Also present at the signing ceremony was UN Resident Coordinator, Nathalie Ndongo-Seh at a previous meeting with government one of the discussed issues
Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs
Ministry of Finance
Eswatini Royal Police Service
Eswatini Revenue Authority
Director of Public Prosecutions
Anti Corruption Commission
Financial Intelligence Unit
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Delegates at a Regional Workshop held in Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania
UNODC has launched a series of capacity building workshops through its project " Countering Illicit Financial Flows by Strengthening Law Enforcement for Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for Southern Africa (ARINSA)". A regional approach has been taken with various workshops being held in the region. The first workshop was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from 12 to 15 August 2019.
The workshop was facilitated by Mrs. Connie Williams Regional Law Enforcement Adviser for Southern Africa and was the first in a series of workshops and instances of technical assistance aimed at increasing the operational capacity of target countries to identify, seize and confiscate currency and bearer negotiable instruments being smuggled into and through their jurisdictions.
In his opening remarks at the 4-day event the UK Deputy High Commissioner Mr. Rick Shearn, highlighted that illicit cross-border movement of cash and other valuable commodities, such as gold and diamonds, allows criminals and drug dealers to transport and conceal the proceeds of crime facilitating the financing of transnational criminal organizations.
The sessions introduced various subject matter including, cash smuggling modalities, mechanisms of border security, money laundering schemes, profiling, investigative interviewing techniques as well as gap analysis on the implementation of best practices on operational capacity. The sessions emphasised the importance of inter-agency cooperation and collaboration of national authorities mandated to prevent, investigate and prosecute money-laundering and related offenses, as well how to locate, seize and confiscate the proceeds from crime.
This all-inclusive initiative draws participants from various stakeholders such as border management, the police, Financial Intelligence Units, customs and public prosecutor’s office. Participants are exposed to networking opportunities as they interact with their counterparts from other ARINSA member states. These regional forums enable them to draw on their experiences and contribute to interesting discussions and the identification of common challenges and solutions
The national workshop in
Eswatini brought together 18 practitioners from financial intelligence and
investigations, customs, DPP and law enforcement.
The discussions and interactive exchange of views allowed the participants to identify both the best practices and the challenges faced by the judiciary and law enforcement agencies in investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating cash smuggling and money-laundering, and to assess the adequacy of law enforcement capacity in Eswatini, which are applied for depriving criminals of proceeds of crime.
This project is funded by the United Kingdom Department of International Development and aims to assist target counties to strengthen their operational capacity to seize, confiscate currency and bearer negotiable instruments being smuggled and to foster cooperation at the regional level for effective action to tackle organised crime, money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
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By DAVID LEWIS in Nairobi, RYAN McNEILL and ZANDI SHABALALA in London
Billions of dollars’ worth of gold is being smuggled out of Africa every year through the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East – a gateway to markets in Europe, the United States and beyond – a Reuters analysis has found.
Customs data shows that the UAE imported $15.1 billion worth of gold from Africa in 2016, more than any other country and up from $1.3 billion in 2006. The total weight was 446 tonnes, in varying degrees of purity – up from 67 tonnes in 2006.
Much of the gold was not recorded in the exports of African states. Five trade economists interviewed by Reuters said this indicates large amounts of gold are leaving Africa with no taxes being paid to the states that produce them.
Previous reports and studies have highlighted the black-market trade in gold mined by people, including children, who have no ties to big business, and dig or pan for it with little official oversight. No-one can put an exact figure on the total value that is leaving Africa. But the Reuters analysis gives an estimate of the scale.Reuters assessed the volume of the illicit trade by comparing total imports into the UAE with the exports declared by African states. Industrial mining firms in Africa told Reuters they did not send their gold to the UAE – indicating that its gold imports from Africa come from other, informal sources.
Informal methods of gold production, known in the industry as “artisanal” or small-scale mining, are growing globally. They have provided a livelihood to millions of Africans and help some make more money than they could dream of from traditional trades. But the methods leak chemicals into rocks, soil and rivers. And African governments such as Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia complain that gold is now being illegally produced and smuggled out of their countries on a vast scale, sometimes by criminal operations, and often at a high human and environmental cost.
Artisanal mining began as small-time ventures. But the “romantic” era of individual mining has given way to “large-scale and dangerous” operations run by foreign-controlled criminal syndicates, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo told a mining conference in February. Ghana is Africa’s second-largest gold producer.
Not everyone in the chain is breaking the law. Miners, some of them working legally, typically sell the gold to middlemen. The middlemen either fly the gold out directly or trade it across Africa’s porous borders, obscuring its origins before couriers carry it out of the continent, often in hand luggage. For example, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a major gold producer but one whose official exports amount to a fraction of its estimated production: Most is smuggled into neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda. “It is of course worrisome for us but we have very little leverage to stop it,” said Thierry Boliki, director of the CEEC, the Congolese government body that is meant to register, value and tax high-value minerals like gold.
The customs data provided by governments to Comtrade, a United Nations database, shows the UAE has been a prime destination for gold from many African states for some years. In 2015, China – the world’s biggest gold consumer – imported more gold from Africa than the UAE. But during 2016, the latest year for which data is available, the UAE imported almost double the value taken by China. With African gold imports worth $8.5 billion that year, China came a distant second. Switzerland, the world’s gold refining hub, came third with $7.5 billion worth.
Most of the gold is traded in Dubai, home to the UAE's gold industry.
The UAE reported gold imports from 46 African countries for 2016. Of those countries, 25 did not provide Comtrade with data on their gold exports to the UAE. But the UAE said it had imported a total of $7.4 billion worth of gold from them.
In addition, the UAE imported much more gold from most of the other 21
countries than those countries said they had exported. In all, it said it
imported gold worth $3.9 billion – about 67 tonnes – more than those
countries said they sent out.
“There is a lot of gold leaving Africa without being captured in our records,” said Frank Mugyenyi, a senior adviser on industrial development at the African Union who set up the organisation’s minerals unit. “UAE is cashing in on the unregulated environment in Africa.”
The Dubai Customs Authority referred Reuters’ queries to the UAE foreign ministry, which did not respond. The UAE government media office referred Reuters to the UAE federal customs authority, which also did not respond.
Not all the discrepancies in the data analysed by Reuters necessarily point to African-mined gold being smuggled out through the UAE. Small differences could result from shipping costs and taxes being declared differently, a time-lag between a cargo leaving and arriving, or simply mistakes. And gold analysts say some of the trade, especially from Egypt and Libya, could include gold that has been recycled.
But in 11 cases, the per-kilo value that the UAE declared importing is significantly higher than that recorded by the exporting country. This, said Leonce Ndikumana, an economist who has studied capital flows in Africa, is a “classic case of export under-invoicing” to reduce taxes.
Matthew Salomon, an American economist who has researched the use of
trade statistics to identify illicit financial flows, said the issue deserves
scrutiny. “Persistent discrepancies in the trade of particular goods and
between particular countries … can identify significant risks of illicit
activity,” he said.
Pollution, conflict and bandits
Over the past decade, high demand for gold has made it attractive for informal miners to use digging equipment and toxic chemicals to boost the yield. Contaminated water is returned to rivers, slowly poisoning the people who need the water to live.
Small-scale miners have long used mercury – easy to buy at around $10 for a thumb-sized vial – to extract flecks of gold from ore, before sluicing it away. Mercury’s toxic effects include damage to kidneys, heart, liver, spleen and lungs, and neurological disorders, such as tremors and muscle weakness. Cyanide and nitric acid are also being used in the process, according to researchers and miners in Ghana.
Industrial mining companies have also been responsible for pollution, ranging from cyanide spills to respiratory problems linked to dust produced by mining operations. But almost a dozen states including DRC, Uganda, Chad, Niger, Ghana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Mali and Sudan have complained in the past year about the harms of unauthorised mining.
Burkina Faso has banned small-scale mining in some areas where al Qaeda-linked Islamists are active, and earlier this month Nigeria’s government suspended mining in the restive northwestern state of Zamfara, saying intelligence reports established what it called “a strong and glaring nexus” between the activities of armed bandits and illicit miners.
Strong prices have fuelled the boom. Today, gold trades at over $40,000 per kilo, which is below a peak from 2012 but still four times the level of two decades ago.
Western investors want gold so they can diversify their portfolios;
India and China want it for jewellery. But most Western companies – and the
banks that finance them – avoid handling non-industrial African gold directly.
They are unwilling to risk using metal that may have been mined to fund
conflict or that may have involved human rights abuses in, for instance, DRC or
Sudan. Various Uganda-based traders have been sanctioned for handling gold
smuggled out of DRC.
Destination Dubai
In other states, including the UAE, these concerns have been less of a problem. Over the last decade, gold from Africa has become increasingly important for Dubai. From 2006 to 2016, the share of African gold in UAE’s reported gold imports increased from 18 percent to nearly 50 percent, Comtrade data showed.
The UAE’s main commodity marketplace, the Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC), calls itself on its website “your gateway to global trade.” Trading in gold accounts for nearly one-fifth of UAE’s GDP.
However, no big industrial companies reached by Reuters – including AngloGold Ashanti, Sibanye-Stillwater and Gold Fields – say they send gold there. Reuters contacted 23 mining companies with African operations, the smallest of which produced around 2.5 tonnes in 2018: 21 of them said they did not send metal to Dubai for refining, the other two did not respond.
While the big South African miners have local refining capacity, the main reason others gave is that no UAE refineries are accredited by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the standard-setter for the industry in Western markets.
The LBMA is “not comfortable dealing with the region” because of concerns about weaknesses in customs, cash transactions and hand-carried gold, its chief technical officer Neil Harby told Reuters. Investigators and people in the gold industry say the ease with which smugglers can carry gold in their hand-luggage on planes leaving Africa helps gold flow out unrecorded. And limited regulation in UAE means informally mined gold can be legally imported, tax-free.
Gold can be imported to Dubai with little documentation, African traders told Reuters.
A DMCC spokesman said it has a robust regulatory framework that includes strict responsible sourcing rules. These are aligned with the international benchmark for responsible sourcing laid out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Sanjeev Dutta, head of commodities at DMCC, said in January that the centre is building strategic relationships with most gold-producing countries on the African continent, “and we are very confident of how that production is done and how responsible” it is. Over the past 12 months, he said, DMCC has firmed up a standard for refineries, called Dubai Good Delivery, which he said is very strict on responsible sourcing and sustainability. “We track right from responsible sourcing to sustainable development, things like human rights etc.,” he said. “We demand export certificates.”
A “very limited” number of refineries accept gold that has been imported as hand luggage, Dutta said, but gave no figures.
Gold to go
Some African miners are swapping their pickaxes and shovels for diggers and crushers – increasing production volumes exponentially. Regulation remains scant, and accidents are frequent. In one week this February, three accidents at illegal mining operations in Zimbabwe, Guinea and Liberia claimed the lives of more than 100 people.
Often, miners must surrender a cut of their output, as commission, to the people who control a pit, let out the equipment, or buy and sell the gold. NGOs such as Global Witness and Human Rights Watch have documented child labour, corruption and links to conflict at some of these mines. At one mine in Zimbabwe visited by Reuters, people said they had to hand over some of their find before they would even be allowed out of the pit.
Reuters presented its analysis to 14 African governments. Of them, five said it reflected an existing concern about gold being smuggled out of their countries that they are trying to address. One said they did not think gold smuggling was a problem for them. The rest declined to comment or did not respond.
Governments across Africa are trying to work out how to manage a sector that, whatever its risks, provides a livelihood for many of their citizens, and which could be harnessed as a source of revenues.
Some, including Ivory Coast, are taking gradual steps to regulate their informal mining operations. Ghana and Zambia have sent security forces into mining areas to halt operations so miners can be registered and regulations put in place. Ghana, concerned that a rush of mainly Chinese-led ventures is harming the environment, has arrested hundreds of Chinese miners and expelled thousands in the past six years.
At the end of last month, Ghana temporarily banned the import of excavator equipment to try to stem a surge in illegal mining using heavy machinery.
“I understand that Dubai is the destination for this gold. But since (the trade) is fraudulent, I have no details.”
Burkina Faso Mines Minister Idani Oumarou
In Sudan, one of the continent’s biggest producers, the government has unveiled a $3 billion plan for private banks to work with the central bank to buy gold from small-scale miners, offering prices that would make it less attractive to sell on the black market.
A Tanzanian parliamentary report estimated that 90 percent of annual production of informally mined gold is smuggled out of the country: The government wants the central bank to buy this up. In March, President John Magufuli launched a plan to establish hubs where the trade would be formalised by offering access to financing and regulated markets.
In Burkina Faso, Oumarou Idani, minister of mines, believes his country is leaking gold to UAE on a massive scale. Of the 9.5 tonnes of gold the government estimates informal miners dig up each year, just 200 to 400 kg are declared to the authorities, he said.
Much of the gold is smuggled from landlocked Burkina Faso to its Atlantic coast neighbour Togo, according to the minister. In Togo, virtually no taxes are imposed on gold.
Togo’s director of mining development and controls, Nestor Kossi Adjehoun, said informal mining is “an area that we have not properly figured out.” For now, he said, Togo saw no reason to suspect gold was being smuggled through the country.
“I understand that Dubai is the destination for this gold,” his Burkina Faso neighbour, Minister Idani, told Reuters in an interview last year. “But since (the trade) is fraudulent, I have no details.”
Additional reporting by John Ndiso in Nairobi, Tim **s in Ouagadougou, Ed McAllister in Dakar, Chris Mfula in Lusaka, Giulia Paravicini in Kinshasa, MacDonald Dzirutwe in Battlefields, Zimbabwe, John Zodzi in Lome, Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala in Dodoma, Maha El Dahan in Dubai, and Peter Hobson in London
New Gold Rush
By David Lewis, Ryan McNeill and Zandi Shabalaba
Data: Ryan McNeill
Graphics: Samuel Granados and Michael Ovaska
Photo editing: Simon Newman
Video: Tim **s and Matt Larotonda
Design: Pete Hausler
Edited by Sara Ledwith, Alexandra Zavis and Richard Woods
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Aug 02, 2019 Lawson Chad
According to Bank of Namibia “Money Laundering is the process whereby
criminals convert the proceeds of crime (such as money, property, shares, etc.)
into assets that appear to have a legitimate origin.”
Believed to be more prolific in Namibia than reported, methods used to launder
money are various and include small to medium sized cash business and even
large parastatals which operate using cash on a fairly regular basis, it is
alleged.
The primary objective for all the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements
imposed on the banks as per the Financial Intelligence Act, 13 of 2012 (FIA) is
to report Suspicious Transactions and /or Activities Reports (STR/SAR’s) so as
to enable law enforcement to prevent criminals from completing or benefiting
from the proceeds of their illegal activities. These requirements also protect
Namibian banks from being used as an institution to launder illicit funds.
According to the 2019 Annual Report by the FIC, “the number of SARs reported in
2019 amounted to 279, a 97% increase, compared to 139 SARs recorded in 2018.
Attributing factors to the increase in SARs reporting is due to FIC’s
consistent AML/CTF trainings, supervision and monitoring into the quality of
reporting.”
“The latest statistical report from the Bank of Namibia’s Financial
Intelligence Centre (FIC) indicates that Tax Evasion remains the leading
potential offence in all the suspicious reports finalised. This feedback is
demonstrative of how STR/SAR’s not only assist law enforcement but also protect
the Namibian economy from losing funds through illicit activities, says Bank
Windhoek André le Roux, Manager: PR & Reputation Risk.
For banks, suspicions are raised when it is clear that there exists no match
between a client’s profile and the transaction that the said client might be in
the process of performing.
An example of such a scenario may be when a client’s source of funds are not
aligned to the transaction in question or when there is no identification documentation
availed. Such an instance would be reported to the FIC.
A monthly statistical report, published by the FIC in June 2019 states that
“during the period under review STR’s received slightly decreased to 78 STRs
from 95, and 82 recorded during the previous month and the same month in the
previous year respectively. The chart further shows that currently, out of all
the STRs received during the month under review, only 3 reports were escalated
for further analysis whereas 17 were classified as ‘low priority’.
In addition, a total of 58 STRs or 74.4% of these reports were still under
cleansing at the time of reporting.
The Banks continue to file the most reports. During the month of June 2019, May
2019 and June 2018, they filed 80.8%, 89.5% and 57.3% of all STRs
respectively,” reveals the report.
“The fight against financial crime is a responsibility for not only banks but
for every citizen and resident of Namibia.
With this core understanding, if you have knowledge of any suspicious activity/
transaction concluded in any business, or suspect that a business received or
is about to receive the proceeds of unlawful activities, you must without
delay, after the suspicion or belief concerning the transaction/activity that
gave rise to the requirement, report the same to the FIC,” urges Le Roux.
Financial crime is a national and global challenge. Often times the Banks
receive queries on why Anti-Money Laundering, Combatting Terrorist and
Proliferation Financing requirements such as Know Your Customer and Enhanced
Due Diligence requirements are necessary.
“Whilst these obligations may seem cumbersome in the normal course of day to
day activities, we must remember that criminals rely on funding to conduct
their operations,” Le Roux continued.
In the latest statistical report from the Financial Intelligence Centre,
Tax Evasion biggest offence
Tax Evasion remains the leading potential offence in all the suspicious reports
finalised.
This feedback is demonstrative of how STR/SAR’s not only assist law enforcement
but also protect the Namibian economy from losing funds through illicit
activities.
“It is therefore incumbent on the general public, especially businesses to
appreciate that requirements such as KYC are the foundation which assist banks
to combat financial crime, decrease the risk of proceeds of crime being cleaned
through Namibia’s financial system,” Le Roux concluded.
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The FBI said Richard Castro, of Florida, had bought the equivalent of “approximately 100 quadrillion [1,000 trillion] Zimbabwe bank notes” in June 2018.
Use of the currency had ended years earlier, following hyperinflation.
he purchase is thought to have been part of a wider money laundering scheme.
Castro also bought hundreds of thousands of US dollars worth of vehicles and “luxury automobile [wheel]rims”.
The accused initially made his fortune by illegally dealing opioids, including fentanyl and carfentanil – both of which are stronger than heroin.
These were initially sold via AlphaBay and Dream Market, markets on the Tor network accessed via a special web browser only.
However, after the authorities shut AlphaBay down and were rumoured to have compromised Dream Market’s platform, Castro told his clients he would accept purchases via encrypted email only and required them to pay the equivalent of a US$104 fee in Bitcoin to be told the address.
An undercover police officer paid the fee and used the address to order several deliveries, which first helped identify one of Castro’s associates and then the dealer himself, who had gone by the nickname Chems_usa.
Castro initially claimed to be not guilty before changing his plea last week.
He has since agreed to surrender a sum worth the equivalent of about US$4.16m, earned through the criminal venture.
He is due to be sentenced on October 25 and could face decades in jail. – BBC
Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that RICHARD CASTRO, a/k/a “Chemsusa,” a/k/a “Chems_usa,” a/k/a “Chemical_usa,” a/k/a “Jagger109,” pled guilty today to money laundering and to participating in a conspiracy to distribute carfentanil, fentanyl, and a fentanyl analogue over the “dark web,” including on AlphaBay and Dream Market. CASTRO also agreed to forfeit more than $4 million in criminal proceeds. CASTRO pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As he admitted today, for years, Richard Castro used the dark web to distribute prolific quantities of powerful opioids, including fentanyl and carfentanil. Castro thought he could hide behind the anonymity of the internet, and use online pseudonyms to deal drugs – like ‘Chems_usa’ and ‘Chemical_usa.’ Thanks to our law enforcement partners, ‘Chems_usa’ is now in U.S. prison.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment to which RICHARD CASTRO pled guilty, public court filings, and statements made in court:
From November 2015 through March 2019, CASTRO conspired to distribute carfentanil, fentanyl, and phenyl fentanyl (an analogue of fentanyl). Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is significantly stronger than heroin, and carfentanil is a fentanyl analogue that is approximately 100 times stronger than fentanyl. For most of the conspiracy, CASTRO and a co-conspirator dealt drugs over the dark web, using the monikers “Chemsusa,” “Chems_usa,” and “Chemical_usa.” CASTRO was an operator of these online monikers and the leader of this conspiracy. On one dark web marketplace, Dream Market, CASTRO boasted that he had completed more than 3,200 transactions on other dark web markets, including more than 1,800 on AlphaBay. The customer feedback for “Chemsusa” included, “Extremely potent and definitely the real Carf,” as well as “The Carfent is unbelievably well synthesized, keep up the amazing work.”
In June 2018, CASTRO, using the “Chemsusa” moniker, informed his customers that he was moving his business off dark web marketplaces and would accept purchase requests for narcotics only via encrypted email. To learn the off-market email address, “Chems_usa” required willing customers to pay a fee. An undercover law enforcement officer paid this fee, obtained the encrypted email address, and placed orders with CASTRO. CASTRO’s co-defendant, Luis Fernandez, shipped narcotics on behalf of the conspiracy, including from New York City.
CASTRO’s customers paid him in Bitcoin. CASTRO laundered his narcotics proceeds in several ways, including by funneling millions of dollars through his Bitcoin wallets and by buying approximately 100 quadrillion Zimbabwe bank notes, among other valuables.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, CASTRO has agreed forfeit $4,156,198.18, including the funds or currency in seven different Bitcoin wallet addresses.
* * *
RICHARD CASTRO, 36, of Windermere, Florida, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute three controlled substances – carfentanil, phenyl fentanyl, and fentanyl, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; and one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. Sentencing is scheduled for October 25, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. before Judge Cote.
Mr. Berman praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the New York City Police Department for their outstanding investigative work. Mr. Berman also thanked the Internal Revenue Service and the Orange County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this case.
This matter is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael D. Neff, Aline R. Flodr, and Ryan B. Finkel are in charge of the prosecution.
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News provided by
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC)
Jul 26, 2019, 02:00 ET
HARARE, Zimbabwe, July 26, 2019 Zimbabwe's Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality, Prisca Mupfumira, was arrested Thursday by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) on allegations of corruption. It is the first high-profile arrest following the appointment two weeks ago of ZACC chair Loice Matanda-Moyo, who has vowed zero tolerance for crimes and obstruction.
Matanda-Moyo, who was seconded for three years from her position as a High Court judge, recently acknowledged that "corruption is quite rampant in all sectors of our economy" and promised "to leave no stone unturned" to ensure that everybody who is engaging in corrupt activities – including high-profile personalities – is brought to justice in order to achieve a "corrupt-free Zimbabwe".
"Once we join hands in fighting corruption, we will win and our economic challenges will disappear," Matanda-Moyo said, adding "Zimbabwe prisons will be open for business."
President Emmerson Mnangagwa was elected a year ago on the promises of implementing wide-ranging reforms and fighting rampant corruption, following the 37-year tenure of Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa reformed the ZACC in February, which he described as "rotten to the core" at the time, and set up the new anti-graft body with nine bipartisan commissioners from varied backgrounds, including auditors, accountants, lawyers and police officers.
Pledging political will and commitment to fight corruption, the government has recently given ZACC arresting powers and it is amending the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act to include Unexplained Wealth orders, which will make recoveries of ill-gotten wealth much easier. The government is also in the process of crafting legislation that protects whistle-blowers and witnesses in corruption cases.
While the detention of Mupfumira is the first high-profile arrest, ZACC is currently investigating over 200 cases of corruption. Meanwhile, the Judicial Services Commission is moving to open specialised Anti-Corruption Courts in all 10 provinces of the country, with courts having already been opened in the capital Harare, as well as Bulawayo, Mutare and Masvingo.
Source: Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC)
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The is the first edition of a new biannual newsletter published by TRAFFIC, the international wildlife trade monitoring network.
It provides the latest insights into illegal wildlife trade in Africa and is aimed at the frontline law enforcement responsible for intercepting, investigating and prosecuting the vast array of wildlife being smuggled to global markets. Sections include the major trade routes and ports involved, methods of concealment being used by smugglers, and things look out for when making or investigating seizures.
Non-frontline staff will also find this newsletter helpful in understanding the current role of Africa in the illegal wildlife trade, emerging trends in species involved and links with the drugs trade.
Download the full report here. (Africa IWT Enforcement Newsletter JUNE 2019)
This is our first edition and we want this to be as useful and user-friendly as possible. Please let us know what you think by filling out this very short survey which will help guide our second edition https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/C7Q8PP2.
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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) says it is registering more entities to report cases of money laundering because launderers are now opting for non-traceable transactions.
The authority recently announced that car dealers would be required to register with it, in a move to curb laundering in the business. In addition, the authority is targeting persons involved in trading with crypto-currencies.
The Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2013 mandates the authority to register all accountable persons who are then obliged to submit reports on their transactions, and cases of suspected money laundering and terror financing.
FIA Executive Director Sydney Asubo says trends are changing as more launderers avoid the official banking system which will, in most cases, avoid suspicious funds. Asubo says there is an increase in the number of untraceable money transfer channels, complicating the fight against money laundering.
He cites the Hawala system as one of the channels that are increasingly being used by launders to beat the financial intelligence network.
Hawala is an illegal foreign exchange market where trading of currency happens outside the parallel controlled financial channels.
The Hawala system works with a network of operators through whom, a person willing to transfer money can channel their remittance without going through the formal banking system. A dealer from one country, just contacts a counterpart from the receiving end, to hand over cash to the intended recipient.
The system is done via informal agreements with no requirements to go through the banks or even cross borders as long as the two parties can be trusted. Asubo says that hundreds of sales agreements are concluded every day without using the conventional banks, a move that requires that the financial intelligence network also revisits its approach.
Asubo also says there are lapses in checks in money laundering as some of them do not have the facilities to detect cases.
Meanwhile, Asubo says they are currently working on a framework to regulate cryptocurrencies in Uganda. He says the framework will allow the entity to capture the details of the cryptocurrency dealers, understanding them and asking them to register. He says their beginning point is to get to know individuals dealing with cryptocurrency.
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Dar es Salaam, 12 June 2019-- Assets, including minerals worth $ 41 million USD, determined to be proceeds of crime were confiscated and nationalized by the Government of Tanzania in 2018 according to the Vice-President, Samia Suluhu Hassan, while delivering a keynote address on behalf of President John Magufuli, at the launch of the 10th ARINSA Anniversary and Annual General Meeting. The VP was speaking at the official opening, which was held at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The event was attended by more than 300 delegates from the 16 ARINSA member countries and other agents representing various stakeholders in the asset forfeiture field.
“ARINSA is a catalyst to Tanzania’s efforts in combating crime and ensuring that criminals do not benefit in any capacity from their crime. Today’s anniversary marks a historical event as it symbolizes our continued cooperation within the Southern African region, which was initiated by the founders of our States during our independence struggles.” She remarked.
She further called upon ARINSA member country leaders to enact legislation that sets aside 2 - 3% of recovered proceeds to go towards supporting efforts of law enforcement agencies and the operations of ARINSA.
The ARINSA President, Mr Biswalo Mganga (Director of Public Prosecutions -Tanzania), told the meeting that a total number of 416 restraint and preservations orders, and 142 confiscation orders had been reported by member countries since 2009. This has resulted in the recovery of assets worth $1.4bn USD since the launch of the network. In her speech, Advocate Imalwa, the Prosecutor General of Namibia, highlighted the need to ensure that the wealth of resources in African nations must be used for the benefit of Africans who have remained poor despite all the resources they have. It is through initiatives such as ARINSA that this continent can be financially independent.
The culmination of the event was marked by the heads of delegations of ARINSA member countries that were present, signing the “Dar es Salaam Declaration on Strengthening Asset Forfeiture for Development”, a commitment by member countries to ensure that the asset forfeiture framework is fully supported and functional. In light of the meeting, the VP also launched several ARINSA publications, which included the ARINSA Annual Report, a Case digest on Money laundering and Proceeds of Crime, and the ARINSA Strategic Plan 2018 – 2022, among others.
The launch was followed by 2 days of deliberations and presentations by member country representatives and ARINSA stakeholders on issues of money laundering and proceeds of crime. At the meeting it was evident that ARINSA continues to strengthen professionalism in the asset forfeiture, anti-money laundering, wildlife crime, cyber-crime and counter-terrorism financing regimes.
Country discussions revealed that most member states have taken great strides in establishing and amending AML legislation, setting up Asset Recovery Units, tracing cases pertaining to property, money, drugs and wildlife and returning the proceeds of crime to the Country of origin and using the proceeds to benefit the respective communities.
ARINSA has benefitted countries through trainings, mentorship, awareness raising materials – building of brand ambassadors, sharing information and coordination with other law enforcement agencies.
At the meeting, the following were highlighted as necessary technical assistance and training needed to further build capacity within the countries: continued mentorship, continuing the Prosecutor Placement Programme, following the proceeds from wildlife crime, financial investigation, Cyber Crime, asset management and legislation amendments.
The ARINSA steering committee presented the plan of action for the next year through to the end of June 2020, which included raising the ARINSA profile at the African Prosecutors Association, an Enhanced Case Digest project, developing mentorship capacity, launch of an investigator placement program, asset management capacity building, submission of an ARINSA self-funding proposal to SADC heads of States.
Electronic copies of the books and the Declaration Statement are available under the ARINSA Community section of this platform.
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"FROM THE TRIAL of JEAN-PIERRE BEMBA GOMBO - article published April 2019
Former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba is seeking €68.8 million (US$ 77.7 million) in compensation from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his 10-year detention and alleged mismanagement of his assets by the court’s Registry.
The defense alleges that the court acted negligently in seizing and freezing Bemba’s properties without properly managing them. It contends that Bemba would have had a valid claim even if he had been convicted in the criminal trial.
Following an ICC request, in May 2008 Bemba’s bank accounts in Congo, Portugal, Belgium, and an unnamed country were frozen. Bank accounts in Belgium and Portugal in his wife’s name were frozen too. A family home in Brussels, various properties and parcels of land in Congo, and a villa and a boat in Portugal were also seized.
The defense says additional property was seized, apparently without judicial order. It included two villas, three motor vehicles, and a Boeing 727-100 aircraft at Faro airport in Portugal; a river cruiser, six aircraft, and several vehicles in Congo.
According to the defense, at the time of Bemba’s arrest, his Portuguese bank was settling invoices for the Boeing’s monthly parking and maintenance fee of €1,527. Once the account was frozen, the bank was unable to pay, and when Bemba requested in December 2010 to be given back the aircraft’s keys and documentation to lease it out, the ICC Registry responded in May 2011 that the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) “had been unable to identify the key of the plane and thus it could not be handed over.”
Haynes said the OTP returned the keys in September 2018 following Bemba’s acquittal. By then, the plane had incurred a debt of €981,954 and is “now scrap.” Haynes said if the prosecution had handed over the keys earlier, the plane could have been moved to a location with lower or no fees, or it could have been sold to a buyer who offered €1 million"
Read the full report in the attached press release.340 words