NewsWhore
03-09-2012, 11:30 AM
The Minister of Foreign Relations Carlos Morales Troncoso said yesterday Thursday March 8 that the annual report on drug trafficking from the US State Department, the 2012 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, was fair and balanced, and recommended that people should read it in its entirety rather than only certain paragraphs published in the press, which were taken out of context.
National Drug Control Department (DNCD) chief Major General Rolando Rosado Mateo said that the fight against drug trafficking had taken a new turn in this country and as the report stated, the coordination of agencies here with their US counterparts had been a decisive factor in the increase of drug hauls from 4.85 to 6.7 metric tons from 2010 to 2011.
Morales Troncoso added that there had only been one suspected drug flight from South America to the Dominican Republic in 2011, compared to 11 in 2010, which he said proved the success of the air prohibition thanks to the DR government's purchase of Tucano airplanes.
The report states that the DR continues to be a major transit point for the transshipment of illicit narcotics destined for the United States and Europe. The six international airports, 16 seaports and a large porous frontier with Haiti present Dominican authorities with serious challenges.
Corruption within the government and the private sector, the presence of international illicit trafficking cartels, a large informal economy, and a fragile formal economy make the DR vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing threats. The large informal economy provides a significant market for illicit or smuggled goods.
The report says that US law enforcement believes there is some evidence that arms smuggling across Dominican borders has reached systemic levels as there are identifiable networks smuggling weapons into the DR from the US. The increase in drug related violence throughout the DR is partially attributable to arms trafficking as evidenced by the seizures of illicit weapons at ports of entry over the past year. The major sources of laundered proceeds stem from illicit trafficking activities, tax evasion and fraudulent financial activities, particularly transactions with forged credit cards.
The Dominican Republic is a member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. Its most recent mutual evaluation can be found here:
www.cfatf-gafic.org/downloadables/mer/Dominica_3rd_Round_MER_(Final)_English.pdf (http://www.cfatf-gafic.org/downloadables/mer/Dominica_3rd_Round_MER_(Final)_English.pdf)
On enforcement and implementation issues and comments, the report says:
"The DR has made progress on the functioning of its financial intelligence unit (FIU), but problems remain. Progress includes greater clarity on the areas covered by disclosure and reporting requirements; however, there remains a lack of publicly available information about the numbers of reports submitted by the various reporting sectors.
The DR also strengthened its laws on PEPs and correspondent relationships but international experts have outlined key weaknesses to address. In addition, the DR urgently needs to pass regulations to provide safe harbor protection for STR filers and criminalize tipping off. The government also should work to better regulate casinos and non-bank businesses and professions, in particular real estate companies, and strengthen regulations for financial cooperatives and insurance companies.
The DR's asset forfeiture regime is improving but has weaknesses because it does not cover confiscation of instrumentalities intended for use in the commission of a money laundering offense; property of corresponding value; and income, profits, or other benefits from the proceeds of crime. The DR should implement legislation to bring its asset forfeiture regime up to international standards."
In July 2011, Dominican authorities announced they had dismantled the core of a narcotics trafficking and money-laundering organization based in the DR. The alleged profits from the narco-trafficking operation were laundered using banks and other financial instruments throughout the Western Hemisphere. The group allegedly had branches in Canada, Colombia, Venezuela, Jamaica and elsewhere. The investigation was coordinated by agents from the DR, Central America, South America, North America, and Interpol.
Morales Troncoso confirmed that the Dominican government in no way condones, or facilitates the illicit production, manufacture or distribution of any type of narcotic or controlled substance, nor does it condone any activities relating to money laundering, despite corruption being an endemic problem in all levels of Dominican society. Nevertheless he stated that progress was being made in order to combat it, and 360 police and 84 members of the DNCD had been dismissed for bad conduct, including criminal activities related to narcotics.
www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/03/185364.htm (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/03/185364.htm)
www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/2012/vol2/184115.htm#Dominican_Republic (http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/2012/vol2/184115.htm#Dominican_Republic)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)
National Drug Control Department (DNCD) chief Major General Rolando Rosado Mateo said that the fight against drug trafficking had taken a new turn in this country and as the report stated, the coordination of agencies here with their US counterparts had been a decisive factor in the increase of drug hauls from 4.85 to 6.7 metric tons from 2010 to 2011.
Morales Troncoso added that there had only been one suspected drug flight from South America to the Dominican Republic in 2011, compared to 11 in 2010, which he said proved the success of the air prohibition thanks to the DR government's purchase of Tucano airplanes.
The report states that the DR continues to be a major transit point for the transshipment of illicit narcotics destined for the United States and Europe. The six international airports, 16 seaports and a large porous frontier with Haiti present Dominican authorities with serious challenges.
Corruption within the government and the private sector, the presence of international illicit trafficking cartels, a large informal economy, and a fragile formal economy make the DR vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing threats. The large informal economy provides a significant market for illicit or smuggled goods.
The report says that US law enforcement believes there is some evidence that arms smuggling across Dominican borders has reached systemic levels as there are identifiable networks smuggling weapons into the DR from the US. The increase in drug related violence throughout the DR is partially attributable to arms trafficking as evidenced by the seizures of illicit weapons at ports of entry over the past year. The major sources of laundered proceeds stem from illicit trafficking activities, tax evasion and fraudulent financial activities, particularly transactions with forged credit cards.
The Dominican Republic is a member of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. Its most recent mutual evaluation can be found here:
www.cfatf-gafic.org/downloadables/mer/Dominica_3rd_Round_MER_(Final)_English.pdf (http://www.cfatf-gafic.org/downloadables/mer/Dominica_3rd_Round_MER_(Final)_English.pdf)
On enforcement and implementation issues and comments, the report says:
"The DR has made progress on the functioning of its financial intelligence unit (FIU), but problems remain. Progress includes greater clarity on the areas covered by disclosure and reporting requirements; however, there remains a lack of publicly available information about the numbers of reports submitted by the various reporting sectors.
The DR also strengthened its laws on PEPs and correspondent relationships but international experts have outlined key weaknesses to address. In addition, the DR urgently needs to pass regulations to provide safe harbor protection for STR filers and criminalize tipping off. The government also should work to better regulate casinos and non-bank businesses and professions, in particular real estate companies, and strengthen regulations for financial cooperatives and insurance companies.
The DR's asset forfeiture regime is improving but has weaknesses because it does not cover confiscation of instrumentalities intended for use in the commission of a money laundering offense; property of corresponding value; and income, profits, or other benefits from the proceeds of crime. The DR should implement legislation to bring its asset forfeiture regime up to international standards."
In July 2011, Dominican authorities announced they had dismantled the core of a narcotics trafficking and money-laundering organization based in the DR. The alleged profits from the narco-trafficking operation were laundered using banks and other financial instruments throughout the Western Hemisphere. The group allegedly had branches in Canada, Colombia, Venezuela, Jamaica and elsewhere. The investigation was coordinated by agents from the DR, Central America, South America, North America, and Interpol.
Morales Troncoso confirmed that the Dominican government in no way condones, or facilitates the illicit production, manufacture or distribution of any type of narcotic or controlled substance, nor does it condone any activities relating to money laundering, despite corruption being an endemic problem in all levels of Dominican society. Nevertheless he stated that progress was being made in order to combat it, and 360 police and 84 members of the DNCD had been dismissed for bad conduct, including criminal activities related to narcotics.
www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/03/185364.htm (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/03/185364.htm)
www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/2012/vol2/184115.htm#Dominican_Republic (http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/2012/vol2/184115.htm#Dominican_Republic)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)