US State Department names Belize as a major money laundering and drug trafficking nation

BBN Staff: The United States Department of State (USDS) has cited Belize as a country for major money laundering and illicit drug trafficking in the 2019 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR).

The USDS released the report this week, which tackles the issues of narcotics and money laundering separately. For drug trafficking, the US looks at countries: “(A) that is a significant direct source of illicit narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances significantly affecting the United States; or (B) through which are transported such drugs or substances.”

Belize was grouped along with Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua,Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

For money laundering, the US looks at countries “whose financial institutions engage in currency transactions involving significant amounts of proceeds from international narcotics trafficking.” The USDS noted that being included on the list not an indication that a jurisdiction is not making strong efforts to combat money laundering or that it has not fully met relevant international standards. It went on to say that the INCSR is not a “black list” of jurisdictions, nor are there sanctions associated with it.

Belize has made the list consecutively for over a decade.

US State Department names Belize as a major money laundering and drug trafficking nation

The United States Department of State (USDS) has cited Belize as a country for major money laundering and illicit drug trafficking in the 2019 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR).

The USDS released the report this week, which tackles the issues of narcotics and money laundering separately. For drug trafficking, the US looks at countries: “(A) that is a significant direct source of illicit narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances significantly affecting the United States; or (B) through which are transported such drugs or substances.”

Belize was grouped along with Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua,Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

For money laundering, the US looks at countries “whose financial institutions engage in currency transactions involving significant amounts of proceeds from international narcotics trafficking.” The USDS noted that being included on the list not an indication that a jurisdiction is not making strong efforts to combat money laundering or that it has not fully met relevant international standards. It went on to say that the INCSR is not a “black list” of jurisdictions, nor are there sanctions associated with it.

Belize has made the list consecutively for over a decade.

 

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