Words by

grapevine

A statement sent to the press from the US embassy in Iceland announces that the US government will begin working with Icelandic authorities in the fight against money laundering. The statement reads as follows:
“In cooperation with Icelandic law enforcement organizations, the U.S. Embassy is sponsoring a two-day seminar on Nov. 2 and 3 at the Police Academy to discuss methods of identifying and combating money laundering. U.S. Ambassador to Iceland Luis Arreaga and Commissioner of Reykjavik Metropolitan Police Stefán Eiriksson opened the event today. About fifty members of the Icelandic government, judicial system, financial sector, and police are attending the seminar.
“The event includes participants from a number of U.S. agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). DEA and ICE experts will conduct training sessions on key issues in the fight against money laundering, which can fuel narcotics trafficking and terrorism worldwide. Iceland-based representatives of CCP Games will also present a session on online gaming and its potential for abuse by criminal elements.
“Technical training sessions by DEA and ICE agents will include an overview of money movement methods, a discussion of bulk cash smuggling methods and tactics to counter them, and an examination of trade-based money laundering that exploits legitimate international commerce to launder illicit proceeds. The seminar will conclude with a session on cyber laundering — the use of virtual worlds, virtual identities and “shadow internet” to facilitate laundering illicit proceeds.
“In his opening remarks, Ambassador Arreaga mentioned that criminal organizations launder billions of dollars each year and that these groups can be ‘devious.’
“’We must be resourceful and innovative in our attempts to combat these criminals,’ he said. ‘We also need to communicate and collaborate with our partners and allies….These criminals do not respect international borders so neither can we be limited in such fashion. We must work together, the United States and Iceland, to truly and effectively combat money laundering.'”