In
a ceremony today at the U.S. Consular Agency, John Dinkelman, Chargé d’Affaires,
presented the Government of Turks and Caicos with a check for $
$279,620.32. This money is a percentage
of net assets seized in a securities fraud case conducted by the New York
Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. The primary defendant, “Sammy” Galasso III,
pled guilty in this case and was sentenced to a term of 30 months imprisonment.
Turks and Caicos
Island authorities provided valuable law enforcement assistance leading to the
successful forfeiture of these monies and collaborated with the U.S. Government to seize these funds.
In
his remarks, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman noted that the presentation of
forfeited assets is just one example of cooperative bilateral efforts between
law enforcement agencies representing the United States and the Turks and
Caicos Islands. The Charge thanked the
Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force for strong collaborative partnership
with the FBI on investigative matters of mutual interest.
“I
want to thank those who were involved with this case that dates all the way
back to 2001. The Turks and Caicos
Islands continue to be a great partner to the United States and it is only
fitting that these funds be shared to strengthen efforts to both counter money
laundering and terrorism finance while supporting law enforcement and
rehabilitation efforts.”
According to FBI Legal
Attache Jeffrey Stanley, “Galasso pled guilty in connection with a post-9-11
scheme to exploit the country’s fears of anthrax attacks for the purpose of
manipulating the stock price of a publicly traded company. This is an example
of outstanding cooperation between the FBI and the Royal Turks and Caicos
Police Force.”
It is the policy of the United States to encourage international asset
sharing and to recognize all foreign assistance that facilitates U.S.
forfeitures so far as consistent with U.S. law. International sharing is
governed by federal statutes and is guided by international sharing agreements.
REMARKS by U.S. Consular Charge d'Affaires, John Dinkelman:
Your Excellency, Commissioner, good
afternoon. I would like to begin by
saying how happy I am to be back in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is with great pleasure that I visit
Providenciales this time to mark the official presentation of funds seized in a
securities fraud case conducted by the New York Division of the United States Federal
Bureau of Investigation or FBI. The FBI,
in conjunction with the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force and the Immigration
Department, routinely collaborate on investigative matters of mutual interest
and we are most thankful for this excellent cooperation.
Today’s presentation is just one example of the
fruits of these cooperative efforts. To
give a little background about this case, the Turks and Caicos authorities
confirmed the existence of proceeds in local brokerage accounts stemming from
fraud and obtained a court order to freeze those accounts for more than a year
in consideration of pending court proceedings in the United States involving
those same assets. The Turks and Caicos
authorities, in coordination with United States authorities, then lifted their
restraint on those accounts to enable a cooperating defendant to repatriate the
assets to the United States for purposes of forfeiture. It was due to the assistance of the Turks and
Caicos authorities that justice was able to be served. On behalf of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, I want to thank those who were involved with this case that
dates all the way back to 2001. The
Turks and Caicos Islands continue to be a great partner to the United States and
and it is only fitting that these funds be shared to strengthen efforts to both
counter money laundering, terrorism finance, while supporting law enforcement,
and drug rehabilitation efforts.
