SURGING COLOMBIAN GOLD TRADE IS GIFT TO NARCO-MONEY LAUNDERERS AND TERRORIST FINANCIERS
October 1st, 2010
BY NADJA DROST
THE SURGING price of gold has unleashed a gold rush in Colombia, and international criminal networks are using the burgeoning trade in the precious metal to clean the proceeds of crime. In a country with as intimate a connection with the illicit drugs trade and terrorism as Colombia, the risks posed to anti-money laundering authorities are significant.
Foreign mining companies are flooding into the same gold-rich areas where informal miners have mined for generations and where newer, illegal mining operations are popping up overnight. ...
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