Authorities in Trinidad & Tobago are teaming up with Miami-based Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Institute to establish a local branch to tackle the surge in money-laundering.
The Trinidadian office is a joint effort by the University of the Southern Caribbean and the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business. The Financial Intelligence Unit reports that $3 billion were laundered in the country over the last four years.
Susan Francois, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit stated that while people consider money laundering as white collar crime, the three billion dollars which were reported came from violent crime. She also said measures to deter and detect the crime were crucial strategies in combatting the crime of money-laundering.
According to Francois, just as drug traffickers find inventive ways to hide and smuggle their drugs, so the money launderer will find new ways to disguise and move the money earned from his illegal activity.
