|
From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Turks & Caicos Islands 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.
|
