Asset Search News Roundup: February 11, 2009
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") is the focus of this "Asset Search News Roundup". OFAC administers economic and trade sanctions against international drug traffickers, terrorists and certain countries under Presidential national emergency powers or federal laws. In order to impose such economic sanctions, OFAC or other governmental authorities search for assets owned by those on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list.
OFAC for example, recently designated pharmaceutical company AQUILEA, S.A. and plastic bag manufacturer MEGAPLAST, S.A., as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers pursuant to Executive Order 12978. As a U.S. Treasury Department press release explained, this designation freezes any assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction, which belong to MEGAPLAST or AQUILEA.
Said press release also suggests that the true beneficial ownership of MEGAPLAST and AQUILEA, (by drug kingpins Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela), may have been concealed. Furthermore, the following OFAC chart indicates that these drug kingpins might have concealed their MEGAPLAST and AQUILEA assets through family members used as nominees:
Image: U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control
Copyright 2009 Fred L. Abrams
