Chavez wants US to ID money laundering suspects

[Judi Lynn]

May 19, 8:24 PM EDT
Chavez wants US to ID money laundering suspects
By FABIOLA SANCHEZ
Associated Press Writers

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela will ask U.S. authorities to hand over information about brokers suspected of laundering money through the South American nation's parallel currency market, President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday.

Chavez referred to a case in which 16 people were indicted in the United States on charges of laundering at least $7 million in drug trafficking profits through exchanges of Venezuelan currency for U.S. dollars.

Chavez said he believes some of the suspects are Venezuelans, and he suggested some could be linked to the dozens of brokerage firms in Venezuela that have been accused of violating currency trading regulations.

"Have them give us their names," Chavez instructed his foreign minister during a televised speech. "There are no untouchables here."

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_VENEZUELA_CURRENCY_CONTROLS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-05-19-20-24-39

[Wilms]

1. Let's see how much Change the administration can spare for this. n/t

[ChangoLoa]

2. Fourteen Venezuelans jailed in US for money laundering

US authorities produced "bulky" evidence against 16 people accused of alleged conspiracy to launder money from drug trafficking through Venezuela's foreign exchange swap market.

So far, 15 out of the 16 defendants have been arrested in South Florida, New York and Puerto Rico, Efe reported.

Most of the defendants are Venezuelans: Hermán Rafael Solórzano Caguaripano and his son Hermán Alejandro Solórzano Rincón, Georges Toutounji, Fortunato Farache, Douglas Enrique Sánchez Soto, Édgar Hadad Azraca and Alba Villalobos Vergel; Alfredo Ramón Soto Díaz, Miguel José Pérez Rivero, Luis Enrique Homez García, Henry Eduardo Bilbao Movilla, Rafael Polanco, Antoine Jean Melhem, and Johan Alberto Rincón Medina. Nercido Sosa Medina, from Dominican Republic and residing in New York, and Luis Rafael Díaz Plaza, from Puerto Rico, were also arrested.

Courts have set bails from USD 200,000 to USD 1 million.

According to federal prosecutors, Hermán Rafael Solórzano Caguaripano and his son Hermán Alejandro allegedly collected money in Puerto Rico and took it in suitcases to Florida.

In Miami, they deposited the money in several bank accounts or transferred it to people residing in South Florida, according to authorities.

Following instructions from cover agent Edwin López of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Solórzano Caguaripano negotiated with Alba Villalobos an exchange rate to sell her US dollars allegedly from drug trafficking.

Judge Joan Lenard, who ruled in the case of alleged conspiracy to hide the source and destination of USD 800,000 that Guido Antonini Wilson tried to smuggle in Argentina from Venezuela in 2007, is ruling on the case.


http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/05/19/en_eco_esp_fourteen-venezuelans_19A3893331.shtml