Money laundering laws target passport scammers

A headline in today’s Guardian newspaper indicates that those people involved in the passport scandal may be facing some new heat. Sources close to the case tell News 5 that under the terms of the money laundering act authorities may pursue perpetrators of a number of offences that ultimately result in the conversion of dirty money into clean. Among these crimes are drug dealing, counterfeiting, fraud and forgery…and that’s where the passport scandal comes in. Since forgery is at the heart of the falsification of citizenship and passport applications, it follows that the money illegally earned from that forgery is fair game for prosecutors. Leading the charge down the money trail is the Financial Intelligence Unit, headed by former Central Bank Governor Keith Arnold. When asked to confirm the Guardian‘s report on two names allegedly being investigated by the F.I.U.–Gabby Affif and Hassan Al Sayad–Arnold said “I cannot comment on an active investigation.”

It is not clear exactly who made the decision to go after the financial side of illegal passport sales, but it is well know that the U.S. Embassy–extremely concerned about the potential relationship between terrorism and illegal passport sales–is growing impatient with the slow pace of indictments in the scandal, now thirteen months old. Thus far only one person–Therese Cabral–has been charged, although more arrests are expected shortly. In the meantime the folks at the F.I.U. will follow the advice of Watergate’s Deep Throat; that is to “follow the money”.