A Louisiana, USA Senator named Bill Cassidy, R-La., who issues a torrent of 'White Papers' on various subjects, including Health Care now wants the Federal Government to look into possible cargo-based money laundering (TBML-Trade-Based Money Laundering), suggesting TBML , “is one of the most profitable and safe mechanisms to launder money, and it is imperative that Congress act.
     “There are certain industries that present a greater risk for TBML, such as couriers, cargo services, freight shipping services, international shipping, and money service businesses. TBML generally appears in jurisdictions with a high risk of traditional money laundering and where authorities have recently improved their traditional anti-money laundering
efforts.
     “As a result, criminals are forced to turn to trade to launder money, rather than traditional money laundering schemes.”

Laundering White Paper

     “There needs to be real-time coordination and reviewable connections between the agency handling the manifest information and the agency handling corresponding financial information within the U.S. and between the U.S. and our trading partners,” the Senator contends in a ‘White Paper’ adding:
     “This could be accomplished through a public distributed ledger system. This system would allow all parties to simultaneously follow the transaction and track any changes made to the documents uploaded to the system.”
     Without detailing any specific instance aside from referencing Colombia in the 1980s and Mexico in the 1990s etc., the Senator’s White Paper asserts that “TBML is not covered in the USA cargo inspection process, so money laundering can go unchecked impacting tax revenues.”
     Senator Cassidy is calling for a legislative agenda that he contends will tighten up on TBML through interagency and private-sector cooperation; and enhanced collaboration with trading partners.

The Scary Bunch

     “Threat networks, terror groups and drug traffickers are often linked through social relationships and common facilitators, which means that despite different objectives, they share the same assets for shipping illicit goods, funneling money and bribing officials.
     “Those assets form part of a supply chain in which licit trade takes place.
     “This makes TBML one of the most profitable and safe mechanisms to launder money, and it is imperative that Congress act,” Senator Bill declared.
     Stay tuned . . .
Click here to download White Paper.