Wachovia Is In Talks Over Allegations From Mexico

WSJ ^ | March 15, 2010 | CARRICK MOLLENKAMP And EVAN PEREZ

[AuntB]

Wachovia Bank, a part of Wells Fargo & Co., is in talks with the Justice Department to settle U.S. government allegations that a failure in bank controls enabled Mexican exchange houses to launder drug money...

The U.S. attorney's office in Miami led the probe, begun about three years ago, focusing on the role the government alleges a Wachovia correspondent-bank unit played in processing illegal money transfers for the exchange houses...

[AuntB]

The investigation into Wachovia and the casas de cambrio was the subject of a page one story in The Wall Street Journal in April 2008.

[driftdiver]

Didn’t we just read about how attacks on banks were being planned?

Fraud occurs each and every day.

[Liz]

The Wall Street Journal in April 2008 did a story on this..............got the story or a link?

[MrEdd]

ping

[abb]

And just who was Wachovia’s president at that time? Robert K. Steel, the former Chairman of the Duke Board of Trustees.

[AuntB]

“The Wall Street Journal in April 2008 did a story on this..............got the story or a link?”

That was noted in the article, but I will look for it.

[AuntB]

I’m confused. I excerpted the article down below the required 300 word limit. Why have you cut it down to two irrelevant lines?

Thanks.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Heck...anyone who supports NAFTA has been helping Mexican Drug Cartels funnel and launder money....anyone supporting Illegal Alien Amnesty has been on the receiving end of Mexican Drug Cartel money

[AuntB]

“Heck...anyone who supports NAFTA has been helping Mexican Drug Cartels funnel and launder money....anyone supporting Illegal Alien Amnesty has been on the receiving end of Mexican Drug Cartel money”

Sure looks that way. I didn’t hear Hannity or Limbaugh even mention the assassination of our citizens in Mexico, much less any of our congresscritters, have you?

[AuntB]

Please read the article, because the title tells you nothing. Wachovia is charged with laundering Mexican Drug cartel $$$ by way of ‘mortgages’ for aliens along the border.

[molybdenum]

Right now, M Savage is talking about it! Saying before much longer our troops will be at the border combatting these Mexican outlaws.

If the Imposter-in-Chief keeps stalling, there will be more killings of our citizens.

[AuntB]

Wachovia Now Being Investigated For Drug Money Laundering
By Chris Walters on April 28, 2008 1:48 PM

Wachovia, you old rascal! As soon as you wrap up one unsavory scandal, a new possible scandal comes to light. U.S. justice authorities are investigating the bank for possible money laundering through Mexican and Colombian money-transfer businesses. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that “the bank is possibly facing a deferred-prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice that would subject it to ‘extensive federal oversight,’” but Wachovia denies that any such discussion has taken place.

The money-transfer businesses, or casas de cambio, are commonly used by people in the U.S. to send money back to family members in Latin America, but the Justice Department suspects the popular businesses are also used by drug traffickers to shuttle money from U.S. drug sales to drug cartels in Mexico.

“
“Internal emails and documents filed in federal courts in Miami, Chicago and New York describe former ties between Wachovia and money-changing firms,” the Journal said.

It said Miami court documents show that US agents have seized over 11 million dollars in 23 Wachovia accounts that belonged to the Mexican chain Casa de Cambio Puebla. US authorities suspected the money was the laundered funds of a drugs syndicate.

The probe into Wachovia is part of a larger investigation into money laundering by drug cartels through the money transfer firms that involves both US and Mexican authorities.
”

Wachovia says it stopped doing business with the casas de cambio at the end of 2007.
http://consumerist.com/2008/04/wachovia-now-being-investigated-for-drug-money-laundering.html

[Liz]

The money-transfer businesses, or casas de cambio, are commonly used by latino nationals in the US to send money back to family members in Latin America, but the Justice Department suspects the popular businesses are also used by drug traffickers to shuttle money from U.S. drug sales to drug cartels in Mexico.

Money-transfer businesses thrive in ethnic enclaves. Betcha Bernie Madoff did a lot of his scam w/ these outfits.

Couple years ago, Yehuda Abraham a 76-year-old pillar of the Orthodox Jewish community in New York City's Diamond District was nailed for financing international terrorism. Mr. Abraham was the money man, a shadowy figure who facilitated the work of terrorists by giving them the means to finance their actions – the purchase of the missiles – through an informal money transfer system, known as hawala, which is common in the Middle East and a preferred method of finance for terrorists; the way drug dealers, criminals and terrorists launder money and transfer funds out of the US without the peering eyes of the US government banking laws and the IRS.

Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed, is even more shadowy than the others: described as a "Malaysian resident," he turned up on the scene the week before the final transaction was to occur, apparently to launder the proceeds. The Washington Post reports: "Hameed, who is charged with operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, was allegedly brought into the deal only this week to handle a scheduled down payment of $500,000 on the purchase of 50 more missiles, officials said."

Hameed is described in some news accounts as an employee of Abraham's Ambuy International, a.k.a. Ambuy Gem Corp., probably the only Jewish-owned company to boast of offices in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Both Hameed and Abraham were charged with operating an illegal money-laundering scheme, which could get them a mere 5 years prison time and a $250,000 fine.