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…

Robert Pelikán, Czech justice minister
Case fileEuropeInvestigations and enforcementLebanon and SyriaMoney launderingMoving the moneyProcurementTrade and transportUnited StatesWest Africa

The Arms Deal That Became a Hostage Bargain

A DEA sting led Czech police to arrest Ali Fayad and two associates in 2014. While Czech courts weighed extradition,…

Official portrait of Treasury official Marshall Billingslea.
ColombiaCurrency exchangeEuropeInvestigations and enforcementLebanon and SyriaMoney launderingMoving the moneyProfileVenezuela

The Half-Hour Before the Sanctions

In 2019 the US Treasury sanctioned Kassem Chams and his licensed exchange house in Chtaura, Lebanon, alleging drug-proceeds laundering and…

El Dorado airport terminal in Bogotá
BrokerageCase fileColombiaInvestigations and enforcementLebanon and SyriaMoney launderingMoving the moneyPanamaUnited StatesVenezuela

The Ticket Out of Bogotá

Operation Titan grew from a Miami laundering inquiry into a Colombian–US case against Chekri Mahmoud Harb, a Bogotá broker accused…

General cargo being handled beside a ship and trucks at the port of Cotonou.
BrokerageColombiaCurrency exchangeInvestigations and enforcementLebanon and SyriaMexicoMoney launderingMoving the moneyPanamaProfileUnited StatesVenezuelaWest Africa

Ayman Joumaa’s Business Between the Cartels

Ayman Joumaa was designated by the US Treasury in 2011 and indicted the same year on charges of coordinating cocaine…