Drug money flowing to Jamaica

Western Union: Jamaica Money Transfer

If you’re an honest hard working Jamaican living abroad and planning on saving money back home in JA using Western Union or any other means of money transfer, you might need to take some caution. It seems like both the Jamaican and U.S. government see your money as dirty (drug) money and you’ll have to give account as to how you came by it sooner or later.

It’s a shame that hard working Caribbean people living abroad can barely send money home without someone thinking its drug money, but foreign companies can hide money from the U.S. government in the Caribbean.

Below is an article that was written in the Sunday Gleaner by Jenni Campbell in 1998:

Dirty dollars flowing to JA

by using legitimate money transfer services - transferring small amounts which are less likely to arouse suspicion. In addition, local researchers
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argue that the speed, safety and reliability of remitted money is a definite attraction for criminals who need to send money here.

It. is not clear exactly how much drug money is absorbed by Jamaica's financial system. . The BoJ source said the' Jamaican government, since 1988, has desisted from asking bank depositors to disclose the source of their earnings. Cambio dealers accept large amounts of foreign currency, and there is a growing number of remittance companies which ensure safe delivery of money. Both agencies have limits to the amount of cash they can accept in a single transaction. To cambios, remittance services and eventually the government coffers, the foreign exchange inflow is invaluable.

"Without agencies such as the cambio and remittance, the official banking system could not get its hands into the real foreign exchange industry," the BoJ source said.

In his debate presentation, Mr. Knight announced the establishment of money laundering analysis facility, which he is hoping will "hit criminals where it really hurts - in their bank accounts and property".

Local researchers in economics point to the growing number of. Money-transfer agencies as a clue to the increasing rate of the flow of drug money into the island. Those operating the services agree the foreign exchange inflow is significant, but hard to track.
"Thousands of dollars come into Jamaica daily through remittance services, and possibly millions, but no one really knows exactly how much," said Brian Goldson, managing director of Western Union in Jamaica.

There are 13 remittance companies locally. Western Union, which US statistics claim controls 80 per cent of the international remittance market, currently operates 29 branches locally. Western Union denies the remittance system is targeted by criminals.

"Apart from the fact that we do not ask our clients to state where they get their money, we do not believe drug dealers pass their money through remittance systems since our clients do not usually send funds in large amounts," Mr. Goldson explained.

He said that Western Union customers do not usually send more than US$200 at a time through the system. "Furthermore," he added, "there is a law in the United States which demands that all transaction over US$lO, OOO be declared to the government, and money launderers would not subject themselves to this because they cannot afford to a paper trail."
But Sunday Gleaner checks show criminals have avoided those restrictions by making multiple deals, using different agents.

The problem is not restricted to Jamaica. An official at the Washington-based American Bankers Association (ABA) said that since 1970, when stringent banking regulations were implemented in - the United States, money launderers have turned to non-bank institutions such as cheque cashing firms, money exchanges (cambios) and money transmitters to "rinse" illegally-earned cash.