PENNY STOCK PRICE MANIPULATORS USED COMPANIES IN NEVIS AND BELIZE

Charges of securities fraud, where the perpetrators formed over 5000 companies in Belize and Nevis, and conducted bogus sales, in order to illegally drive up the price of securities, and then sell off their holdings at a huge profit, contained an interesting fact. The fraudsters used prepaid cards to assist them in laundering their profits back into the United States, loading as much as $50,000 per month on cards.

Prepaid cards, which are often employed by money launderers to move funds, without violating US currency reporting requirements, are then used by their criminal clients to purchase goods and services, and maintain an affluent lifestyle, without any exposure for bulk cash smuggling.

The sheer volume of companies formed in Nevis & Belize reinforces the fact that, notwithstanding any existing AML/CFT legislation in place in those jurisdictions, corporate formation, generally conducted by local attorneys, never involves inquiry into whether there is a legitimate business reason to form 5000 companies.