Honduran bank at center of money laundering case to be shut down

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Sun Oct 11, 2015 11:49pm EDT

Honduran bank at center of money laundering case to be shut down

TEGUCIGALPA


Oct 11 Honduras' banking regulator said it will take control of Banco Continental and force its liquidation after the lender was accused by U.S. authorities of laundering the proceeds of drug money for more than a decade.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department classified seven businesses linked to several members of a prominent Honduran family, including Grupo Continental and its Banco Continental unit, as "specially designated narcotics traffickers," which allows for the freezing of assets under U.S. control.

Grupo Continental, headed by prominent banker and politician Jaime Rosenthal along with his son Yani, have been accused of leading one of Central America's most significant money laundering networks beginning in 2004 and continuing through last month.

Another family member, Yankel Rosenthal, the president of professional soccer team Club Deportivo Marathon and until June a minister of investment in President Juan Orlando Hernandez's government, was arrested in Miami last week in connection with the case.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/12/honduras-crime-banking-idUSL1N12B0I820151012?rpc=401

[Judi Lynn]

1. He's a Banker, Crocodile Farmer and Wanted in the U.S.

He's a Banker, Crocodile Farmer and Wanted in the U.S.
by Blake Schmidt and Michael D McDonald

October 12, 2015 — 1:00 AM CDT
Updated on October 12, 2015 — 10:54 AM CDT

Honduran banking magnate Jaime Rosenthal has a $690 million family fortune, 10,000 crocodiles and one big problem: the U.S. Treasury Department.

Rosenthal, 79, a former vice president with ties to the U.S., was indicted last week along with his son Yani, 50, and nephew Yankel, 46, on charges they laundered money for drug traffickers. The Treasury Department placed sanctions on the family’s holdings, and Yankel Rosenthal, a former minister of investment and president of the Club Deportivo Marathon soccer team, was arrested in Miami.

. . .

The accusations stunned the elite in Honduras, one of the poorest and most violent nations in Latin America, and represented a sharp turn for the Rosenthals, one of Honduras’ wealthiest clans. It’s a new theme in the region, said Adam Isacson, senior associate for regional security policy at the Washington Office on Latin America.

“There is more attention being placed on powerful peoples’ links to the criminal underworld,” he said. “The pressure being put on Honduras now is to separate ties between the state and narco-trafficking and the government and organized crime. The Rosenthals aren’t in the government but they are quite close to power.”

More:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-12/he-s-a-banker-crocodile-farmer-and-wanted-in-the-united-states