QCOSTARICA — Money laundering from illicit activities such as drug trafficking is not only massive, but also evident in the exchange system, according to Álvaro Ramos Rechnitz, former Minister of the Interior and Police (Gobernación y Policía) during the first government of Oscar Arias (1986-1990).
That is why it is urgent that the authorities investigate the issue appropriately and not ignore it, said Ramos.
The opportunity cost is that more illicit money enters Costa Rica and with it, the dollar exchange rate is impacted even more.
– Advertisement –
“Without having a diamond mine, oil wells, or five gold mines, suddenly the (U.S.) dollar in Costa Rica is worth nothing. That is completely anomalous. Illicit money laundering not only exists in the country, but it is massive and evident,” said Ramos.
The possibility that drug trafficking has penetrated the dollar exchange system cannot be ruled out.
The alert comes after the Central Bank reported strong growth in the currencies of the account called “Others”, which registered movements of US$5.57 billion in 2023, which meant an increase of 46% compared to US$3.93 billion in 2022.
Read more: Has drug trafficking penetrated the dollar exchange system?
In that sense, the Central Bank is already investigating the inexplicable origin of dollars.
Currently, almost half (48%) of the dollars exchanged at bank counters have an unknown origin.
– Advertisement –
“The authorities are not stupid. They know that the country is flooded with drug trafficking, what is strange is that they do not want to get into the problem. I hope that after this an investigation will begin at the legislative and judicial level and that they will then help us at the international level to stop the large launderers of illicit money,” Ramos said.
Ramos pointed out that behind the criminal gangs that kill each other for drugs, there are always professionals in accounting and law who provide their services to hide emerging capital and therefore, this game of cat against mouse becomes very complicated.
“I hope it doesn’t happen in Costa Rica, but in Colombia in 2004, they had the anomaly that the (U.S.) dollar in the black market was cheaper than in the official market, due to the excess of dollars due to illegal activities. At the moment, it doesn’t seem like they are investigating or doing anything significant to stop them,” Ramos said.
Since the end of last week, the issue gained notoriety due to the demands of the productive sectors to know the origin of this increase.
– Advertisement –
Costa Rica is experiencing a gang war for territory without parallel in the country’s history, which has not only increased the number of murders to record numbers but has also revealed the penetration of drug trafficking in various structures.
In recent days, Sylvia Saborío, a member of the National Council for Supervision of the Financial System (Conassif), expressed the possibility of the entry of illicit activities.
“I think there could be other (financial) transfers that include illicit transactions that are difficult to detect, that could not be estimated, but that could be large. We cannot evade it because we have the dead to prove it,” said the official.
The business sector is among the groups that requested the BCCR for greater detail of the “Others” account.
For business owners, it is vital to know what is happening, since the movement of money in dollars affects their operations.
– Advertisement –
Source link
Rico
