Friday, October 21, 2011

VIKTOR BOUT OFFERED TO LAUNDER ARMS MONEY

Testimony offered at his ongoing criminal trial, taking place this month in US District Court* in New York, indicated that accused arms trafficker Viktor Bout, though not charged in that case with money laundering, offered to assist the undercover US law enforcement agents with that issue, when making payment to him for weapons destined for the FARC in Colombia. He volunteered that he could launder the funds through Venezuela, Belarus or Russia. Think about that the next time you are assessing country risk.

He also said that an unidentified foreign diplomatic mission had agreed to supply the FARC, with whom they had a good relationship, with sufficient documentation to cover the arms shipments in international transport. Though that country was not identified, it is believed that he was speaking about Venezuela. One  more item for you to consider when adjusting country risk.
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*United States vs. Bout et al,  Case No.: 1:08-cr-00365-SAS (SDNY) 

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