FID radar hones in on autos, real estate out west
Published:Friday | December 18, 2020 | 12:21 AM
Keith Darien, acting principal director of the Financial Investigations Division, FID, says that over 90 per cent of the cases coming before the agency emanates from western Jamaica, chiefly Montego Bay, and that motor vehicles and real estate are proving to be major areas through which money is laundered.
The region comprises the parishes of Trelawny, St James, Hanover and Westmoreland.
“In terms of a hotspot for financial crimes, those four parishes in western Jamaica, chiefly St James, are high on the agenda,” said Darien.
“We’re seeing the proceeds of crime being used in the motor vehicle industry, without a distinction between new or used. (This) ranks very highly on our list,” he said at a media briefing.
“Currently, there are vulnerabilities in the areas of the real estate and development industries. They are not regulated and from what we have observed, based on cases that we are looking at, and past cases, we believe that ill-gotten gains are being used to a certain extent in this area,” he added.
The FID itself has a heavy workload and needs more staff to conduct its probes, the acting director said.
“There is an urgent need to expand the organisational structure of the FID and recruit additional staff in these areas to ensure that there are adequate human resources to effectively investigate and prosecute money-laundering offences and deprive criminals of their ill-gotten gains,” Darien said, adding that the problem is compounded by the length of time it needed to take matters through the courts.
“Waiting two to four months to obtain a restraint order against the assets of a money launderer or drug dealer who is knowledgeable about POCA, is counterproductive to the mission of the division, which is to prevent the transfer of any assets in order that they may be available for forfeiture,” Darien said.
FID has over 180 criminal and civil case files under investigation, 70 per cent of which are related to money laundering, forwarded to the FID through multiple sources, including the Jamaica Constabulary Force; Major Organised Crimes and Anti-Corruption Agency, or MOCA; overseas law-enforcement agencies; and local institutions.
The FID director said that between January 2019 and November 2020, the division concluded investigations into 24 post-conviction forfeiture and civil recovery of property matters involving $505.6 million and US$1.737 million of assets.
Assets were also seized based on investigations. Darien also said more than 500 investigative orders were served on financial institutions over the same two-year period. The FID now has the ability to monitor suspicious transactions in real time in collaboration with financial institutions.
The FID has forfeited assets valued in excess of $1.3 billion under management, $1 billion of which relates to real estate. Additionally, the FID has restrained over 315 assets valued in excess of $1.2 billion related to money-laundering and asset-recovery cases under investigation. Real estate makes up half of the restricted assets, while bank accounts represent around 38 per cent.
Darien says defendants in post-conviction forfeiture cases are approaching the FID through their attorneys to negotiate a settlement rather than wait on the investigations.
“There are seven cases currently being discussed with the defendants’ attorneys which are at an advanced stage of negotiations. One of the cases involve assets valued in excess of $126 million. The accused in the case also intends to plead guilty to money-laundering offences at the next court date in early 2021,” he said.