CONFESSIONS OF A
MONEY LAUNDERER by Kenneth Rijock
MONEY LAUNDERER by Kenneth Rijock
Financial Crime Consultant, for World-Check
Confessions of a Money Launderer - Part 77
3 November 2008
I want to digress a bit today, due to a comment I received recently during the Q & A at one of the New York seminars. The questioner bluntly asked me whether I was concerned for my safety, due to my chosen occupation, and wondered whether my cooperation with US law enforcement during my criminal case might be the real reason. That is a fair question, and if you have ever been to any of my lectures, you know that there is no question I will not answer, which I candidly did, but the underlying story was much too complex to explain, so I will do so here. Our readers have the right to the unvarnished truth, and to the realities of the criminal justice system, because if the unthinkable happens, and one is arrested for money laundering, whether guilty or innocent, my experiences may make their journey a little less frightening.
Let me take the issues one at a time:
My eight-year Guidelines resulted in a four-year sentence by the Court. What I did after I shuffled off to Federal Prison we will cover in the next chapter.
Next week: The Swiss Magistrate arrrives.
- First of all, many of our readers seem to believe that I am in danger because I cooperated against my former clients, to obtain a reduced sentence. It was actually the reverse; the clients gave me up for a reduced sentence. Two of them had been convicted of drug trafficking, and a third, who was a kingpin, had pled guilty. All of them rendered what is known as Substantial Assistance, giving cooperative testimony, in exchange for a reduced prison sentence. That is why I was indicted, and arrested. These were three valued clients for a decade, all of whom I protected with my silence. When they testified against me, their organisation lost my loyalty.
- If you have been paying attention to the chapters in Confessions for the past two years, you know that I worked very hard to protect my clients from indictment for the better part of a decade. This included refusing to produce documents subpoenaed by law enforcement agencies. This is a dangerous tactic, because it generally results in being targeted yourself. That's what happened. (I am not endorsing anyone failing to cooperate with law enforcement, because it is not only morally wrong for a lawyer, who is an officer of the court, it is, frankly, Obstruction of Justice).
- I refused to testify against them before a Federal Grand Jury, risking imprisonment myself for contempt. I interposed a number of dubious defences, all of which would not stand legal scrutiny: attorney-client privilege, (which does not apply in cases where the lawyer is assisting in a crime or fraud); Bank secrecy laws in a foreign jurisdiction would expose me to indictment there, which was bogus. (See Bank of Nova Scotia case); and Corporation Secrecy laws of an offshore financial centre prevented me from identifying clients ( not a crime outside that jurisdiction). By the way, for those who wanted to know, the identity of a client is not protected by the attorney-client privilege, under US vs. Robert Frank, a 5th Circuit case.
- Even when I was arrested, under a RICO indictment, the agents wanted my cooperation. Unfortunately, I was so stubborn, and so protective of my clients, that I declined at that point, and vowed to fight the case to the bitter end. I was in denial about the strength of the government's case, an irrational position unfortunately taken by many a defendant in Federal Court. It was only after my attorney advised me whose cooperation was responsible for my indictment that the truth sunk in; the clients had rolled on me. You cannot understand the impact this betrayal had upon me.
- I instructed my attorney to schedule a meeting with the prosecutor, and made what is known as a proffer of my evidence, (under a grant of immunity should it not be accepted), as a preliminary step to a guilty plea. It did not involve testifying against anyone, but detailing my involvement over the past ten years, as a career money launderer. At that point, not only did I have no remaining loyalty to an organisation whose members had caused my arrest, I was ready to expose their financial world, and assets, to the long arm of justice. That's how angry I was, but they didn't ask me those questions.
My eight-year Guidelines resulted in a four-year sentence by the Court. What I did after I shuffled off to Federal Prison we will cover in the next chapter.
Next week: The Swiss Magistrate arrrives.
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.
Read more in this exciting series
5 January 2009
29 November 2008
24 November 2008
17 November 2008
8 November 2008
3 November 2008
27 October 2008
20 October 2008
13 October 2008
4 October 2008
28 September 2008
20 September 2008
15 September 2008
15 June 2008
8 June 2008
1 June 2008
26 May 2008
19 May 2008
12 May 2008
4 May 2008
27 April 2008
20 April 2008
13 April 2008
31 March 2008
18 March 2008
4 March 2008
25 February 2008
16 February 2008
10 February 2008
3 February 2008
27 January 2008
20 January 2008
14 January 2008
6 January 2008
16 December 2007
9 December 2007
1 December 2007
25 November 2007
18 November 2007
11 November 2007
3 November 2007
27 October 2007
21 October 2007
14 October 2007
7 October 2007
1 October 2007
23 September 2007
16 September 2007
3 June 2007
27 May 2007
21 May 2007
6 May 2007
30 April 2007
22 April 2007
15 April 2007
8 April 2007
2 April 2007
24 March 2007
19 March 2007
12 March 2007
5 March 2007
25 February 2007
19 February 2007
12 February 2007
4 February 2007
28 January 2007
22 January 2007
15 January 2007
7 January 2007
2 January 2007
16 December 2006
10 December 2006
3 December 2006
27 November 2006
19 November 2006
11 November 2006
5 November 2006
29 October 2006
22 October 2006
16 October 2006
9 October 2006
2 October 2006
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