Customs and Excise Benin - Money Laundry

This very long-winded email looks quite official until you investigate the details. For instance, how long has Benin been part of Europe and subject to European Laws?

Regulation (EC) No 177/2008 of the European Parliament

Paragraphs have been taken from all over the world including the Nigeria Law website, the Fife police, UK, the government of Mumbai customs website and the last one is the most bizarre -

Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f) & 824(a)

relates to the registration of the medical profession in the USA

Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2008 08:04:08 +0000
From: [email protected]
Subject: Customs papers
To: xxx

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF ROYAL CUSTOMS AND EXCISE
Financial Supervisory Commission
Ministry of Finance Benin Republic.

OFFICE ORDER 2008
Sub- Right to Information Act, 2005-Designation of Appellate Authority – Reg.


Attention: xxx,
Sequel to your package, this office is suspecting your transaction due to non Customs delcaration papers and Money Laundry certificate. The model law on money laundering and the financing of terrorism is the outcome of a joint effort of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It contains a comprehensive set of legal measures that a domestic law should include in order to prevent, detect, and sanction effectively, money laundering and the financing of terrorism and to enable international cooperation against these crimes.



Money laundering can be described as the process by which a person conceals or disguises the identity or the origin of illegally obtained proceeds so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources. Criminals exploit economic and financial globalization and the advances made in technology and communications with a view to concealing the origin of funds that they have gained through illegal activities. They make extensive use of a broad array of techniques, such as the rapid transfer of money from one country to another or the misuse of corporate vehicles to disguise the true owner of the funds.

Financial Crimes Network; is a set of procedures, laws or regulations designed to stop the practice of generating income through illegal actions. In most cases money launderers hide their actions through a series of steps that make it look like money coming from illegal or unethical sources was earned legitimately.We are assisting governments, organizations and individuals in the fight against money laundering.



An Act To Repeal The Money Laundering Act, 1995 No 3 And Enact A New Money Laundering Act; And For Related Matters;
No person or body corporate shall make or accept cash payment of a sum exceeding-(a) $500,000 or its equivalent, in the case of an individual, or(b) $1,000,000.00 or its equivalent, in the case of a body corporate, except in a transaction through a financial institution. A transfer to or from a foreign country of funds or securities of a sum exceeding $100,000 or its equivalent shall be registered to the Office of the Commissioner of Customs (in this Act referred to as "the Customs and Excise Department").



(b) prior to any transaction involving a sum exceeding $5,000 or its equivalent, identify the customer by requiring him to fill a standard data form and present his international passport, driving license, national identity card or such other document bearing his photograph as may be prescribed by the Central Bank or the appropriate regulatory authority;
(c) record all transactions under this section in chorological order, indicating each customer's surname, forenames, and address in a register numbered and initialed by an officer authorized by the Central Bank for that purpose;

(2) A register kept under subsection (1 )(c) of this section shall be preserved for at least 10 years after the last transaction recorded in the register.



Therefore, Any person or financial institution that fails to comply with the requirements of customs identification and the submission of returns on such transactions as specified in this Act within 14 days from the date of the transaction commits an offence and is liable on conviction-

(a) in the case of an individual to a fine of $25,000 for each day during which the offence continues or 2 years imprsonment;

(b) in the case of a bank or financial institution, to a fine of $50,000 for each day during which the offence contnues.



Regulation (EC) No 177/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008 establishing a common framework for business registers for statistical purposes and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 2186/93.in accordance with rule 28 of its provisional rules of procedure,any transaction involves $100,000 and above is required to register with the Customs nd obtain customs declaration papers within 14days or the beneficiary will be sentence for a term of 2 years imprisonment.



Any register kept under subsection (1) (b) of this section be preserved for at least 10 years after the last transaction recorded in the register.



A large volume of crime is carried out for some form of monetary profit - fraud, drug dealing and money laundering are just some of the most common examples. Ofter criminals go to great lengths to try and conceal their unlawful income and it is the job of this office to trace and identify any money and assets held such as houses, cars, and timeshares. Extensive enquiries are carried out all over the UK, internationally, and with various government agencies.The activities of powerful criminal organizations can have serious social consequences. Laundered money provides drug traffickers, organized criminal groups, arms dealers and other criminals with the wherewithal for operating and developing their enterprises. Without effective safeguards or preventive measures, money laundering can strike at the integrity of a country's financial institutions. The removal of billions of dollars from legitimate economic activities each year constitutes a real threat to the financial health of countries and affects the stability of the global marketplace.



Therefore, you are hereby advised to register your transaction under this office and fillout the attached form for customs declaration papers.


Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f) & 824(a), as well as 28 CFR 0.100(b) and 0.104, I hereby order that the beneficiary of this fund is given 14days to register the transaction. Failure to comply the beneficiary will loose the parcel/package.This order is effective July 1, 2008.



Sincerely,


Mr. Mathieu Ramatulayi
Assistant Commissioner