Money laundering

A collection of U.S. dollar banknotes
Money launderingMoving the moneyNetwork studyUnited States

What Happened to the Other Dollars?

A $200 million monthly estimate became one of the most durable numbers in accounts of…

General cargo being handled beside a ship and trucks at the port of Cotonou.
Logistics and shippingMoney launderingNetwork studyPanamaTrade and transport

Seven Hubs, One Blind Spot: Where the Cargo and the Money Part Company

An electronics invoice arrived from Miami. In Colón, Nidal Waked used it to draw on…

A collection of U.S. dollar banknotes
BrokerageMexicoMoney launderingNetwork studyUnited States

The New Competitors: Chinese Money Networks and the Lebanese Brokers

In January 2021, an American operative named Edgar Joel Martinez-Reyes slipped across the southern border…

General cargo being handled beside a ship and trucks at the port of Cotonou.
Logistics and shippingMoney launderingPlacesTrade and transportWest Africa

The Cotonou Corridor: Where the Cars Became Cash

Under the blinding, humid sun of Cotonou, thousands of imported second-hand sedans, hatchbacks, and sport utility vehicles bake in endless…

HSBC Tower and Soho Mall, Panama City
Case fileMoney launderingPanamaProfile

The Waked Case: An Empire Under Sanctions, a Laundering Plea, and a Disputed Hezbollah Link

On a humid Sunday afternoon in May 2016, hundreds of white-clad retail clerks, warehouse laborers, and corporate administrators poured onto…

Close view of pieces of charcoal produced in Namibia
ColombiaLebanon and SyriaMoney launderingProfileTrade and transport

The Charcoal Trader’s Other Business

When Zoom Zoom Motors S.A.R.L. filed its founding paperwork in Lebanon around 2014, the corporate registry described a conventional business:…

General cargo being handled beside a ship and trucks at the port of Cotonou.
BrokerageCase fileEuropeInvestigations and enforcementLebanon and SyriaMoney launderingMoving the moneyProcurementUnited StatesWest Africa

The Fee for Getting It Through

An undercover DEA operation tested Lebanese lawyer Joseph Asmar and facilitator Iman Kobeissi with cash presented as cocaine proceeds, from…