Watch Myanmar disaster charities carefully
This week’s fatal act of nature, Cyclone Nargis, that struck Burma (Myanmar) has reportedly caused thousands of deaths, with many more missing. Disaster relief and other charitable agencies will undoubtedly move to assist the victims of that unfortunate event, but compliance officers at financial institutions that handle relief funds and charitable contributions would best remember that money launderers and terrorist financiers both have been known to use the chaotic aftermath of such events to practise their dark financial arts.
Whenever disaster strikes, financial criminals, whether they be laundrymen for drug traffickers, or agents for the Tamil Tigers, Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hizballah, and many others, seek to exploit the event as a target of opportunity.
What to watch for:
* Heroin profits earned by Burma’s corrupt colonels and generals being covertly repatriated, disguised as charitable contributions to a bogus entity controlled by corrupt military officers.
* The use of inbound charitable payments to evade Myanmar economic sanctions.
* The diversion, and sale, of emergency goods in transit to the affected areas, by drug traffickers, who may even spin off some of the items to terrorist organisations if needed.
* Money being returned from Myanmar, supposedly as excess charitable contributions not needed by the recipient, that is, in truth and in fact, drug profits being expertly placed in EU banks.
Whilst the emergency situation demands swift and decisive action by the world’s charities, please carefully screen and examine the senders of these payments, for they may mask money laundering or terrorist financing. Also, follow up on the actual business of the charities; their track record, whether they are linked to terrorist organisations, and whether there could be a hidden agenda at work.