THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary

                         (Cartagena, Colombia)

________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                                    August 30, 2000

                               FACT SHEET

         Cooperation Between the United States and Colombia on

        Programs to Counter Money Laundering and Counterfeiting

Today, the United States and Colombia signed a multilateral agreement

with Aruba and Panama to establish an international task force to

counter the money laundering that occurs through the Black Market Peso

Exchange (BPME).  The BPME is the largest money laundering conduit in

the Western Hemisphere and the primary money laundering conduit used by

Colombian drug cartels.  Anecdotal law enforcement evidence, informant

statements and other evidence suggest that at least $3 to 6 billion is

laundered annually using the BMPE system.  Brokers who operate the BMPE

routinely facilitate multi-million dollar transactions outside

Colombia's legitimate financial system.

The BMPE money laundering system involves the Colombian cartels selling

U.S. drug dollars to black market peso brokers in Colombia who, with

their agents based in the United States, place the dollars into U.S.

bank accounts while trying to circumvent the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)

reporting requirements.  The peso brokers use monetary instruments drawn

on those banks to pay for the merchandise on behalf of Colombian black

market importers.  To conceal the illegal purchase of the goods and to

circumvent Colombia's import regulations and duties, these importers

then smuggle the goods into Colombia and sell them on the black market.

The new task force will develop policy options and recommend enforcement

actions that can be taken to effectively detect, deter, and prosecute

BMPE money laundering.  It will also enhance the flow of law enforcement

information among those countries most directly affected by the BMPE.

The Clinton Administration has made combating the BMPE a law enforcement

priority and an integral component of its National Money Laundering

Strategy 2000.  Concerted efforts by the Departments of the Treasury and

Justice, working closely with Colombia's National Tax and Customs

Directorate (DIAN), have achieved tangible results.  In one recent

initiative, sixty individuals were arrested and approximately $26

million in drug proceeds were targeted for seizure.

The United States also continues to work closely with Colombia to

address the problem of counterfeit currency.  Colombian manufactured

counterfeit dollars represents one-third of all counterfeit passed in

the United States.  Estimates indicate that over the past fifteen years

more than $100 million in Colombian counterfeit has been passed, with

$22 million seized in the United States.  During the same time period,

over $67 million has been seized overseas, with 90% of that total seized

in Colombia.  The total counterfeit activity attributed to Colombia is

over $196 million since 1986.

The U.S. Secret Service, which is charged with counterfeit

investigation, has reported an increase in the dual importation of

counterfeit currency and illegal drugs into the United States.  Ongoing

investigations in Colombia reveal that organized criminal groups are

operating multiple schemes within their criminal enterprise, and are

using the same courier network for both counterfeiting and drug

trafficking.  Information provided by Colombian law enforcement and

military sources indicates that many of the organized groups who operate

the contraband manufacturing and smuggling networks originate from areas

controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the

National Liberation Army (ELN).

The U.S. Secret Service has worked effectively with its Colombian

counterparts over the last several years to address this significant

crime problem.  Key initiatives include:  provision of training to

personnel of the Colombian Administrative Department of Security (DAS)

and the Colombian Department of Investigations, Justice and Intelligence

(DIJIN) responsible for anti-counterfeiting enforcement; passage of a

new anti-counterfeiting law by the Colombian Congress in July 2000; and

various successful joint operations.

A recent example of the close cooperation between U.S. and Colombian law

enforcement in this area came on August 15, 2000 when Colombian

authorities, working with the U.S. Secret Service, captured ten leaders

of a major counterfeiting ring that had exported $40 million in fake

bills to the United States over the last two years.  These arrests shut

down what had been the world's largest counterfeit operation.