Two car dealerships raided in Santa Cruz over money laundering linked to organised crime
Authorities are investigating a criminal network that used businesses across multiple sectors to launder drug trafficking proceeds in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Operations in Santa Cruz expose money laundering network linked to drug trafficking
The seizure of two car dealerships in Santa Cruz led to the investigation of an alleged criminal organisation that reportedly used businesses across different sectors to launder money linked to organised crime and drug trafficking, according to reduno.com.bo.
Jorge Santistevan, Secretary of Citizen Security for the Regional Government, stated that operations must continue to identify those responsible and reach those who allegedly lent their names to conceal the origin of the resources.
"The operation that was carried out and is now being conducted must continue, because all those investment sectors in the department need to be purged and capture the front men, who are also part of crime," Santistevan said.
The alleged network not only reportedly protected criminal activities, but also exploited sectors with minimal state financial oversight to move illicitly-sourced money. "This was a criminal network that not only protected organised crime, they laundered money precisely through investment in various sectors where the state's financial investigation system is weak," the official stated.
Among the areas identified by Santistevan are livestock, the purchase of land for gold exploitation, cryptocurrencies, and automotive and logistics businesses. According to his statements, the investments would be linked to other organised crime networks connected to drug trafficking and, in particular, to an organisation identified as Roma.
Regarding the so-called "front men", Santistevan explained that these would be close family members and associates who reportedly provided their names or actively participated in businesses to disperse investments across different areas of the department's economy.
"Who are these front men? Close family members, associates very close to them, and they were small groups, like commercial cells that have been dispersed throughout all sectors of the department's economy," he concluded.
Source: Google News BO — La Paz