroin in a PAF Boeing 707, a military statement said on Monday.
     The statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations Department did not give the date of the arrest of Squadron Leader Mohammad Farooq or state the purpose of the plane's trip to the United States.
     However, a local vernacular newspaper, Khabrain, said the officer was arrested three days ago and that he had been due to bring to Pakistan spare parts for U.S.-made F-16 fighters.
     The statement said Farooq was arrested for possessing about two kg (4.4 pounds) of heroin and that the arrest was "the result of a proactive programme started by PAF to combat the rapidly increasing spectre of drug trafficking."
     It said the plane was returning to Pakistan on Tuesday.
     "The Chief of the Air Staff (Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak) has ordered an immediate high-level inquiry into this shameful act since it is not only a breach of law but also undermines military discipline and morale," the statement said.
     "Disciplinary action as well as other measures to preclude recurrence of such offences are being further enforced," it added.
  REUT


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Subject:  ML_LA_15Apr97_Jailed Salinas Cousin Offers Glimpse Of Mexico's Elite.
Status: RO

	 Jailed Salinas Cousin Offers Glimpse Of Mexico's Elite

DJ   4/15/97 6:04 AM  


   By Wall Street Journal Staff Reporters
   Jose de Cordoba and Laurie Hays in Anthony, Texas,
   And Craig Torres in Mexico City
  Until recently, Carlos Enrique Cervantes de Gortari was a forgotten man in a federal prison, teaching positive-thinking classes to his fellow inmates while quietly serving a 15-year sentence in Anthony, Texas, for cocaine trafficking.
  Then came a raft of accusations by U.S. and Swiss law-enforcement officials suggesting that narcotics kingpins had infiltrated high circles of Mexican government. And suddenly the forlorn, 60-year-old inmate is forgotten no longer.
  Mr. Cervantes, it turns out, is a second cousin of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, the former president of Mexico who is now living in self-imposed exile in Ireland. And Mr. Cervantes's electronic phone book -- the data from which have been languishing in storage since his 1993 trial in Newark, N.J. -- contains some tantalizing information.
  The phone book's entries include, among many others, the names of Mexico's current defense minister; nine other Mexican generals; a brother of current President Ernesto Zedillo; a former Mexican attorney general; and Mr. Salinas's late mother.
  All of those listed in the phone book who could be reached for comment said their connection to Mr. Cervantes was innocent. And Mr. Cervantes himself insists he is blameless of drug-trafficking charges.
  Nonetheless, the case offers an intriguing window into the family and business connections that criss-cross Mexican high society. And Mr. Cervantes's account, if correct, would cast doubt on Mr. Salinas's assertions that he barely knew his problem cousin.
  "He knows me perfectly," says Mr. Cervantes, wearing a khaki prison uniform during an interview in the La Tuna penitentiary, a Spanish-mission-style facility on the Texas-New Mexico border.
  In a recent telephone interview, Mr. Salinas said of Mr. Cervantes: "He's probably a cousin," adding, "I might have met him once as a child."
  Mr. Cervantes was convicted in federal court in Newark in 1993 along with four others after trying to sell 90 kilograms of cocaine to an undercover agent from the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case, which took place when Mr. Salinas was at the height of his popularity at home and abroad, drew little attention at the time.
  But subsequent events have seemingly cast the case in a new light. In 1995, Carlos Salinas's older brother, Raul, was arrested on charges that he conspired in the assassination of his former brother-in-law, then the deputy leader of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. Later, Swiss police discovered bank accounts controlled by Raul Salinas containing more than $120 million. Swiss authorities say they are amassing evidence that at least some of the money was part of a protection racket aiding Mexican drug traffickers.
  Raul Salinas has denied wrongdoing, and says much of his money came from rich Mexican friends who wanted him to invest it for them. Carlos Salinas hasn't been accused of any crimes.
  A major reason why Mr. Cervantes's case has hit the headlines again has to do with one of his co-defendants, a mysterious Mexican border denizen named Magdalena Ruiz Pelayo. According to court documents filed under seal in a Houston trial, Ms. Ruiz Pelayo claims to have been present on a number of occasions when drug traffickers handed millions of dollars to Mexican officials.
  U.S. law-enforcement officials have twice recently contacted Mr. Cervantes, a retired army captain and respected engineer and nuclear expert. But Mr. Cervantes has demurred. "I'm innocent. There is nothing I can say about drugs," he says, in his first interview since his imprisonment.
   His attorney, Patrick Mullin, of Hackensack, N.J., says he is appealing his conviction.
  So what to make of the intriguing phone records? Mr. Cervantes's list, meticulously maintained on a portable digital phone device, lists everyone from fellow Masonic lodge members to mathematicians to some of Mexico's best-known names.
  One of them is Mexico's defense minister, Gen. Enrique Cervantes Aguirre. The imprisoned Mr. Cervantes, who is no relation, pronounces the general a "great friend." Gen. Cervantes acknowledges they have known each other since their days in military school in the 1950s, and that his fellow student "was distinguished for his academic work." But he adds that the two have talked only a half-dozen times since graduation. The general, who ran Mexico's military industries for several years, speculates that Mr. Cervantes may have kept his name on hand in case he could do business with the military.
  Luis Zedillo, the older brother of the current president, says his last contact with Mr. Cervantes took place shortly before his 1992 arrest, when the two men were setting up a conference with sugarindustry officials and a group of plant-maintenance engineers. The president's brother has devoted his career to the sugar industry and heads a lobbying group that advocates both political and technical support. He says Mr. Cervantes's position as a respected engineer around this time meant that "he spoke with many people" in Mexican industry.
  Then there is "Sra. Heidi." A Chihuahua-based art dealer who disappeared 17 months ago, Heidi Slauquet is thought to be dead. A recent book published about her in Mexico says that among other things, she was a close friend of Rafael Aquilar, an alleged cocaine capo living at the Texas border who was gunned down in 1993. Mr. Cervantes says he only met Sra. Heidi twice, but adds she was "very friendly" with Ms. Ruiz Pelayo, who would stay at the art dealer's Mexico City home.
  The list includes numerous old friends who lent Mr. Cervantes money in 1991 after he lost his job at the National Institute of Nuclear Investigations following a scandal in which he was accused of misusing funds and banned from working in the public sector for 10 years. Mr. Cervantes says the episode was a misunderstanding, and acknowledges he owes money to friends and family.
  A fellow Mason, Aquilino Lopez Garcia, says he isn't surprised that Mr. Cervantes has his name. "Anybody could have my telephone number, from artists to prostitutes," says the 74-year-old Mason. Mr. Lopez Garcia says Mr. Cervantes used to arrive at the lodge with a chauffer and bodyguards, but once failed to pay him for a ring he bought. "If you see him, tell him he still owes me 2,000 pesos," he says.
  Mr. Cervantes says his family and the Salinases were related through their mothers, first cousins who were "like sisters." He says he remembers changing young Carlos's diapers.
  As youths, the two didn't play much together due to the age difference -- Mr. Salinas is now 49 -- and because Mr. Cervantes considered his young cousin to be "vulgar and spoiled." But Mr. Salinas's father, Raul Salinas Lozano, threw a wedding party for Mr. Cervantes at the Salinas home, Mr. Cervantes says, attended by the 11-year-old president-to-be.
  Soon after winning the nomination for president of Mexico's ruling party in 1987, Carlos Salinas gave a party for 1,000 relatives at his father's house.
  "He told us that when he was president no one in the family would receive any special favors," says Mr. Cervantes. "He told the governors and secretaries not to do business with anybody whose name was de Gortari."
   Still, the engineer was doing very well on his own, holding a series of prestigious positions in academia, primarily involving engineering and nuclear energy.
  Mr. Cervantes traces his present difficulties to 1989, when he was introduced to Ms. Ruiz Pelayo at a party given by a mutual friend, an army general. He was intrigued by her plans to import food products to Mexico and export fertilizer to China. He didn't suspect she was involved in anything else. Now he believes that Ms. Ruiz Pelayo was only interested in flashing the Salinas name for gain.
  Mr. Cervantes says that, after he lost his job in 1991, he agreed to join Ms. Ruiz Pelayo at a dinner in New York to discuss some export deals she said she had lined up. He says he had no idea that Ms. Ruiz Pelayo was actually involved in a deal to sell cocaine and that the dinner would turn out to be a DEA sting. Ms. Ruiz Pelayo was also convicted in the subsequent trial and sentenced to 17 1/2 years.
  Since then, times have have been hard for Mr. Cervantes's family, who live in a small apartment and periodically lose their telephone service because they can't pay the bill. His oldest son was forced to drop out of college, and now manages a Burger King. The rest of the clan has largely ignored them, including his own brother, who refused to help him pay his lawyer's bill.
  At the time of the trial, Mr. Cervantes says, his co-defendants had hoped "somebody from Mexico" would come to help. "As though my name would save them. But I knew that nobody would come."
  ---
  Dianne Solis in Mexico City contributed to this article.

Copyright 1997 Dow Jones & Co., Inc.  All rights reserved.


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Subject:  OLA_LA_15Apr97_MERCOSUR:  LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT! THE POLICE ARE ABOUT!.
Status: RO

	  MERCOSUR:  LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT! THE POLICE ARE ABOUT!

OTC  4/15/97 2:20 AM  

MONTEVIDEO, (Apr. 11) IPS -- "Look out! Look out! The police are  about!" reads the graffiti on the wall of the medical faculty in  the Uruguayan capital, a slogan suited to the whole Mercosur area  in the light of recent events. 
   This black humor, used to reject the police repression of student  demonstrations years ago, has bounced back following a succession  of events in the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur --  Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) region, where the police  have been in the dock. 
   In Buenos Aires on April 9, two police officers were arrested for  their alleged involvement in the murder of Noticias magazine  photographer Jose Luis Cabezas, who was investigating a chain of  assaults in seaside resorts on the Argentine Atlantic coast. 
   The magazine had uncovered a band of police and common criminals,  who reacted by kidnapping and murdering Cabezas to scare the  publication off. Cabezas was killed on January 25. His body was  found handcuffed in the burned out wreck of his car with a bullet  in his temple. 
   However Argentine Interior Minister Carlos Corach cautioned against  jumping to conclusions before the case went to trial, 
   A reporter from Argentine daily Pagina 12, Raul Kollman, exposed  police intervention in a wide range of crimes in an article  discussing the arrests associated with the murder of Cabezas. 
   The arrests "once again show that when investigations dig deeper  they almost invariably find police personnel involved in one or  various crimes, including murder, robbery and drug trafficking,"  he said in an article entitled "Like God, the Buenos Aires (Police)  are Omnipresent." 
   Police corruption has been front page news in Argentina with  disturbing frequency. 
   But the legal system everywhere needs proof to convict the accused,  but this often does not appear, because it is the police -- the  legal system's supposed right arm -- who should supply the  evidence. 
   In Brazil, however, the crimes could not be hidden. Recently  recorded home video footage broadcast by a television channel  showed open and extended police brutality which shocked the public  both at home and abroad. 
   The film showed citizens of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro beaten by  Military Police batons, and even shooting dead one passerby. The  government took responsibility for this action. 
   On April 8, the non-governmental human rights group Human Rights  Watch/Americas, issued a report in Washington saying the beatings,  robbery and murders committed by the military police are "all too  common" in the cities of Brazil. 
   However, the police normally cover their tracks, filing false  reports describing their illegal killings as "shoot-outs with  dangerous criminal elements, or by tampering with the physical  evidence." 
   "With few exceptions, the police units are blighted by corruption,  a lack of control, frustration and a lack of respect for the law  and justice," said Paul Aergio, a U.N. adviser from San Pablo. 
   The situation is little different in Uruguay. According to official  data, from 1995 to 1996 nearly two percent of police officers have  had legal proceedings against them for a variety of crimes  including actual and grievous bodily harm, indecent assault, rape,  robbery, complicity and murder. 
   Many of those tried continue to work as officers of the law as  their superiors do not carry through the administrative proceedings  the regulations require, starting the process to remove them from  the force. 
   Uruguayan Interior Minister Didier Opertti told a Deputies  Commission that many of the officers have not been investigated,  and that as this happened before his term in office when it was  the responsibility of people now in the governing coalition he  would not order new investigations. 
   A report in the Uruguayan magazine Posdata showed the present  situation is creating a high level of distrust amongst the public. 
   According to one survey, 53 percent of Uruguayans "trust the  security forces little or not at all" and an extremely high  percentage (56 percent in the capital and 36 percent in the rest  of the country) believe the police are eaten away by corruption. 
   In Uruguay a low-grade policeman earns the equivalent of $300, and  the highest grade, barely more than $1,000. 
   In Paraguay, despite the democratic consolidation process started  ten years ago, the situation is no different. Various reports  continue linking police officers with smuggling and  narcotrafficking. 
   Last year, a security transport company suffered a "robbery"  orchestrated by its own workers who made off with $4.7 million, and  the police were accused of negligence as they did not even take  fingerprints at the scene of the crime, some informers told IPS. 
   Given this panorama, the Council of National Police Chiefs of the  Mercosur, Chile and Bolivia called on the governments to create  police attaches in the embassies of these countries throughout the  region. 
   The Council, which is working on a policy for the creation of a  regional police force, approved a project regulating the operation  of its future activities. 
   One of the actions considered "essential" is that of constituting  "a body for specific advice" on regional public security for the  governments. 
    Copyright 1997


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Subject:  Cocaine_14Apr97_Scotus-Crack Cocaine.
Status: RO

			  Scotus-Crack Cocaine

APn  4/14/97 8:19 PM  


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By RICHARD CARELLI
 Associated Press Writer
   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court steered clear Monday of the national debate over the diverse sentencing laws for crack and powdered cocaine, an issue with racial and class overtones.
   The court, without comment, rejected an appeal that challenged as racially discriminatory federal sentencing laws that punish crack cocaine offenders more harshly than those caught with powdered cocaine.
   Crime statistics indicate that crack is an inner-city drug while cocaine powder is used more often in the suburbs.
   Monday's action, not a ruling but merely a denial of review, let stand the 10-year prison sentence of a man convicted of distributing crack cocaine in the District of Columbia.
   "There is a perception among African-Americans that there is no more unequal treatment by the criminal justice system than in the crack vs. powder cocaine, racially biased federal sentencing provisions," the justices were told by lawyers for Duane Edwards.
   The appeal was submitted in Edwards' behalf by John C. Floyd III, who chairs the National Bar Association's criminal law section; Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree; and Los Angeles lawyer Johnnie Cochran, who successfully defended O.J. Simpson against murder charges.
   The appeal noted that it takes 100 times more cocaine powder than crack to draw the same 10-year minimum sentence for drug trafficking.
   People convicted of selling at least 50 grams of crack must be sentenced to 10 years, while a cocaine powder offender gets the same sentence only if it involves 5,000 grams or more.
   "Can Congress pass a law that targets young, poor, African-American, urban males?" Edwards' lawyers asked rhetorically.
   Edwards was arrested by an undercover U.S. Park Police officer for attending a 1995 meeting at which another person sold 126.6 grams of crack cocaine to the officer for $3,400.
   A federal appeals court previously had rejected Edwards' racial-bias argument.
   "Congress has not acted with a discriminatory purpose in setting greater penalties for cocaine base crimes than for powder cocaine offenses," U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled.
   Every federal appeals court that has studied such a challenge has rejected it, but the U.S. Sentencing Commission favors making the penalties the same for both kinds of cocaine.
   Attorney General Janet Reno opposes such a move, saying that prison sentences must reflect the "harsh and terrible impact" of crack on U.S. communities.
   States have their own sentencing laws for drug crimes prosecuted in state courts, but many prosecutors are taking ever-increasing numbers of drug cases to federal court because stiffer sentences are available.
   


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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_Heroin_Balkan_Route_14Apr97_Bulgarian customs make big heroin haul.
Status: RO

		 Bulgarian customs make big heroin haul

RTw  4/14/97 7:24 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    SOFIA, April 14 (Reuter) - Bulgarian customs said on Monday they had seized 29.5 kg (65 lb) of heroin at the main checkpoint on the border with Turkey.
     Customs spokesman Ivan Kutevski said the heroin was found concealed in a Yugoslav-registered car carrying two Yugoslavs at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint.
     Bulgaria, which lies on the so-called "Balkan route" for drug trafficking to western Europe, has seized a total of 130.9 kg (288 lb) of heroin this year.
  REUTE


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Subject:  15Apr97 USA:  TENDER - COMPUTERS, SOFTWARE, SUPPLIES AND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT - 4 (ENGLISH).
Status: RO

15Apr97 USA:  TENDER - COMPUTERS, SOFTWARE, SUPPLIES AND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT - 4 (ENGLISH).
Goods: 30000000. Subscription to on-line electronic public information database. Federal Supply Classification (FSC) 70. The contractor shall provide a commercial electronic public information service to support DEA's criminal and asset seizure of investigation. The system shall operate with ordinary personal computer equipment (DEA property) through ordinary mode and telephone connections. The user population will be DEA Agents, Diversion Investigations, Intelligence Analysts, Task Force Officers, National Guard Analysts assigned to the Miami Field Division, twelve Florida Offices, approximately 450 persons. The system shall be easy to use and require no special training. Monthly usage will exceed 400 on line hours. The kind of information sought about any given subject to investigate might include but are not limited to personal identify data, address and telephone information, court records, liens and judgements, business and corporate affiliations, personal associate, relatives, neighbours, professional 
licences. Information about businesses is also important and may include corporate or limited partnership filings; officers, directors and registered agents, fictitious name; financial information, court action financial information, court action (verdicts, liens, judgements, bankruptcies asset ownership; affiliate companies, etc., while current data are most important, historical data are also of benefit. The DEA shall provide a variety of personal computer and software communication package. Telephone connections are to be made by local calls and/or '800' numbers. DEA will not purchase any communication software to provide system access nor will it purchase software licensing to the system vendor. The system shall provide peak time simultaneous access to at least three users. A large or an unlimited number of users is preferable. The vendor will supply office level user identification codes and password for each location or unit specified by DEA approximately (30). The system shall employ a menu-drive user
 interface that is clear, self explanatory and capable of being learned with no formal training. The interface must use point-and-click and/or scroll-and-highlight navigation techniques. Typing should be necessary only to input specific query data. Command interface where the user is expected to know and type in special abbreviating codes, commands, parameters etc., are not considered easy to use and do not meet the requirement. The vendor must supply one copy of its user's manual or guide for each office level user location. Telephone support to both technical matter (set-up modem setting, troubleshooting) and system contents. The Miami Field Division's primary need is for public information about Florida residents and businesses, but since our interest extend across the United States, access to national databases and other states data base are important.
 
1. Awarding authority: Drug Enforcement Administration, 700 Army Navy Drive, US-Arlington VA 22202.
2. a) Award procedure: Open tender.
b)
3. a)
b) Goods: 30000000. Subscription to on-line electronic public information database. Federal Supply Classification (FSC) 70. The contractor shall provide a commercial electronic public information service to support DEA's criminal and asset seizure of investigation. The system shall operate with ordinary personal computer equipment (DEA property) through ordinary mode and telephone connections. The user population will be DEA Agents, Diversion Investigations, Intelligence Analysts, Task Force Officers, National Guard Analysts assigned to the Miami Field Division, twelve Florida Offices, approximately 450 persons. The system shall be easy to use and require no special training. Monthly usage will exceed 400 on line hours. The kind of information sought about any given subject to investigate might include but are not limited to personal identify data, address and telephone information, court records, liens and judgements, business and corporate affiliations, personal associate, relatives, neighbours, profession
al licences. Information about businesses is also important and may include corporate or limited partnership filings; officers, directors and registered agents, fictitious name; financial information, court action financial information, court action (verdicts, liens, judgements, bankruptcies asset ownership; affiliate companies, etc., while current data are most important, historical data are also of benefit. The DEA shall provide a variety of personal computer and software communication package. Telephone connections are to be made by local calls and/or '800' numbers. DEA will not purchase any communication software to provide system access nor will it purchase software licensing to the system vendor. The system shall provide peak time simultaneous access to at least three users. A large or an unlimited number of users is preferable. The vendor will supply office level user identification codes and password for each location or unit specified by DEA approximately (30). The system shall employ a menu-drive u
ser interface that is clear, self explanatory and capable of being learned with no formal training. The interface must use point-and-click and/or scroll-and-highlight navigation techniques. Typing should be necessary only to input specific query data. Command interface where the user is expected to know and type in special abbreviating codes, commands, parameters etc., are not considered easy to use and do not meet the requirement. The vendor must supply one copy of its user's manual or guide for each office level user location. Telephone support to both technical matter (set-up modem setting, troubleshooting) and system contents. The Miami Field Division's primary need is for public information about Florida residents and businesses, but since our interest extend across the United States, access to national databases and other states data base are important.
3. c) Division into lots: Partial tenders permitted.
d)
4. Delivery deadline: Drug Enforcement Administration is seeking to identify qualified sources to provide on-line electronic public information data base for a base period and four twelve month option periods.
5. a) Documents from: This announcement is not a Request for Proposal. There is no solicitation available. We request that interested sources submit a capability statement that clearly identifies their capabilities, by 20. 4. 1997 to the address shown in block 7 above.
b)
5. c)
6. a) Deadline for receipt of tenders: 10. 5. 1997.
b) Address: As in 1.
6. c) Language(s): English.
7. a) Opening of tenders (persons admitted): Bidder or his agent may attend.
b) Date, time and place: No opening date shown. As in 1.
8.
9.
10. Legal form in case of group bidders: Natural or legal person or co-operative.
11.
12.
13. Award criteria: The lowest tender.
14. Other information: Contact Michelle Reeves, Contract Specialist, (202)307-7816. DEA does not attend to award a contract on the basis of this request for information or otherwise pay for the information solicited. Documents in English. Agency's solicitation number: DEA-97-R-0030. (Editor: No deadline shown in this notice).
15. Notice postmarked: 10. 4. 1997.
16. Notice received on: 10. 4. 1997.
Document number...........: ND:45985-97 BASE: TEDA
Journal number............: JO S 073
Deletion date.............: 10:05:1997
Type of document..........: Invitation to tender
Nature of contract........: Supply contract
Type of procedure.........: Open procedure
Regulation of procurement.: GATT - with participation by EEC countries
Awarding authority type...: Central government
Type of bid required......: Global bid
Awarding criteria.........: Lowest bid
CPV Product code..........: CPV:30000000 - DIVISION 30 - OFFICE MACHINERY AND COMPUTERS
Awarding authority name...: DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
Country code..............: United States
Original language.........: English
(c) Tenders Electronic Daily, 1997. 
TENDERS ELECTRONIC DAILY 15/4/97 P262 




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Subject:  Central_Asian_Drugs_Crime; Drug_Trafficking; Russian_Crime_15Apr97_Russia Seeks to Halt Flow of Drugs.
Status: RO

		   Russia Seeks to Halt Flow of Drugs

APO  4/15/97 9:18 AM  


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
   By SERGEI SHARGORODSKY
 Associated Press Writer
   MOSCOW (AP) -- On his desk, Police Gen. Alexander Sergeyev keeps a small jar of dried opium poppies, a constant reminder of the drug epidemic that has swept Russia since the Soviet collapse.
   The stocky police general, who heads the Interior Ministry's narcotics control department, says he's fighting a losing battle to keep drugs out of a country plagued by porous borders, widespread corruption and money laundering.
   Hard drugs have become increasingly common in Russia as the illegal substances of past years, such as marijuana and hashish, have been joined by opium from Central Asia, synthetic drugs from Europe and even cocaine from Latin America.
   The Soviet breakup proved a boon to drug smugglers, as once-sealed borders opened up. This is particularly the case in Central Asia, where opium is grown in Afghanistan, refined into heroin, and smuggled north.
   "Over the past five years, the problem of drugs in Russia has worsened considerably," Sergeyev said in an interview. "Today, it is a serious and dangerous social problem."
   The number of drug users, estimated at about 300,000 a decade ago, now stands at 2 million, according to Russian Interior Ministry figures.
   Seeking to develop a coordinated anti-drug strategy for the former Soviet republics, the U.N. Drug Control Program is sponsoring a conference Wednesday and Thursday in Moscow.
   U.N. officials say Russian authorities recognize the extent of the country's drug problem and are willing to cooperate on an international level. But Russia's lack of resources and its depressed economy make a dramatic turnabout unlikely.
   There are great profits to be made in the drug trade.
   A little over two pounds of opium costs only $100 when it leaves Afghanistan and reaches the rugged mountainous borders of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, such as Tajikistan.
   By the time it arrives at the capital cities of Central Asia, the price can reach $3,000. And when it hits Moscow, the same amount of opium can fetch as much as $8,000, according to Kazakstan's Interior Ministry.
   Organized crime groups specializing in the drug trade have emerged in recent years. Smugglers from the Caucasus Mountains region and Central Asia have formed rings in major cities or teamed up with Russian distributors, officials say.
   The former Soviet Union used to play down its drug problems. Sergeyev recalled those days with an air of nostalgia, saying that drugs in fact were not a serious threat then.
   "These drug users, we knew each of them. We put their names in our records, tried to treat them. They used to break into pharmacies, steal, present fake receipts, smoke marijuana and hashish," most of which was grown in Russia, he said.
   Now more than half the narcotics are imported and Russia has become a key transit point for the international drug trade, he said.
   


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Subject:  Drug_seizures_Cocaine_15Apr97 CROATIA:  POLICE SEIZE MORE COCAINE AT RIJEKA PORT.? 
Status: RO

15Apr97 CROATIA:  POLICE SEIZE MORE COCAINE AT RIJEKA PORT.
Source: Beta news agency, Belgrade, in Serbo-Croat 2023 gmt 13 Apr 97
Text of report by the Yugoslav news agency Beta
Zagreb, 13th April: The Croatian police force announced this evening that it had seized a container holding 42 kg of cocaine at Rijeka port. Another 140 kg of cocaine were seized at the same port the day before. The drugs were apparently part of a shipment from Ecuador. The total value of the cocaine seized yesterday and today is 22m dollars.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: CENTRAL EUROPE & BALKANS 15/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Seizures_Cocaine_15Apr97 CROATIA:  RECORD AMOUNT OF COCAINE SEIZED IN RIJEKA PORT.
Status: RO

15Apr97 CROATIA:  RECORD AMOUNT OF COCAINE SEIZED IN RIJEKA PORT.
Source: Croatian Radio, Zagreb, in Serbo-Croat 1300 gmt 12 Apr 97
Text of report by Croatian radio on 12th April
[Presenter] An ad hoc press conference was held in Rijeka today. Deputy Interior Minister Zeljko Sacic informed the press about a record seizure of drugs at the container terminal of Rijeka port. Milivoj Valencic reports:
[Reporter] According to Zeljko Sacic, in the operation codenamed Lipa, officers of the [Croatian] Interior Ministry, in cooperation with customs officers from Rijeka, seized 140 kg of cocaine with a high level of purity this morning. The value of the drugs seized is over 50m kunas, that is DM 14m.
According to the results of the investigation, which is being carried out in cooperation with Interpol, the drugs were sent from the Ecuador port of Guayaquil and were earmarked for the Western European market.
There are strong indications that some Croatian citizens are implicated in the international chain of drug smugglers.
Deputy Interior Minister Zeljko Sacic said that today's seizure of 140 kg in Rijeka was the greatest achievement in the fight against drug smuggling in Europe. The seizure of the drugs is proof of the tremendous success of the Croatian police in their fight against the international drugs mafia.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: CENTRAL EUROPE & BALKANS 15/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_15Apr97 HONG KONG:  CRACKDOWN ON ? ICE' TRADE VOWED.
Status: RO

15Apr97 HONG KONG:  CRACKDOWN ON `ICE' TRADE VOWED.
By NAOMI LEE.
Narcotics chiefs yesterday vowed to strengthen links between police and overseas informants to curb the influx of the drug "ice".
The Narcotics Division of the Security Branch reported a 250 per cent increase in the number of abusers who had used "ice", from 147 in 1995 to 515 last year. The substance ranked fifth among drugs abused, but has seen the fastest growth.
Commissioner for Narcotics Clarie Lo Ku Ka-lee said "ice" was smuggled from countries near Hong Kong.
"We will strengthen police manpower to liaise with stringers to suppress the problem," said Mrs Lo. Publicity and education campaigns would be launched.
The division reported a total of 19,626 drug abusers last year - an increase of 1.5 per cent from 1995.
There has been a continuous rise in the number of women drug abusers since 1992 with the number going up by 4.1 per cent from 2,321 in 1995 to 2,417 last year.
Chairman of the Action Committee Against Narcotics, Professor Chen Char-nie, said research was under way into the trend.
"We assume it was because more women have come out to work and attend social activities. Compared to male abusers, the number remains small," he explained.
For drug abusers of all ages, the most commonly abused drugs were heroin (by 86.6 per cent), followed by cannabis (8.4 per cent), cough medicine (three per cent), triazolam (2.9 per cent) and "ice" (2.8 per cent).
Professor Chen said the upward trend in the number of young drug abusers in the 1990s had been reversed.
There were 3,629 reported drug abusers under the age of 21 last year - a fall of nine per cent from 1995. 
EAST ASIA 
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST 15/4/97 



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Subject:  LA_15Apr97 PERU:  PRESIDENT FUJIMORI COMMENTS ON DEBT REPURCHASE, ECONOMIC SITUATION.
Status: RO

15Apr97 PERU:  PRESIDENT FUJIMORI COMMENTS ON DEBT REPURCHASE, ECONOMIC SITUATION.
Source: Television Panamericana, Lima, in Spanish 0212 gmt 7 Apr 97
President Fujimori has said that the economy is "increasingly competitive" with growth currently at 4.5%. He said the debt burden was being dealt with and not "dumped on future generations". He agreed that alternative crops to coca should be introduced to provide the jungle-dwellers with a replacement source of income following the eradication of coca crops. The following are excerpts from an interview with Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori by Guido Lombardi at the Panamericana Television station in Lima; broadcast live on the "Panorama" news programme by Peruvian Panamericana TV on 6th April; subheadings inserted editorially
[Lombardi] Well, just as we had announced, President Alberto Fujimori is here with us... Good evening, Mr President.
[Fujimori] Good evening...
Debt repurchase
[Q] Economy Minister Jorge Camet appeared before Congress this week to explain the conditions of the Brady Plan. At Congress, for the first time, he publicly admitted that the debt had been repurchased. Everyone thinks this is great. However, what does not seem too great is that the people are not being told when it was purchased, at what price, who bought it and under what conditions. Why is this information, which was obviously secret six to eight months ago before the negotiations had concluded, still a secret? Why not make it public now?
[A] But eight months ago, people were asking what was being done about Peru's debt and were demanding that the information be released. The economists, some of whom do not appear on television, the serious economists - I do not mean to say that those on television are not serious - know perfectly well that there is secret information in the negotiation of the Brady Plan but that it is not advisable for the country to reveal it.
[Q] Of course.
[A] The economy minister and yours truly assume full responsibility for this. We are so convinced that this was well done that this step can perhaps be discussed in the future, but it is not advisable to discuss it right now.
[Q] Even now that the deal has been closed?
[A] Even now, it is unadvisable to discuss it. Recently, on 8th March, we signed the Brady Plan. It is not advisable to discuss this matter now and harm the negotiations with a misinterpretation of the repurchase of the Peruvian debt. But the important thing is the result. I want to state here in round figures that when I assumed office the debt amounted to 19.350bn dollars. Currently, after obtaining some credits to improve roads, build schools, etc. and after the reintroduction of Peru into the world economy, after all that, the debt went from 19.350bn to 19.450bn. It shows an increase of 100m dollars. The interesting aspect is that it was reprogrammed - this is the second country with this type of reprogramming - for a long term. The important thing is that we are not projecting the debt problem based on the future. It is very easy to do as we were doing in the past: the burden of the debt was alleviated by dumping it on future generations.
[Q] But this is somehow the case right now, Mr President. We are going to pay 1.3bn dollars this year but between the years 2000 and 2003 the figures will increase significantly. What will we charge it to? How do we know that our conditions are going to improve and that we will be able to pay that?
[A] Exports in 1990 were approximately 3bn dollars. Now, they are over 6bn dollars. Our exports continue to grow. Our economy is increasingly competitive. In addition, a growth in the economy is foreseen. The curve is turning upwards, growth is appearing and last month it was 4.1%.
[Q] Notwithstanding this, the primary sectors are growing. The mining, fishing and construction sectors are growing. As Manuel Moreira said yesterday, one cannot import buildings - but the manufacturing sector, which creates many jobs, is not growing or is growing very little.
[A] The manufacturing industry, by sector, has grown considerably. Perhaps, not in terms of ideal figures but it has grown. There has been no reversion.
You are forgetting a very important sector: the agricultural sector which has continued to grow. It has kept on growing for the past four consecutive years. This is one of the sectors that generates employment.
[Q] Returning to the Brady Plan, you are telling us that we receive 19bn dollars and 19bn dollars is what we have despite the new credits, thanks to the Brady Plan and thanks to the savings for approximately -
[Fujimori, interrupting] Including the credits.
[Q] But Mr President, if we do not know what our Gross Domestic Product is, how can we know our debt figure? We hired a foreign bank to tell us how much we owe. It is a creditor of Peru which tells us how much we owe.
[A] We know exactly how much it is. By 7th March -
[Lombardi, interrupting] Why hire that bank then?
[A] I do not know the procedure. I do not know what that bank is for, perhaps to issue a certification. But we know how much we owe the Paris Club, how much we owe international banks, how much we owe private international banks and the Eastern European countries. A report that had not been disclosed was announced today: we have paid up our debt to Russia.
[Q] For how much?
[A] You also want that to be -
[Lombardi, interrupting] One quarter of the debt?
[A] Much less than that.
[Q] Of the 1.3bn dollars, we have paid 300m dollars?
[A] To speak in overall figures, repeating what I said in CADE [Annual Conference of Business Executives] the debt with Russia amounted to approximately 1bn dollars and we have negotiated it at less than 200m dollars.
[Q] These are all macro figures -
[Fujimori, interrupting] That are very important.
Wages and inflation
[Q] They are very important. Economists, those who appear on television and those who do not, clearly understand them. The man in the street says: So what? The last time we chatted, in November I think, there was indeed an inflection point and growth started. You told me a pay increase for public employees was being considered. You gave me the figures. An increase of just 80 soles for public employees would mean 100m soles a month, or 1.2bn soles a year. This is something that needs to be handled with caution, you said, adding: I am waiting to see if we can grant an increase in a few months'time at least to catch up with the inflation rate. There was no pay increase. The teachers have not received a pay increase. Although you continue talking a great deal about education, you do not consider the dramatic situation of teachers who have not received a pay increase in two years.
[A] After that interview, I think, or around that time, there was a 16-per-cent increase. The inflation rate during that period hovered at around 22%. We are 6% behind inflation. We have to admit we are lagging behind in terms of wage levels. I ask: Is there any other mechanism? We can seek any other mechanism, and at the end we would realize we would have to begin to print money...
Alternatives to coca production to alleviate jungle dwellers'poverty
[Q] Here are two final questions. The first has to do with the economy. You feel very proud and rightly so of the progress in the war against drug trafficking. You have been congratulated by different governments, and it is clear there has been progress. We no longer have a proliferation of flights, our air space is protected, and we are making major drug raids and arrests. Unfortunately, the down side of this is a widespread increase of poverty in the country' s jungle. There is no alternative. Farmers could sell coca or the coca leaves or basic paste at their doorstep, but they have to bring out their cocoa, rice or corn on bad roads because the infrastructure has not been improved there yet.
The people in the jungle are in a very severe slump, and the figures show it. Soft drinks consumption has gone down 40%. I am not saying that this is a staple product, but it is an indicator. You notice there - [pauses] What is going to be done? Shouldn't the Peruvian jungle receive special treatment? We all support the war on drug trafficking, but that does not mean we should lose the residents of a region as important for the country as the jungle.
[A] The jungle offers tremendous potential and we are making headway. For instance, we hope to plant 30,000 or 40,000 ha of a product we know about because it is from this country and has been mentioned often, that is, the camucamo [phonetic]. We can plant 30,000 or 40,000 ha and turn this product into an alternative. We do not necessarily have to plant it in the same place in which the coca is grown. It could be somewhere else. We have to provide alternatives, to move elsewhere in our vast jungle... There is a tremendous demand for camucamo. What we have to do is make this potential known to coca farmers. The Iquitos-Anacua Highway, which we hope will be completed next year, is going to be full of palmettos. From Ucalpa to Caballococha there are extensive tracks of land to plant camucamo. I have just mentioned two crops that could be a source of revenue for farmers...
[Lombardi] Thank you, Mr President, and good luck.
[Fujimori] Thank you.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: LATIN AMERICA 15/4/97 



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Subject:  Drug_Abuse_Cannabis_UK_Press_15Apr97 UK:  JOINT ACTION - CANNABIS.
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15Apr97 UK:  JOINT ACTION - CANNABIS.
Is cannabis the new wonder drug? Luisa Dillner wonders if the health benefits outweigh the side-effects
 
Cannabis was first recommended as a medicine 5,000 years ago in the reign of the Chinese emperor Chen Nung, for malaria, constipation and absentmindedness. In Britain it is now a schedule one drug (alongside ecstasy and LSD). Its sole medical use is limited to preventing nausea and vomiting in patients having chemotherapy for cancer.
This month sees the launch of an advertising campaign by the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics to increase its availability for medical treatment. `I can't prescribe you a safe, naturally occurring drug for the pain of Multiple Sclerosis, but I can give you heroin'says one advert. Heroin,(diamorphine) is a schedule two and in government terms, more medically acceptable drug.
Later this year the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Multiple Sclerosis Society will jointly host a conference on the potential medical benefits of the drug. It was meant to happen this month but such is the political sensitivity surrounding the subject that the Home Office was unwilling to take part so close to an election.
The BMA is also expected to produce a report this year stating its position, which is likely to say `more research is needed.' Most of the evidence that cannabis is useful in some conditions - notably the wasting that accompanies Aids, nausea from chemotherapy, chronic pain, muscle spasm in MS, glaucoma (a cause of blindness), asthma and epilepsy, is anecdotal or based on small studies. But no one would question it's relative safety compared to more legal drugs. No one has died from taking it - the ratio of its effective dose to a lethal dose is 1 in 20,000. You would need to consume 1,500 pounds of the stuff in 15 minutes to have a hope of killing yourself.
Many doctors would be happy to prescribe it. The New England Journal of Medicine, an academic and rather stuffy organ, had an editorial earlier this year protesting at the US government's plans to penalise doctors who precribed cannabis: `A federal policy that prohibits physicians from alleviating suffering by prescribing marijuana for seriously ill patients is misguided, heavy handed and inhumane.' Cannabis is known as a `dirty' drug, because it contains at least 30 active ingredients (cannabinoids). The main psychoactive one (responsible for euphoria and occassional paranoia) is THC (delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol). The only prescribable one in Britain is Nabilone, a tablet which is only available for the side-effects of chemotherapy. Anecdotally many patients get more benefit from smoking the drug in its dirtier form.
`The absorption from the gut is unpredictable and once you've taken the tablet you are committed to that dose,'says Dr Roger Pertwee, a reader in biomedical sciences at Aberdeen University, who is carrying out research into cannabinoids. `It's also slower to take effect. With smoking it is easier to control your dose.' Doctors would, however, find it hard to advise their patients to smoke anything. Research is looking at skin patches and aerosols to deliver the drug.
`The effects of cannabis are not something we can't explain,' says Pertwee. `Cannabinoids have precise effects. The brain has cannabinoid receptors. There probably is some use for cannabis in patients whose symptoms are not controlled by existing drugs, particularly when those drugs have unpleasant side-effects. We should try to exploit whatever potential it has.'. 
UNITED KINGDOM 
GUARDIAN 15/4/97 P9 



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Subject:  OLA_LA_ML_14Apr97 FRANCE:  LE GENERAL NORIEGA AURAIT BLANCHI EN FRANCE DE L'ARGENT DE LA DROGUE.
Status: RO

14Apr97 FRANCE:  LE GENERAL NORIEGA AURAIT BLANCHI EN FRANCE DE L'ARGENT DE LA DROGUE.
Par JACQUES FOLLOROU.
Le juge Fievet a conclu son instruction sur les avoirs en France de l'ex-dictateur du Panama et leurs liens avec le cartel de Medellin. L'ancien president, qui purge une peine de quarante ans de prison en Floride, devrait etre juge < par defaut > par le tribunal correctionnel de Paris
 
L'ANCIEN PRESIDENT du Panama, le general Manuel Noriega, qui purge actuellement une peine de quarante ans de prison aux Etats-Unis pour trafic de stupefiants, a ete convaincu de blanchiment sur le territoire francais de l'argent de la drogue produite par le cartel colombien de Medellin. Telle est la conclusion de l'enquete du juge parisien Patrick Fievet, qui a transmis au parquet de Paris, le 2 avril, le resultat d'une information judiciaire ouverte le 22 decembre 1989. Faute de pouvoir etre extrait de sa cellule americaine, l'ancien homme lige de la CIA, devenu le pivot du trafic de drogue entre l'Amerique centrale et les Etats-Unis, devrait etre juge < par defaut > par le tribunal correctionnel de Paris.
Fait commandeur de la Legion d'honneur en 1987, l'ancien dictateur, surnomme < Tete d'ananas > a cause de son visage sombre et grele, a argue en vain de l'excellence de ses relations avec la France. Il avait ainsi soumis au juge, venu lui signifier sa mise en examen, en decembre 1995, dans sa cellule du Metropolitan Correctionnal Center de Miami (Floride), des photos le montrant en compagnie de Francois Mitterrand et avait mentionne ses contacts proches avec l'ancien maire de Marseille Robert Vigouroux. Rien n'aura bloque la progression de l'enquete, qui a revele l'existence d'un reseau de recyclage d'argent sale, via des banques francaises, estime a 25 millions de dollars (environ 130 millions de francs).
Alertee, en 1989, par les services americains qui enquetaient sur le recyclage de l'argent de la drogue, la direction nationale du renseignement et des enquetes douanieres (DNRED) avait signale a la justice le fonctionnement de comptes bancaires ouverts en France par Manuel Noriega et plusieurs de ses proches. Des 1986, des sommes importantes ont, en effet, ete deposees par le clan Noriega sa femme, deux de ses filles et les ambassadeurs du Panama en France et en Grande-Bretagne, ainsi que le consul general de Panama a Marseille sur des comptes ouverts a la BNP, au CIC, au Credit lyonnais et au Banco do Brazil. Saisi des faits, le juge a gele tous les avoirs de l'ancien dictateur, soit plusieurs dizaines de millions de francs, et a decouvert que la famille Noriega avait egalement investi dans l'achat de trois appartements dans les quartiers chics de Paris: quai d'Orsay pour environ 15 millions de francs, quai de Grenelle et rue de l'Universite.
Il restait alors a identifier l'origine des fonds places en France et a prouver qu'il s'agissait bien d'argent provenant du trafic de stupefiants. Pour mener a bien son enquete, le magistrat s'est appuye sur le travail du service antidrogue americain, la Drug Enforcement Administration, notamment sur les analyses des circuits financiers et les temoignages d'anciens membres du cartel de Medellin et d'un responsable d'une banque fortement impliquee dans le blanchiment de l'argent de la drogue, la BCCI.
 
PLAQUE TOURNANTE
Forts de ces elements, les enqueteurs francais ont mis evidence la filiere utilisee par l'argent du trafic. Deposees sur un compte panameen de la BCCI, les sommes versees a Manuel Noriega par les chefs du cartel colombien transitaient ensuite par Londres et Paris pour etre, enfin, reparties au Luxembourg, en Suisse et en Autriche. Evaluee a pres de 400 millions de francs par les autorites americaines, lors de son proces a Tampa, en 1992, la fortune de l'ancien dictateur peut etre jaugee en France aux centaines de milliers de francs depenses par ses filles en une seule journee dans les boutiques de luxe parisiennes.
Tirant partie de sa double casquette d'agent de la CIA, directement en contact avec ses chefs, dont le futur president des Etats-Unis George Bush, et de dirigeant d'un Etat d'Amerique centrale, Manuel Noriega avait transforme le Panama en veritable plaque tournante du trafic de drogue. La police, les douanes et l'armee pretaient main forte a cette organisation < quasi industrielle >, selon l'expression d'un douanier francais en poste dans les Caraibes, du trafic de la drogue qui etait, ensuite, exportee vers les Etats-Unis et l'Europe.
En prison, sur le sol americain, depuis cinq ans, Manuel Noriega a lance une demande en revision de son proces. Il conteste la valeur des temoignages des anciens du cartel de Medellin et celui du banquier de la BCCI, produits contre lui. Selon son avocat en France, Olivier Metzner, il devrait fournir, a cette occasion, des documents emanant de la DEA et de la CIA louant son role dans la lutte contre la drogue en collaboration avec les services americains.
Quant a la procedure francaise, le conseil du general a indique au Monde qu'il transmettrait une note au parquet, des le debut de la semaine, pour souligner que son client a toujours declare que l'argent provenait de remunerations versees par la CIA et de la vente de biens personnels. Le mandat d'arret international lance, le 8 novembre 1996, par le juge Fievet contre l'epouse de l'ancien dictateur, suspectee d'avoir participe au blanchiment de l'argent, est toujours en cours.
(c) Le Monde, 1997. 
FRENCH LANGUAGE 
LE MONDE (FRENCH LANGUAGE) 14/4/97 



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Subject:  Ecstasy_15Apr97 INDONESIA:  COURT CROSS-EXAMINES ZARINA IN ECSTASY TRIAL.
Status: RO

15Apr97 INDONESIA:  COURT CROSS-EXAMINES ZARINA IN ECSTASY TRIAL.
JAKARTA (JP): The defendant in an Ecstasy case admitted yesterday that she did have keys to a safe containing 29,677 pills, contradicting her earlier claims.
But two different keys were needed to open the safe and she only had two copies of one of them.
Zarina Mirafsur told the court that before the police arrived on Aug. 7 last year she had tried to open the safe at her home in West Jakarta, because she was curious about its contents. She said she could not open it.
"I realized I didn't have the corresponding keys," she said.
Zarina, 24, was arrested and the safe confiscated in a police raid on her house.
Presiding judge Sumantri had asked Zarina about the three sets of keys to the safe. Two of the sets have been displayed in earlier hearings at the West Jakarta court.
Zarina has maintained that the safe was not hers but her friend Roy's. She said he and her sister Zamila each had a set of keys.
"I always give my sister copies of my keys, for the car too," she said.
Zarina said she became curious about the safe's contents when her boyfriend Edwin told her to get rid of it because he was jealous of another man's belongings being in her room.
The safe was opened at the Tangerang police precinct with keys from both Zarina's and Zamila's sets.
"I was surprised to see the pills in it," Zarina said.
The judge also asked her when she had last seen Roy. She said it was on August 7.
Unlike the previous sessions which heard witnesses, this hearing was relaxed.
Zarina said the safe was in her room because she was "very close" to Roy.
She said she met Roy, who has an Indonesian restaurant in the Netherlands, at a discotheque in January last year. Zarina said he sometimes stayed at her house in Taman Alfa Indah, Kebon Jeruk, when he visited Indonesia.
Zarina said she bought Roy the safe because he often had a lot of money.
But she said he was not her boyfriend - he had too "feminine" a voice.
A judge asked why she did not suggest he put his money in a bank. She said she had, but he did not have an account in Jakarta.
She did not answer when the judge asked her why he did not just transfer the money to his account in the Netherlands.
She told the court that after she escaped her police escort the day after her arrest, she had looked for Roy, but did not find him.
Police were taking Zarina from the Tangerang precinct to Jakarta Police Headquarters when she escaped and fled to Houston, the United States. She was brought home with her lawyers on Nov. 17. Roy contacted her in the U.S., Zarina said.
"He said he was sorry for (my arrest) but he could not help, because he was hiding from the friend who gave him the pills," she said. Roy's whereabouts is still unknown. (13)
 
Copyright 1997 The Jakarta Post. 
SOUTHEAST ASIA 
JAKARTA POST 15/4/97 P3 



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13Apr97 UK:  FLYING WITH THE GREATEST OF EASE.
By BEN THOMPSON.
ALTERED STATE: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House by Matthew Collin with John Godfrey Serpent's Tail L10.99
 
Former Face and i-D journalist writes book about the social impact of Ecstasy and its endlessly unfolding backdrop of competing musical sub-genres. Irvine Welsh thinks of something nice to say on the jacket. There are no surprises in this story so far. The shock comes when you lift the cover to start reading and discover that Altered State, far from the brisk cut-and-paste job which might have been anticipated (and which would still probably have sold by the truckload), is actually an intricately detailed and extremely well-researched cultural history.
For the benefit of those who have seen it as their patriotic duty never to compromise their Britishness by taking any tablet which might cause them to dance wildly in the streets or kiss people they don't know, Collin kicks off with an instructively embarrassing first-person account of a debut Ecstasy experience. "Were there demons in this other world?" demands the suitably effusive authorial voice in the enigmatically titled prologue "A Night In the Eighties". "Would we come back unharmed?" Judging by the euphoric tone of the ensuing few paragraphs ("You'll be all right, it's good, it's good, ride it ... A huge, glowing magical YES") the answers to these questions would seem to be, respectively, "No" and "Maybe". Much credit is due to the book for daring to address the possibility that, for some people at least, the correct responses might be the other way round.
Collin's writing tends towards two very disparate poles. On one side is the jaunty triumphalism of such ringing phrases as "How we reached the peak of human experience and what happened afterwards". On the other there's an occasional tendency to lapse into the sort of pseudo-scientific sociological jargon ("temporary autonomous zones", "a forum to which people can bring narratives") to which chemical-generation poet laureate Irvine Welsh has also been known to have recourse at moments of high seriousness. But the apparent contradiction between these two approaches is actually not unhelpful. The leap of faith required to resolve it is the same one demanded by this story's compellingly complex inter-relation of personal and public moralities.
While much has traditionally been made of the apolitical nature of Ecstasy-induced hedonism, the British establishment would hardly have mobilised such a weight of resources against its more blatant manifestations if they had seen things that way. And yet neither is this one of those simplistic sagas of state power and cultural resistance so beloved of bearded historians. Altered State makes it intriguingly clear that the late Eighties' unprecedented outbreak of mass communal pleasure-seeking was equally a reaction to and a development of the dominant political ideas of the Thatcher era. "Echoing its ethos of choice and market freedom," is the way Collin puts it, "yet expressing desires for a collective experience that Thatcherism rejected and consumerism could not provide."
Acid House's original soundtrack - the house and techno sounds of Chicago and Detroit - were made by unlicensed adaptations of the same new technology which had destroyed those American cities' industrial futures. Similarly, the rogue entrepreneurs who delivered the music and its vital chemical accoutrements to an eager new British audience were adapting the libertarian capitalism that had laid waste to their environment to uses its authors would never have dreamt of. This logic of appropriation spun off in all sorts of unexpected directions - from legal party-organisers putting the newly-privatised British Telecom's brand new icebank system to good use outwitting the police, to pasty-faced ravers enhancing their sense of physical disorientation via liberal applications of menthol rub.
Even Ecstasy itself - or MDMA, to use the scientific name coined by its inventor, Russian exile Alexander Shulgin - took a pretty strange trip. From its early enthusiastic adoption by the American therapeutic community (Collin gleefully notes that upwards of half a million capsules were distributed by US mental health care professionals before the drug was finally declared illegal there in 1985), via gay nightclubs in Texas and New York, through the raucous reunions of "loved up" Londoners who couldn't bear to come back to earth when they came home from Ibiza, to its final resting place on the front pages of the tabloids as the scourge of decent British suburban youth: the drug's ever-expanding allure proved stronger than the determination of each successive clique of aficionados to keep it to themselves.
"No one wants a Sixties situation to develop," arch-LSD evangelist Timothy Leary had observed prophetically in the early stages of MDMA experimentation, "where sleazy characters hang around college dorms peddling pills falsely labelled XTC to lazy thrill-seekers." The dialogue between mass and elite cultures which runs throughout Collin's story parallels another - potentially more fraught with danger - between purity and adulteration. Of the supposed Ecstasy tablets seized by police at the Fantazia legal rave at Castle Donnington in 1992, 97 per cent were actually made of something else: vitamin pills, hay-fever capsules, paracetamol.
It is in this contested area, between the millennial dreams of those whose lives Ecstasy has energised, and the grim realities of the far smaller number the drug (or crude imitations of it) has scarred for life or even killed, that Altered State does its best work. Collin turns an admirably steely investigative eye on the criminal takeover of the Ecstasy infrastructure - the switch, in the memorable phrase of one of the participants, "from double-barrelled name to double-barrelled shotgun". In doing so, he sheds valuable new light on several enduring Ecstasy myths, most notably that of the drug's role in the late-Eighties decline of football hooliganism.
No doubt some terrace hardmen forgot their petty hatreds in the delirium of the dance, Collin contends, but others saw the money-making opportunities and moved in to run things. The only problem with what this book appealingly terms "pirate utopias" is that pirates tend to want to live in them. 
UNITED KINGDOM 
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 13/4/97 P29 



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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_15Apr97 ESTONIA:  POLICE WORRIED ABOUT COUNTRY BECOMING TRANSIT POINT FOR CRIMINALS.
Status: RO

15Apr97 ESTONIA:  POLICE WORRIED ABOUT COUNTRY BECOMING TRANSIT POINT FOR CRIMINALS.
Source: ETA news agency, Tallinn, in English 0616 gmt 14 Apr 97
Excerpt from report by ETA news agency
Estonia faces a threat of becoming a transit country of drugs, nuclear materials and weapons smuggling, Juri Pihl, director general of the security police, announced at an international forum held in Tartu on Saturday [12th April]. The greatest threat to Estonia is presented by corrupt Russian state officials and international crime, the security chief warned. Pihl added that the Baltic states have already become transit countries for narcotics smuggling, resulting in local production of synthetic drugs and their increasing use. He also said that the criminal structures are making increasing investments in Estonia, including in real estate. There is a real possibility that the Russian criminal structures will make attempts to launder their money through Estonian banks, Pihl warned. He stressed that such attempts, as well as narcotics and nuclear substances traffic, will present a threat to Estonia's existence...
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: FORMER USSR 15/4/97 



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Subject:  Central_Asian_Drugs_Crime; Drug_Abuse_15Apr97 MONGOLIA:  NUMBER OF DRUG ADDICTS RISING.
Status: RO

15Apr97 MONGOLIA:  NUMBER OF DRUG ADDICTS RISING.
Source: Zhongguo Xinwen She news agency, Beijing, in English 1245 gmt 11 Apr 97
Excerpts from report by the Chinese news agency Zhongguo Xinwen She
Beijing, 11th April: Tao Siju, China's Public Security Minister, who is heading a national anti-drugs task force to tackle the problem, told a seminar held recently that the battle against drugs is very hard-fought as narcotics problems have been found in 70% of mainland cities and counties...
The number addicts is rising rapidly. At the end of 1995, there were 520,000 drug addicts registered in police records, but the actual number could be much larger, the minister said.
(c) BBC Monitoring Summary of World Broadcasts. 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE 
BBC MONITORING SERVICE: ASIA-PACIFIC 15/4/97 



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Subject:  Ecstasy_Drug_Abuse_15Apr97 UK:  CONNECTED - YOUTH'S POTENT COCKTAIL - IN MY OPINION.
Status: RO

15Apr97 UK:  CONNECTED - YOUTH'S POTENT COCKTAIL - IN MY OPINION.
By Matthew Collin.
Techno is shorthand for technology: the technology without which contemporary pop would be a different entity, just as rock 'n' roll could never have existed without electric guitars and amplification. Drum computers, synthesisers and cheap home recording allowed non-musicians to become producers. The result was a new electronic dance sound, which, when combined with a chemical catalyst - 3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine; MDMA, or ecstasy - sparked Britain's most far-reaching youth culture.
In the 1970s, drum machines came pre-set with tinkling patterns for pub organists to noodle along with. Roland's TR-808 and TR-909 models were a great leap forward, allowing people to construct their own beats. However, it wasn't until these machines became obsolete and cheaply available on the secondhand market that young DJs from Chicago and Detroit who couldn't afford the latest models began to experiment with possibilities that were not outlined in Roland's manuals; they created the styles known as house and techno.
Popular culture is defined by, but also redefines, the technology of its time. As the writer William Gibson has suggested: "The street finds its own uses for things." The Roland TB-303 Bass Line was originally intended as a practice aid for guitarists, but it sounded nothing like a real bass guitar and was swiftly shelved. A couple of years later, in Chicago, Marshall Jefferson and Nathaniel "DJ Pierre" Jones were messing around with the filters and modulation controls on a 303, and a weird, spectral noise surged out of the silver box. They captured it on tape, titled the record Acid Tracks, and a whole new genre was born: acid house.
Relatively primitive computers such as the 303 and 909 have now become highly prized staples of the dance producer's armoury, and cost far more secondhand than they ever did when new. Canny entrepreneurs have even begun to manufacture 303 clones, such as Freeform Analogue's FB 383.
The advent of the sampler - enabling people to grab snippets from other records with which to construct their own - was another crucial development. When early samplers such as the Fairlight were launched, they were highly expensive. Within a few years, however, the price had plummeted, and models such as Akai's S612 and S900 offered easy access to the loops and drop-ins that constitute techno's toolbox. Affordable sampling democratised the creative process.
The drug that catalysed the dance scene's success was originally developed by a multinational corporation, consigned to obsolescence, then plucked from obscurity by street-level entrepreneurs. MDMA was patented by Merck of Darmstadt in 1914, tested as a potential chemical warfare agent by the US military in the 1950s, then lay unnoticed until it was rediscovered by the psycho-pharmacologist Alexander Shulgin in the 1960s. It was then adopted by New Age therapists, slowly made its way through the gay subcultures of America and out into the club scene via black-market operators who shrewdly renamed it "ecstasy". House music would certainly have evolved without ecstasy, but the drug made sense of its hypnotic moods and relentless percussion, translating it for a wider community.
The first generation to grow up in the digital era is now coming of age. "People of this generation learn to use computers like we learnt to write," Renaat Vandepapeliere of the Belgian techno company R & S has remarked. "The way they are going to use modern technology is going to be mind-blowing. This is only the beginning." Tomorrow's electronic music will sound nothing like that of today's techno producers, who grew up in the pre-digital world. Meanwhile, a browse through Alexander Shulgin's chemical encyclopaedia PIHKAL illustrates that there are hundreds of obscure psychedelic drugs out there waiting for their moment to arrive.
Matthew Collin is
co-author of Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House.
(c) Telegraph Group Limited, London, 1997. 
UNITED KINGDOM 
DAILY TELEGRAPH 15/4/97 P4 



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Subject:  Ecstasy_Drug_Abuse_14Apr97 INDONESIA:  NEGLECT OVER CHEAPEST DRUG ABUSE DEPLORED.
Status: RO

14Apr97 INDONESIA:  NEGLECT OVER CHEAPEST DRUG ABUSE DEPLORED.
JAKARTA (JP): Public attention has focused more on the abuse of expensive drugs and neglected the use of cheaper narcotics, according to a police detective and drug abuse specialist.
Second Lt. Surya Malindra from the City Police headquarters said Nipam, a barbiturate sold for only Rp 1,500 (US 63 cents) for 10 pills on the streets, is more lethal than expensive drugs because abusers tend to consume the pills in large quantities.
The media has spotlighted more expensive and "prestigious" drugs like Ecstasy and heroin in reporting drug-related cases.
But Surya said Nipam, BK, Rohipnol and Mogadon are more popular drugs used by teenagers usually arrested for brawls.
"What we have forgotten is that these drugs are actually very common and easy to get on the street because of their cheap prices," Surya told The Jakarta Post.
Many junior and senior high school students have easy access to the drugs because of their cheap price.
A former user, Rino, 30, said the drugs are commonly sold for Rp 1,500 in areas like Senen and Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, Jl. Gajah Mada in West Jakarta, and Blok A market in South Jakarta.
Rino said the drugs were largely sold at roadside pharmaceuticals and were difficult to buy if you did not look like a user.
"Most of the vendors, such as those at Blok A market, were being backed up by delinquent officers. That's why it's not easy to eradicate drugs from the street," said Rino who used the drugs in junior high school.
Rio, 14, a student at a private junior high school on Jl. Barito, South Jakarta, said most of his friends were aware of the drugs in primary school.
"Many students know about the drugs, but only those who hang around with the wrong people touch the stuff. You see, it's not your broken home family which leads you to 'the dark world', but your friends," he said.
Criminologist Purnianti said it is true teenagers will do what you tell them not to.
Research conducted on 500 high school students in 1992 by Purnianti showed that 40 percent of those interviewed in Jakarta admitted they had tried both drugs and alcohol.
"Many teenagers have started to consider drugs, alcohol and sex part of their lifestyle," Purnianti said.
Many drug users do not fully comprehend the dangerous effects associated with their habit, said drugs specialist Tony Setiabudhi.
"When someone is stoned using Nipam, for example, he would experience a hallucination or even worse become violent, especially if he is addicted to it," said Setiabudhi, who also handles patients with mental disorders.
About 75 percent of his patients at the Navy Hospital in Central Jakarta are drug addicts.
"The worst effect from drugs like Nipam is that it can slowly kill your brain's functions," Setiabudhi said.
According to Rino, Rohipnol has the worst side effects. "It can make you feel so fearless you would dare fight a policeman or even your own parents," he said.
Rino said his friend sold a mattress to buy the drugs. "That's humiliating," he said.
An addict could also become a thief, said Rino, whose wife is three months pregnant.
"I will not let my child experience the life I lead in my younger years. I won't tie him up in the house, but I'll give him understanding and trust so that he will be able to choose good friends out there," Rino said. (04)
 
Copyright 1997 The Jakarta Post. 
SOUTHEAST ASIA 
JAKARTA POST 14/4/97 P3 



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Subject:  Drug_Traffic_15Apr97 HONG KONG:  CRACKDOWN ON ? ICE' TRADE VOWED.
Status: RO

15Apr97 HONG KONG:  CRACKDOWN ON `ICE' TRADE VOWED.
By NAOMI LEE.
Narcotics chiefs yesterday vowed to strengthen links between police and overseas informants to curb the influx of the drug "ice".
The Narcotics Division of the Security Branch reported a 250 per cent increase in the number of abusers who had used "ice", from 147 in 1995 to 515 last year. The substance ranked fifth among drugs abused, but has seen the fastest growth.
Commissioner for Narcotics Clarie Lo Ku Ka-lee said "ice" was smuggled from countries near Hong Kong.
"We will strengthen police manpower to liaise with stringers to suppress the problem," said Mrs Lo. Publicity and education campaigns would be launched.
The division reported a total of 19,626 drug abusers last year - an increase of 1.5 per cent from 1995.
There has been a continuous rise in the number of women drug abusers since 1992 with the number going up by 4.1 per cent from 2,321 in 1995 to 2,417 last year.
Chairman of the Action Committee Against Narcotics, Professor Chen Char-nie, said research was under way into the trend.
"We assume it was because more women have come out to work and attend social activities. Compared to male abusers, the number remains small," he explained.
For drug abusers of all ages, the most commonly abused drugs were heroin (by 86.6 per cent), followed by cannabis (8.4 per cent), cough medicine (three per cent), triazolam (2.9 per cent) and "ice" (2.8 per cent).
Professor Chen said the upward trend in the number of young drug abusers in the 1990s had been reversed.
There were 3,629 reported drug abusers under the age of 21 last year - a fall of nine per cent from 1995. 
EAST ASIA 
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST 15/4/97 



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Subject:  ML_LA_14Apr97 PANAMA:  PORTRAIT - UN < AGENT DOUBLE DANS L'AME >, FIDELE A SES SEULS INTERETS FINANCIERS.
Status: RO

14Apr97 PANAMA:  PORTRAIT - UN < AGENT DOUBLE DANS L'AME >, FIDELE A SES SEULS INTERETS FINANCIERS.
Par JACQUES FOLLOROU.
ENFERME dans sa cellule de huit metres carres du penitencier de Miami depuis 1992, le detenu 41586, connu sous le nom de Manuel Antonio Noriega, a eu tout le loisir de se rememorer les multiples et tortueux episodes de sa vie d'homme libre. Sacre, un temps, < serviteur sans egal des interets americains en Amerique centrale > par l'ancien patron de la CIA sous l'ere Reagan, William Casey, puis ecroue comme un trafiquant de drogue de la pire espece, l'ancien dictateur du Panama resume, a lui tout seul, les meandres empruntes par la politique americaine avec ses Etats voisins.
Apres avoir dirige les services secrets de son pays, le G 2, jusqu'en 1982, Manuel Noriega accede a la tete du Panama a la suite du deces du general Omar Torrijos dans un accident d'avion dont les conditions n'ont jamais ete elucidees. Il fournit, pour le compte des Americains, comme le revelent des documents de la CIA qu'il produit aujourd'hui pour la revision de son proces, des missiles Exocet francais aux autorites argentines engagees dans la guerre des Malouines. Dans ce conflit, Washington soutenait officiellement Londres mais cherchait a conserver de bonnes relations avec Buenos Aires.
Mieux, Manuel Noriega participe au montage de ce qui deviendra, quelques annees plus tard, le scandale de l'< Irangate >. Cette affaire d'Etat devait permettre de livrer a l'Iran des armes, via Israel, en echange de la liberation des otages americains detenus dans ce pays et de trouver l'argent necessaire a l'armement, interdit par le Senat, des opposants au regime nicaraguayen, les < contras >. Au cote de son ami Oliver North, conseiller pour la securite de Ronald Reagan, personnage-cle de cette operation, l'ex-general se chargeait d'acheminer par son pays le materiel aupres des hommes en guerre contre l'armee reguliere sandiniste.
 
INGRATITUDE
Aujourd'hui repudie, peut-etre regrette-t-il son gout prononce pour l'Amerique triomphante, ses palaces, ses restaurants et, surtout, les dollars que la CIA n'a cesse de lui fournir durant pres de trente ans de bons et loyaux services. Des archives provenant des services de renseignements de l'armee, annexees au dossier qui a conduit a sa condamnation, mentionnent qu'il donnait deja des informations a un attache militaire americain sur les amities communistes de ses camarades de l'ecole militaire de Chorillos, au Perou.
Face a tant d'ingratitude, il peut neanmoins se rappeler qu'il a souvent utilise les informations recueillies aupres de ses protecteurs pour le plus grand bien de ses amis cubains ou des membres du cartel de Medellin, avec qui il a toujours entretenu des relations fortement retribuees. < Agent double dans l'ame >, comme le qualifient les agents qui l'ont cotoye, il semble n'avoir ete fidele qu'a ses interets financiers. Prisonnier a la tete d'une fortune estimee a < un milliard de francs > par l'avocat de la Republique du Panama en France, Raymond Forni, le general Noriega n'a jamais oublie qu'il etait ne, en 1938, dans un quartier miserable. Abandonne par ses parents, il n'aura eu de cesse de prendre sa revanche sur cette classe aisee du Panama qui le rejettera et qu'il trahira pour mieux servir les inquietudes americaines.
(c) Le Monde, 1997. 
FRENCH LANGUAGE 
LE MONDE (FRENCH LANGUAGE) 14/4/97 



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Subject:  15Apr97_Les Talibans traquent le haschich, mais pas le pavot.
Status: RO

	  Les Talibans traquent le haschich, mais pas le pavot.
FAP  4/15/97 1:53 PM  


Copyright 1997 L'Associated Press.

   
   ARGHANDAB, Afghanistan (AP) -- Si l'armee religieuse des Talibans a engage une lutte sans merci contre la consommation de haschich en Afghanistan, ils ne semblent pas montrer beaucoup d'empressement a mettre un terme a la culture du pavot, dont on tire l'opium, puis l'heroine destinee a l'exportation.
   Connus pour leur interpretation stricte de la loi islamique et leurs sanctions severes envers ceux qui l'enfreignent, les Talibans ont mis en place un programme en trois points pour lutter contre les consommateurs de haschich.
   - Les battre jusqu'a ce qu'ils avouent qui est leur fournisseur.
   - Proceder de facon automatique a leur incarceration.
   - Les plonger dans un bain d'eau glace pendant trois heures jusqu'a ce que les souffrances endurees viennent a bout de leur accoutumance.
   Dans un pays ou la consommation de haschich a longtemps ete tres repandue -certains jeunes hommes fument jusqu'a 20 cigarettes au haschich par jour-, cette initiative a des consequences importantes.
   Les vendeurs de marche de Kandahar, la ville du sud ou le mouvement des Talibans a vu le jour il y a trois ans, affirment d'ailleurs qu'ils ne vendent plus cette drogue a base de cannabis.
   Un consommateur, reconnu coupable d'en avoir fume, jure qu'on ne l'y prendra plus. "Quand ils m'ont mis dans cette eau glaciale, j'ai tout oublie du haschich", assure Bakht Mohammed.
   Les organisations internationales se demandent en revanche pourquoi les Talibans, qui ont une facon radicale d'aborder ce genre de problemes, n'ont pas pris les memes mesures pour lutter contre la production d'opium, utilisee pour faire de l'heroine vendue aux pays occidentaux, notamment en Europe et aux Etats-Unis. L'argent que cette culture rapporte semble y etre pour quelque chose.
   Les Talibans controlent le sud de l'Afghanistan, ou est cultivee la plus grande partie de l'opium produit (plus de 2.000 tonnes) chaque annee. Selon le programme de controle de la drogue des Nations-unies, l'Afghanistan rivalise desormais avec la Birmanie pour la place de premier producteur d'opium du monde.
   Abdul Rashid, qui dirige la lutte anti-drogue a Kandahar, estime qu'il manque les ressources pour se battre contre le commerce de l'opium. L'administration des Talibans ne lui a donne que dix hommes et une moto rouillee pour poursuivre les contrebandiers le long des routes poussiereuses et peu carrossables du pays.
   Les contrebandiers arretes sont en general condamnes a un an de prison et leurs biens sont confisques.
   Par ailleurs, Abdul Rashid craint les reactions des fermiers en cas d'une interdiction de la culture du pavot, cette plante couleur rouge-sang dont on tire l'opium. "Nous ne devrions pas oublier ces gens. S'ils ont besoin d'argent, il est injuste de les empecher de le cultiver", assure-t-il.
   La vente du pavot rapporte cinq fois plus d'argent que les autres productions agricoles, comme le ble, le concombre ou le raisin. De plus, les commercants locaux paient d'avance, donnant aux fermiers, souvent pauvres, de l'argent qui leur permet d'acheter des engrais et des semences.
   Un cultivateur de pavot, Wali Jan, affirme qu'il gagne l'equivalent de 7.500ff par an de sa recolte, une somme enorme dans un pays ou un juriste ne gagne qu'environ 600 dollars par an. Avec 14 bouches a nourrir dans sa famille, Wali Jan estime que c'est une question de survie.
   Quand les Talibans ont pris le controle de la region il y a pres de trois ans, certains gouvernements etrangers esperaient que leur version stricte de la vie islamique les inciterait a proscrire la production de pavot.
   Au lieu de cela, le commerce de l'opium, qui au contraire du haschich est exporte en Occident et non destine a la consommation locale, a prospere.
   Les cultivateurs affirment que les mollahs locaux, ou les ecclesiastiques qui administrent la region, ne leur ont pas dit d'arreter de cultiver le pavot, et certains leur ont meme impose une taxe de 10% prelevee sur leurs benefices. 


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Subject:  OLA_LA_15Apr97_Book-bomb kills son of ex-Colombian rebel.
Status: RO

		   Book-bomb kills son of ex-Colombian rebel

RTna 4/15/97 6:44 PM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    BOGOTA (Reuter) - A former rebel blamed Colombia's leading leftist guerrilla group Tuesday for the killing of his son in a book-bomb attack late Monday.
     "It's part of the FARC's extermination campaign," Mario Agudelo Vasquez, an ex-member of the Popular Liberation Army, said. Most of the estimated 2,000 members of the group laid down their weapons in 1991 and formed a political party known as Hope, Peace and Freedom.
     Hundreds of the party's members have since been killed in attacks that police and military officials blame on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), founded as a Marxist, pro-Soviet group in 1964.
     The FARC accused Hope, Peace and Freedom of ties with right-wing paramilitary groups and branded its members traitors to the country's leftist insurgency.
     Agudelo, a lawmaker and prominent member of Hope, Peace and Freedom in northwestern Antioquia province, told the Radionet news program early Tuesday that the book-bomb that took the life of his 17-year-old son Pedro Leon was intended for him, not his son.
     He said the book, a large tome entitled "Ethics for Medicine," was sent by courier to his office in the Antioquia capital of Medellin early Monday and aroused his suspicions because he had no idea who had sent it to him.
     After having it examined by security officials with the provincial legislature, he said, he made the mistake of giving the still unopened book to his son, an aspiring medical student. It exploded in Pedro Leon's face upon opening.
     According to Agudelo, who said he had a narrow brush with death in a 1996 grenade attack, more than 400 members of Hope, Peace and Freedom have been killed since 1991.
  REUTER


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Subject:  OLA_LA_16Apr97_Cali Cartel Chief Gets 28 Years.
Status: RO

			Cali Cartel Chief Gets 28 Years

APO  4/16/97 9:09 AM  


Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of the Associated Press.
  
   BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- A top leader of the Cali drug cartel has been sentenced to 28 years in prison, but for kidnapping, not narcotics trafficking.
   Phanor Arizabaleta, considered No. 5 in the syndicate, was convicted and sentenced for extorsive kidnapping Tuesday by a regional judge in Cali, the chief prosecutor's office said.
   Arizabaleta, in a maximum-security Bogota prison since his July 1995 surrender, is still awaiting trial on drug-trafficking charges.
   On Tuesday, he was found guilty of ordering the 1992 kidnapping of Harold Barbosa, whose sister owed him $200,000.
   Drug traffickers in Colombia have frequently used kidnapping as a means to cover unpaid debts or to force others to make good on an agreement.
   The sentence is the highest yet for a top Cali cartel leader, all of whom are in jail after their surrender or capture beginning in mid-1995. Others have received lesser sentences on trafficking convictions.
   


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Subject:  LA_16Apr97_Mexico arrests another army officer over drug ties.
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	   Mexico arrests another army officer over drug ties

RTw  4/16/97 5:47 AM  


Copyright 1997 Reuters Ltd.  All rights reserved.
The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd.
 
    By David Monjaraz
     MEXICO CITY, April 15 (Reuter) - An army major has been arrested for allegedly tipping off Mexico's most wanted druglord, the latest evidence of corruption in the country's scandal-plagued drugs war, senators said on Tuesday.
     The information emerged after Defence Minister Enrique Cervantes met with 12 senators and informed them of the leak to Amado Carrillo Fuentes, head of the so-called Juarez cartel and Mexico's prime cocaine smuggler.
     According to those present, Cervantes said a major tipped off Carrillo in January that police and troops were on a mission to grab him at his sister's wedding in the northwestern state of Sinaloa.
     His escape was a big embarrassment to police.
     "The minister told us that the capture of Carrillo was not possible because a major at a base in Sinaloa blew the whistle," Norberto Corella, senator for the conservative National Action Party, told Reuters.
     "He told us the officer had received $200,000 to tip off Carrillo, to tell him there was an operation against him."
     There was no date given for the officer's arrest, nor was his name released. The Defence Ministry was not immediately available for comment.
     According to the senators, Cervantes showed a video of Carillo's sister's wedding in Sinaloa, in which the druglord stood at his sister's side "like a godfather."
     At one point, his cellular phone rang, and he was told by the major that the police were on their way, Cervantes said. Carrillo fled.
     His arrest brings to three the number of high ranking officers seized on drugs-related charges this year, including Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, who was the country's anti-drugs chief until he was thrown in jail in February.
     A slew of such scandals have tainted Mexico's anti-drug efforts this year and annoyed Washington in the run-up to U.S. President Bill Clinton's first state visit to the country on May 6-7.
     On Tuesday, two police anti-drug agents were arrested for trying to conceal a 1 1/2 tonne marijuana bust in the northern state of Baja California Sur, the attorney general's office said.
     Mexico's commitment to fighting drugs will face new scrutiny this week when White House drugs chief Barry McCaffrey makes a working visit to Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday.
  REUTER


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