Brokers targeted in drug money laundering blitz
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.NEW YORK - The US Justice Department is seeking court orders to seize dollars 10m worth of customer accounts at some of Wall Street's largest brokerages, claiming the accounts are being used to launder drug money, writes Larry Black.
Accounts held at Merrill Lynch, Dean Witter, Paine Webber and Prudential Securities are named in the order, filed under anti-racketeering laws, officials confirmed.
But the brokerage firms insisted they had not been approached by any law enforcement agency, no customer accounts had been seized, and they knew nothing about a broader money-laundering investigation by customs and tax authorities. Merrill Lynch said it had a long history of collaborating with the Drug Enforcement Agency in fighting money- laundering.
The two Treasury Department agencies are conducting an inquiry, code-named El Dorado, that has found drug money launderers channelling their illegal profits into brokerage accounts rather than commercial banks.
The money in question - dollars 100bn a year, according to one study - enters the US from Latin America as electronic funds transfers, avoiding the restrictions that apply to movements of cash.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments