DIFFERENT ANGLE by Kenneth Rijock
Charitable organisations will soon begin mobilising to aid the victims of the massive Peruvian earthquake, but they won't be the only ones seeking to raise and transmit funds to the affected area. Money launderers for narcotics trafficking groups that earn their profits in North America will also be looking to ride along on the crest of confusion that often accompanies disasters and organisations seeking to assist the injured, and repair the damage. Will you be able to recognise the difference between a bona fide charity and a scheming financial criminal?
- Form a bogus charity, and send multiple wire transfers to cities in Peru adjacent to, but not in the earthquake zone. They then transfer the money to their drug kingpin clients in Colombia.
- Take an active role in a small, understaffed, but reputable charity or relief organisation. Bringing in "donations" from anonymous benefactors, they ensure that the funds are diverted after they arrive on site in Peru, or are transferred out when they arrive.
- Form an NGO with a name deceptively similar to that of a known charitable entity, so as to falsely assure bank compliance officers that they are dealing with one of the heavyweights in the industry.
Always check out charitable organisations, even those that you think you know; are they really representatives of the parent group? Are they a well-established, or a start-up, NGO?
In this case, do the Latins involved in the organisations speak Peruvian-accented Spanish, and if not, do they know the slang that they would have learned had they really lived there? Watch out for bogus charities, please.
The facts and opinions stated in this article are those of the author and not those of World-Check. World-Check does not warrant the accuracy of any facts and opinions stated in this article, does not endorse them, and accepts no responsibility for them.
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