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By Deborah Seward, Associated Press, 6/23/2000
ARIS - A high-level international task force yesterday placed 15 countries, including Russia, Israel, and the Bahamas, on a ''black list'' of nations suspected of failing to cooperate in the fight against money laundering.
The designation by the 26-nation Finance Action Task Force on Money Laundering was likely to be a major embarrassment for those on the list, including Lebanon, the Philippines, and Liechtenstein.
The task force, established in 1989 by the Group of Seven most industrialized nations, is charged with establishing measures to combat money laundering around the world and to identify countries that obstruct efforts to fight it.
Task force president Gil Galvao said the group would advise countries on the list on how to improve legislation and monitoring to reduce money laundering.
The report called on international financial institutions to pay special attention to all transactions involving the ''noncooperative'' countries and territories on the list, which also includes the Cayman Islands, the Cook Islands, Dominica, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Panama, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Money laundering involves exchanging or investing funds earned from illegal activities such as prostitution, gambling, and drug trafficking to conceal their source and make the money appear legitimate.
The report criticized the Bahamas for ''serious deficiencies'' in its money-laundering laws and the Cayman Islands - the world's fifth-largest center of foreign bank deposits, totaling $600 billion - for having no laws requiring customer identification, record keeping, or reporting of suspicious activity.
It cited the Cook Islands and the Marshall Islands for failure to collect information on hundreds of companies and Dominica for having outdated laws.
Israel was cited for its ''absence'' of laws to fight money laundering and failure to report suspicious transactions. Liechtenstein was criticized for inadequate reporting of suspicious transactions.
The report criticized Lebanon for what it called excessive secrecy, while Naura, Niue, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were faulted for having insufficient laws. Panama was singled out for failure to recognize money laundering as a criminal offense and inefficient monitoring rules.
ARIS - A high-level international task force yesterday placed 15 countries, including Russia, Israel, and the Bahamas, on a ''black list'' of nations suspected of failing to cooperate in the fight against money laundering.
The designation by the 26-nation Finance Action Task Force on Money Laundering was likely to be a major embarrassment for those on the list, including Lebanon, the Philippines, and Liechtenstein.
The task force, established in 1989 by the Group of Seven most industrialized nations, is charged with establishing measures to combat money laundering around the world and to identify countries that obstruct efforts to fight it.
Task force president Gil Galvao said the group would advise countries on the list on how to improve legislation and monitoring to reduce money laundering.
The report called on international financial institutions to pay special attention to all transactions involving the ''noncooperative'' countries and territories on the list, which also includes the Cayman Islands, the Cook Islands, Dominica, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Panama, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Money laundering involves exchanging or investing funds earned from illegal activities such as prostitution, gambling, and drug trafficking to conceal their source and make the money appear legitimate.
The report criticized the Bahamas for ''serious deficiencies'' in its money-laundering laws and the Cayman Islands - the world's fifth-largest center of foreign bank deposits, totaling $600 billion - for having no laws requiring customer identification, record keeping, or reporting of suspicious activity.
It cited the Cook Islands and the Marshall Islands for failure to collect information on hundreds of companies and Dominica for having outdated laws.
Israel was cited for its ''absence'' of laws to fight money laundering and failure to report suspicious transactions. Liechtenstein was criticized for inadequate reporting of suspicious transactions.
The report criticized Lebanon for what it called excessive secrecy, while Naura, Niue, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were faulted for having insufficient laws. Panama was singled out for failure to recognize money laundering as a criminal offense and inefficient monitoring rules.