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What the drug fighting professionals already know (but they do not want to admit) and what people should know:
Prohibitionism has failed ( Part II )
After the analysis on money-laundering through illegal activities reported in the first issue, this second part is about the results of the annual report of the OICS (Organ International de Controle des Stupefiants), a U.N. body responsible for the administration of the International Drug Convention. Two small remarks: first of all the disparity between the danger these type of activities represent for most of the democratic systems and the initiatives in progress and its consequent results; and the absence of any kind of alternative analysis (even as a simple hypothesis) which points out the fact of avoiding a global economic activity, parallel and competitive with the legal economy (and consequentially with the democracy).
E. Results achieved to this date
26. As of 1 November 1995, 119 States have become parties to the 1988
Convention. None of them has made reservations by directly objecting to
provisions against money-laundering. All must therefore introduce the
relevant countermeasures.
27. All but one of the members of the Financial Action Task Force,
including all of the members of the European Union, have introduced the
laws and procedures required by the 1988 Convention and those advocated in the 40 recommendations formulated by the Financial Action Task Force. In addition, an increasing number of States that are not members of the
Financial Action Task Force have made it a criminal offence to engage in
money-laundering and, with varying degrees of progress, are enacting the
necessary laws, primarily to establish cooperation between the financial
system and the competent law enforcement agencies, and are setting up the
necessary specialized services, particularly to handle reports of suspicious transactions from the financial system. This is the case, for
example, in Chile, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia.
28. Other States, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Israel, Kyrgyzstan,
Mauritius, Russian Federation, Thailand and Ukraine, are initiating this
process.
29. The introduction of such countermeasures inevitably takes time, mainly because of the parliamentary processes for introducing new machinery. The development of such efforts at the international level is therefore a long-term enterprise. A first step may be accomplished in a shorter time, however, by strengthening the rules for vigilance in the financial sector, rules that normally fall within the scope of internal regulation. Such strengthening makes the financial sector less vulnerable to money-laundering operations and prepares the way for the specialized law enforcement services to be established.
30. Several States have concluded agreements with others on the sharing of seized proceeds and are exploring the possibility of signing other such agreements. In some countries at least part of the value of confiscated proceeds and property is contributed to governmental bodies specializing in the fight against illicit traffic and drug abuse. Although the 1988 Convention encourages States to contribute confiscated proceeds to intergovernmental bodies specializing in the fight against illicit traffic and drug abuse, to date no such contributions have been made to UNDCP.
31. The Financial Action Task Force monitors the implementation of the
recommendations by its members. It does this, first, through
self-evaluation in the form of detailed questionnaires that are filled out periodically by each member and, secondly, through an original procedure called "mutual evaluation", whereby the legislation and the machinery established in each member State are examined by experts from other member States and by the Financial Action Task Force secretariat. This examination leads to a report that is studied and discussed by all members in a plenary meeting, a summary of which appears in the annual report of the Financial Action Task Force. To date, all member States have been examined and a new round of examinations has started to assess developments and to evaluate the situation in each of them from a better perspective. An identical procedure has been introduced in the Caribbean. The Financial Action Task Force also tries to introduce evaluation procedures in non-member States that are contacted as part of its efforts to heighten awareness.
32. The adoption by States of appropriate, comprehensive legislation can
have an immediate effect in hindering money-laundering activities. In
general, the analyses carried out, particularly within the Financial Action Task Force and the results obtained in the fight against money-laundering show that the countermeasures introduced lead: first, to the transfer of money-laundering operations, especially in the initial stages, known as "placement" and "layering", to countries that have not introduced controls and/or to banking systems that are not sufficiently regulated and organized; and, secondly, to having recourse to the non-banking financial sector and to the non-financial sector. There is also a refinement of money-laundering methods linked with recourse to financial professionals.
33. Even countries or territories that were once regarded by persons
engaging in money-laundering activities as safe havens, with deep-rooted
traditions of bank secrecy, are losing their attractiveness to such persons as legislation and countermeasures have recently been introduced in those countries or territories. Examples of such countries or territories are the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland.
The entire text is available on Internet in the following languages:
-France (http://www.undcp.org/reports/incb95/incb95fr.htm);
-English (http://www.undcp.org/reports/incb95/incb95en.htm);
-Spanish (http://www.undcp.org/reports/incb95/incb95sp.htm).
>>> CORA - THE RADICAL ANTI-PROHIBITIONIST COMMITTEE <<<
ITALY * Methadon is forbidden in pharmacies. A first yes from the Chamber of Deputies on the decree-law on drugs for the reduction of damage. Financing is expected also for private organizations that consequentially will extend their own activities from the rehabilitation of the drug addicts to the cure. Methadon will only be distributed by local bodies of the health system. The left coalition is splitting up, and both Forza Italia (Go Italy) and PDS (Democratic Party of the Left) are voting the decree-law. All attempts which could represent a first step towards the legalization of soft drugs and the controlled administration of drug substances have been rejected by the Chamber of Deputies. Now, the second round will take place at the Senate.
(LA REPUBLICA, CORSERA, IL GIORNALE, IL SOLE 24 ORE, 06/27).
If the Senate will confirm the decision made by the Chamber of Deputies, the Cora, promoter of the referendum, will bring up a conflict of powers in front of the Constitutional Court. Anyway, Mr Carmelo Palma, member of the CORA board, started a starvation dialogue in order to induce the Minister of Social Affairs, Ms Livia Turco, to intervene strongly.
>>> PAA Parliamentarians for Antiprohibitionist Action - European Campaign for the Revision of the International Conventions on Drugs
* Adhesions PAA. Among the new adhesions we point out the following European Parliamentarians: Ms Adelaide Aglietta and Mr Carlo Ripa di Meana (Green Party) Italy.
* PE/ Money-laundering:
Declaration of vote by the Member of Parliament, Mr Olivier DUPUIS (PAA member) on the report of the Deputy, Mr LEHNE, on Money-laundering.
(Strasburg, June 20th, 1996)
Mr President, dear deputies,
even if the reporter, Deputy LEHNE, introduced a few improvements with regard to the first report of the Commission, I believe that these improvements are insufficient considering the seriousness of the problem.
As opposed to the reporter, I consider a report which is "enumerative", "without numbers", a report without inconvenience for anyone not a good report. In fact, no numbers are mentioned, neither regarding the usual proceedings, nor regarding the new ones, while the global capital-laundering can be estimated at 500 billion ECUA. And worse is that the report gives the twelve member States that are subscribing the directive a free hand.
But the reality is completely different. In fact, how can be explained, that all the banks in Guernsey, a possession of the British Crown, in the past an island known for its cattle-breedings, are holding today more than twenty-seven billion pounds? How can be explained that the Dutch Government ratified a unique fiscal treaty with the Dutch Antilles? I do not want to extend on the fiscal and banking legislation of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. I can easily imagine the "formal" ratification of the 91/308 directive by Austria. How can be explained that a country with roughly eight million inhabitants can have more than twenty million anonymous saving accounts? Thinking to show firmness by ratifying such directives and to continue at the same time to "wash the dirty laundry in the family", to be policeman without ever appearing as the thief in the eyes of the public opinion...such hypocrisy...Do we have to wait until one of our State leaders is compromised in gloomy stories of capital laundering linked with a
ny weapon or drug traffic, do we need a European "Mister Samper" to bring our government to reason?
Let's start with going back to the roots of the problem! Let's start with regulating and legalizing all drugs, right away!
>>> NEWS FROM THE WORLD <<<
PANAMA * The President of the Republic, Ernesto Perez Balladares admitted having received money from the narco-traffickers to finance his own electoral campaign in 1994, thanks to what he was elected president. According to an article in the British magazine The Economist, Perez Balladares was forced to admit that he received a contribution of 51 thousand dollar from a company that was related to Jose Castrillo Heano, the presumed leader of the Colombian Cali Cartel. The U.S.A. decided to proceed an important anti-drug operation in the country, integrated with similar initiatives in other Latin-American countries which produce and traffic drugs.
(THE TIMES 06/19; EL PAIS 06/23-24; NEUE ZURCHER ZEITUNG 06/24; FINANCIAL TIMES 06/25; HERALD TRIBUNE 06/26).
U.S.A. * The Supreme Court introduced a new element in the drug fighting strategy, with the decision to confiscate property related to drug traffickers' profits, without violating the constitutional right of not being punished twice for the same crime. The measure would be part of the "civil indemnifications" and not of punishment...
(FINANCIAL TIMES 06/25)
ITALY * In a research on the most frequent crimes committed inside the Italian ministries, the fact emerges that 121 employees were convicted for the production and the traffic of narcotics: the Minister of Defence beats the record with 47 cases.
(IL GIORNALE 06/21).
FRANCE * The magazine "l'Elephant Rose" went out of business. It's last issue was published in May and addressed "young people between 18 and 35 who smoke or used to smoke or want to smoke cannabis". The decision was made by the director Gerard Jubert, after his apparition in front of the Paris Court, which demanded 18 months detention and 300.000 francs penalty against him, for the violation of article 1630 of the public health code for "instigation to use cannabis substances". The sentence will be made on June 28th but Gerard Jubert decided to quit before.
(LIBERATION, 06/24).
SPAIN * The National Plan against Drugs admitted for the first time the death of four people caused by the direct effects of ecstasy use. Spain is the European country that registers the highest use of this drug, after the United Kingdom. From 197 tablets distrained in 1987, the total reached 739,511 tablets last year.
(EL PAIS, 06/24).
URUGUAY * Once Uruguay was known as the "Switzerland of South- America". But, the time when meat exportations to Europe made its economy flourish is over. At present, two-third of its own economy is based on service supply, more particular on financial services. As a consequence of the insufficient severity of the fiscal and financial legislation, Uruguay has become a country with a lot of money-laundering from the drug profits. In fact, it seems that the Argentineans have been transferring more than 55 billion U.S. dollar to the Uruguayan banks, and the Brazilians hardly less. The Conference of the four leaders of the States which form the customs union "Mercour", with Chili as a guest, will treat these extremely delicate problems. The meeting started on June 25th in San Luis (Argentina), and will discuss the financial and fiscal normative.
(DIE PRESSE, 06/25).
EUROPEAN UNION * Summary of the use of hard drugs in the European Union in 1995. According to the statistics, the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway and Austria are the last countries on the list of hard drugs use. The calculation, which takes in consideration the density of the population, assigned 0,6 per thousand to Ireland, 1,0 to the Norway, and 1,3 to Germany and Austria. In the Netherlands it is 1,17 per thousand, 2,4 in France and 2,6 in Great Britain. In Italy and Spain it is 3,0 per thousand.
(SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, 06/26).
GERMANY * German physicians warn for the risks of legal drugs: alcohol and nicotine. Even if these substances are generally accepted in our society, their danger must not to be underestimated. Countries need to invest more in information and prevention, as the obtained results in the fight against hard drugs have already showed.
(SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, 06/26).
SPAIN * The Court of Tarragona absolved four members of the Association of the Studies on Cannabis(Arsec), who were accused of crime against public health for having cultivated marijuana. The sentence pointed out that the cultivation was only meant for private use and the four members did not have any intention to sell it. The prosecution, having asked a four years sentence, intends to appeal the court of second instance. It is the first time that a court judges a marijuana cultivation by referring to a group rather than to a single consumer.
(EL PAIS, 06/26).
EUROPEAN UNION * According to a report presented in Lisbon by the European Observatory on Drugs and Drug-Addicts during the world day of fighting against drugs, the use of ecstasy, cocaine and crack has remarkably increased in the countries of the European Union, and particularly in The United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Italy. The alarm was given by an increase of drug-addicts dead by AIDS and a rise of victims by car accidents - mainly young people - caused by the combination of alcohol and drugs.
(EL PAIS, 06/26).
FRANCE * In France, the treatment of substitution through methadon and more recently, through buprenorfina, showed a remarkable improvement of health quality. In the meantime, on June 30th, a debate was announced, suppressing morphine sulfate, a pain-killer used in an empiric way by general physicians. Ms Francoise de Veyrinas, the new responsible for the Mildtl (ministerial activity for the fighting against drugs and drug-addiction) was interviewed on how the French Government intends to complete the substitution program.
(LE FIGARO 06/27).
ARGENTINA * In Argentina, a judge issued a summons against Antonio Escohotado, philosopher and professor at the UNED, for suspicionned apology of drug use. The police could not arrest Escohotado because he already returned to Madrid. Nevertheless, the police confiscated a videotape of a TV interview on which Escohotado admits using drugs and giving his own children advise on the drugs to take. Mr Escohotado was in Argentina in order to present his book "Historia elemental de las drogas".
(EL PAIS, 06/28)
COLOMBIA * Abstinence syndrome in Cali. The offensive against the "Cartel" that started two years ago and the arrest, on August 1995, of the two principal bosses of the narco-trafficking, Gilberto and Rodriguez Orejuela, has caused a severe economic recession of Colombian cities, not being able anymore to rely on the money deriving from illicit traffic. After fifteen years, luck turned its back on the most accommodating families, corrupt officers, constructors, jewellers.
(EL PAIS, 06/30).
GERMANY * The results of a study from the Central Institute of Mental Health of Mannheim, seem to show that soft drugs and amphetamines can reduce the defences in people who tend to have schizophrenia problems and consequently to provoke manifest symptoms of the disease. The research, which involved 232 patients, indicates that patients who took drugs, even in the past, show twice the symptoms as the others.
(DER SPIEGEL, 07/01).
FRANCE * According to the DGS (General Direction of Health), so far, 13.000 drug-addicts have treated with Subutex, commercialized in February, and more than 3.500 with methadon. Subutex (its technical name is buprenorfina) is more popular among general physicians, whereas specialized centers prefer methadon. Subutex has practically replaced Temgesic, an analgesic that does not really fit the needs of the drug-addicts and is not officially approved for that use. The sale of Skenan and Moscotin (morphine sulfates) has also decreased, from June 30th these two medications will be prescribed with limitations.
(LIBERATION, 07/01).
COLOMBIA * The President of the Republic, Ernesto Samper, was acquitted by the House of Representatives after having been suspected of having received illicit financing from the narco-traffickers for his presidential campaign. Samper's main problem will be to restore the governmental stability: during the next two weeks, he will replace his entire cabinet, containing many members that are suspected of drug traffic.
(CAMBIO16, 07/01).
EUROPEAN UNION * After the European Summit in Florence, the Europol will be effective. The chief of the E.U Coordination of Police, Jurger Storbeck, announced that the new agreements will remove the obstacles put by Great Britain. The European Court assumes a priority position in judgement for the national courts..... for all except Great Britain, that favoured the agreement without adhering to it.
(THE EUROPEAN, 07/03).
CHINA * During the day of fighting against drugs, proclaimed by the United Nations, 231 people, accused of drug trafficking, were executed and many others received a death sentence. The "Strong fist operation" was created by the Chinese Government in April. Since then, more than 1.000 people have been executed.
(HERALD TRIBUNE, 06/28).
LUXEMBOURG * The Luxembourg Parliament voted a motion in which it asks the Government to develop "a program of common measures with Belgium and the Netherlands for the liberalization of cannabis and its derivatives".
(THE EUROPEAN, 07/03).
COLOMBIA * The Colombian authorities are afraid of political and economic sanctions by the U.S.A., as reprisals for the refusal to extradite four drug traffickers, members of the "Cali Cartel" to the U.S.A. The U.S.A. claimed the traffickers, in order to prosecute them for a large cocaine traffic and for money-laundering. A bilateral extradition treaty dating from 1987 exists between the two countries, but, as the Minister of Justice Carlos Medellin explained, the Colombian Constitution from 1991, does not allow the extradition of Colombian citizens.
(FINANCIAL TIMES, 07/03).
COLOMBIA * The Colombian Secretary of State protested against the U.S.A. for their interference in the Colombian interior affairs, accusing Washington of adopting an "unfair and incorrect policy".
The Washington Post published an article from the Colombian Ambassador to the U.S.A., in which he asks to suspend the sanctions and to receive the visa applications from the Colombian President Samper and from all the Members of the Government.
(FINANCIAL TIMES, 07/03).
MEXICO * Mexico became one of the most important centers of the western hemisphere for money-laundering, in particular for money made through illicit drug traffic. The main reason is related to the fact that the border between Mexico and the U.S.A. is easy to pass, and to the fact that the trade agreements between these two countries, establishes a free trading area. Besides, narco-trafficking organizations are using more and more sophisticated methods to transfer illicit money.
(INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, 07/09).
U.S.A. * Mary Tathbun, a 74 years-old lady, who is very popular among terminal sick people for her cakes made with marijuana, was at the point of committing suicide. But she decided to wait for the next fall, when a referendum will be held in California, that, if it passes, will allow the "therapeutic use" of marijuana. Mary and her life-story spread quickly through mass media.
(IL MESSAGGERO, LA STAMPA, CORSERA, 07/07).
ITALY * Don Luigi Ciotti, founder of "Il gruppo di Abele" (The Abel Group), proposed, during a meeting of the Coordination of the Therapeutic Communities, which took place in Ascoli Piceno, to depenalize soft drugs and list them as toxic substances (as alcohol and smoke). Don Ciotti said: "that science says what it thinks about it, in a clear way and without exploiting the situation. I like people who have clear ideas, and this is not an invitation to use drugs. But we must stop to blame the weak people, and thus the youngest. Nobody ever died from a hashish overdose, therefore it makes sense to talk about a new regulation of soft drugs".
(LA STAMPA, 07/07).
ITALY * The liberalization of soft drugs, for a long time the war-horse of Marco Pannella, leader of the Reformists, arrived yesterday in the Constitutional Court for examination. The judges met the problem of the transfer of narco-substances to third-parties, that the law is still sanctioning with penalty. The case goes back to August 28th, 1995, when Pannella was apprehended for distributing marijuana in the street. After having proceeded to a judicial research, the judge for preliminary research brought up a question of constitutional legitimacy, while the rules for this matter put, for the foreseen penal sanction, cannabis derivations among "narcotic substances".
(IL SOLE 24 ORE 07/07)
Switzerland * The subcommission for the policy on drugs of the Helvetian Confederation unanimously approved the governmental model of the "four pillars" (prevention, repression, therapy and help for the survival). It calls on a revision of the normative on drugs prepared by the "Schild Commission", including depenalization of the use. But, it did not reach an unanimous agreement on the work schedule: only a small majority is for legalization by differentiated and regulated steps, according to the international conventions on the matter.
(NEUE ZURCHER ZEITUNG, 07/04).
GERMANY * After Hamburg, Karlsruhe and Frankfurt, it is now Hannovers turn. Rita Pawelski from the CDU, who is running for mayor, took up a liberal position on drugs, completely different from the other members of the Berlin party. It is very meaningful to note how the responsibles of local administrations dealing with daily problems, are able to consider and evaluate pragmatically the drug problem and are in favor of a reduction of the damage. The article was written by Professor Gossling, responsible for the detoxication service of the mental hospital of Hannover. He also criticized the current repressive law on drugs.
(DIE ZEIT, 07/05).
MAROCCO * Ten kilometers away from East Tangier, there is an area controlled by the "godfather" Hamidu Did, alias "El Lobo". In the last years, this illiterate fifty six years-old man, was able to create his own small empire, mixing Islamics and hashish. Currently he is prosecuted for a colossal drug traffic between Marocco and Spain in which very important political individuals and responsibles of the police in Tangier are implicated.
(EL PAIS, 07/07).
GERMANY * According to six professional soldiers prosecuted for drug traffic through the Netherlands and for drug selling in the German discos, half of the Dutch soldiers from the base in Seedorf near Bremen, have used hard drugs and roughly three-quarters have smoked marijuana.
(SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, 07/08).
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