Former Bolivian government minister pleads guilty to conspiracy to launder bribes in U.S.
OCT. 20, 2022 / 7:32 PM
By Adam Schrader
Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, the former head of a government ministry in Bolivia, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder more than half a million dollars in bribes he received. He is pictured in FBI custody in 2021. Photo courtesy of FBI/Wikimedia
Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The former head of a government ministry in Bolivia has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder more than half a million dollars in bribes he received, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday.
Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, a 58-year-old businessman and hotelier, served as the minister of government in Bolivia from 2019 to 2020.
During his time in government, Murillo conspired to launder $532,000 in bribes by a Florida company to secure a $5.6 million defense contract in Bolivia, the Justice Department said in a statement. Murillo received about $130,000 in cash bribe payments.
He was among five co-conspirators, including three U.S. citizens, who were arrested in Florida and Georgia in May for their roles in the bribery scheme.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/10/20/2091666308443/
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Former Bolivian minister in Anez's administration pleads guilty in the US to several crimes
By Iolanda Fonseca
October 20, 2022
Former Bolivian government minister Arturo Murillo, the most influential in the administration of former de facto president Jeanine Áñez (2019-2020), pleaded guilty to crimes such as bribery and money laundering in the US, as confirmed Thursday by the state prosecutor, Wilfredo Chávez.
Bolivian government minister Arturo Murillo. (Photo internet reproduction)
Subsequently, Chávez said that an extradition process would be activated for him to answer in Bolivia for the massacres of Senkata and Sacaba, in which at least 27 people died in November 2019.
According to the investigation, Murillo received bribes from foreign businessmen to secure a US$5.6 million contract, for the purchase of tear gas and non-lethal equipment for the Bolivian state.
Áñez’s former strongman was arrested in the US in 2021.
https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/mercosur/bolivia/former-bolivian-minister-in-anezs-administration-pleads-guilty-in-the-us-to-several-crimes/
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Time to take another look at Miami as the money-laundering center for Latin American crime profits?
Operation Greenback
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operation Greenback was a Miami, Florida-based, multi-agency U.S. government task force targeting money laundering connected to drug trafficking.[1]
Formation and composition
The operation was established in response to the explosive growth of money laundering in South Florida following the increase in drug trafficking in the region.[1][2] A 1979 cash-flow study by the Federal Reserve Bank found that Florida had a $5.5 billion cash surplus at a time when the rest of the country had a cash deficit.[1][2]
The interagency task force was formed in late 1979 at the suggestion of the Treasury Department[2] and launched investigations in 1980.[3] The task force was the first interagency group set up to combat money laundering.[4]
It was composed of investigators from the Justice Department (Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section) and the Treasury Department (Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Customs Service).[1][2] The task force cooperated with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).[3]
Investigations and prosecutions
Investigators reviewed currency transaction reports (CTRs) and currency and monetary instrument reports (CMIRs)[3] to identify violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.[1][2] The operation resulted in a large number of federal seizures of cash bound for Colombian drug cartels.[2] For example, in November 1980, agents seized $1.6 million in suspected drug profits and two aircraft after intercepting alleged traffickers at the Opa-Locka Airport.[5] In October 1982, investigations raided a cocaine production laboratory in Miami, recovering $3 million and 40 pounds of cocaine, and arresting 11 people.[6] In 1983, the operation expanded to Puerto Rico.[7]
More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Greenback