US embassy cable - 05ASUNCION149

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASUNCION 000149 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/BSC 
NSC FOR KIM BREIER 
JUSTICE FOR OPDAT AMY YOUNG 
TREASURY FOR OTA WARFIELD, VAN KOCH, MILLAR 
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD DAN JOHNSON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINR, EFIN, KCRM, KTFN, PA, SOCIPY 
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY: MONEY LAUNDERING IN CASINOS 
(C-TN4-01119) 
 
REF: STATE 255493 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY:  Paraguay is a principal money laundering 
center.  Although no figures are known, Paraguayan Government 
officials suspect criminals, drug traffickers, and terrorist 
financiers use a range of illicit and licit activities to 
launder funds.  While laws regarding casinos and a regulatory 
commission exist, lack of compliance with local laws and 
regulations by casinos and a lack of enforcement by the 
National Council on Games of Chance (CONAJZAR) limit the 
GOP,s ability to estimate any connections with organized 
criminal groups, drug trafficking organizations, trafficking 
in persons groups, or the impact of casinos on financial and 
judicial systems.  Casinos are addressed in the current and 
new money laundering legislation, but Paraguay still lacks 
the appropriate enforcement, criminal investigation, and 
prosecution of criminal offenses for money laundering cases. 
All of these factors create an opportunity for the use of the 
casino industry for money laundering and other illicit 
business activity.  Adoption and implementation of stronger 
money laundering legislation currently before Congress and 
stronger enforcement by CONAJZAR would allow the GOP to get a 
better handle on this issue.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Casinos and the Local Law 
------------------------- 
 
2. Currently, casinos and the gaming industry in Paraguay are 
regulated under Law 1016, adopted in 1997.  The law outlines 
provisions for which types of games are permitted in the 
legal casinos, who monitors and regulates the industry, and 
to whom the industry should report.  The law specifically 
names CONAJZAR to be the regulatory body over the industry. 
CONAJZAR,s board members include representatives from the 
Department of Revenue, Departmental Governors, City and/or 
local government, the Ministry of Interior, and a 
representative from the equivalent of the U.S. Social 
Security Administration (DIBEN).  The council functions as a 
component within the Department of Revenue and is responsible 
for the collection of operational fees paid by the casino on 
a regular basis.  Also, casinos are addressed in the current 
money laundering legislation (law 1015) that requires casinos 
to reports suspicious activity and report the winnings of 
individuals. 
 
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Casinos-- A Missed Opportunity for the GOP 
------------------------------------------ 
 
3.  While laws regarding casinos and a regulatory commission 
exist, lack of compliance with local laws and regulations by 
casinos and a lack of efficient record keeping by CONAJZAR 
limit the GOP,s ability to estimate any connections with 
organized criminal groups, drug trafficking organizations, 
trafficking in persons groups, or the impact of casinos on 
financial and judicial systems.  Miguel Gomez, the President 
of CONAJZAR, told PolOff that CONAJZAR was unable to provide 
estimates as to how much casinos earn yearly, and whether any 
connections to drug trafficking organizations or money 
laundering groups exist.  Furthermore, Gomez reported that 
the council is currently in a state of flux, since the 2004 
reorganization of the council that required senior officials 
and Ministers to serve as representatives; in the past, these 
positions were assigned to lower level officials. 
 
4.  Paraguayan law requires casinos to provide suspicious 
activity reports and to report the winnings of individuals. 
However, according to Carlos Yegros, the director of the 
Financial Intelligence Unit within the Secretariat for the 
Prevention of Money Laundering (SEPRELAD), and Frederico 
Cabral, the Director of the Anti-Narcotics Directorate 
(SENAD),the FIU has never received a suspicious activity 
report (SAR) from any casino or gambling industry in the 
country.  They also stated the casinos do not report the 
winnings of individuals. According to various law enforcement 
officials and prosecutors, Paraguay has never conducted an 
investigation or prosecuted anyone for laundering money in 
casinos.  And to date, Paraguay has not successfully 
prosecuted anyone for money laundering. Improvement appears 
unlikely until a new money laundering law is passed in 
Congress.  In fact, officials at both SENAD and SEPRELAD 
stated to PolOff that the casino industry normally does not 
fall into their scope of operations or investigations. 
 
5.  An area of concern noted by GOP officials from CONAJZAR 
is in the Quiniela game--in which a player picks his own 
number for a lottery, that is drawn daily.  According to 
Miguel Gomez, only thirty-percent of the Quiniela operations 
in the country are legal and regulated by the Government. 
Officials state this game produces large earnings and is 
often run by illegal businesses. 
 
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Current Money Laundering Law 
---------------------------- 
 
6.  Currently, money laundering is considered a criminal 
offense under Paraguay,s two anti-money laundering statutes, 
Law 1015 of 1996 and Article 196 of Paraguay,s Criminal 
Code, adopted in 1997. The existence of the two laws has led 
to substantial confusion due to overlapping provisions 
including the following: 
 
-- the law included in Article 196 in the scope of predicate 
offenses only those offenses that carry a maximum penalty of 
five years or more; law 1015 includes additional offenses; 
 
-- article 196 established a maximum penalty of five years 
for money laundering offenses, while law 1015 carries a 
prison term of two to ten years. This is particularly 
significant because, under the Criminal Code of 1998 and 
Criminal Procedure Code, defendants who accept charges that 
carry a maximum penalty of five years or less are 
automatically entitled to a suspended sentence and a fine 
instead of jail time, at least for the first offense; 
 
-- law 1015 contains "due diligence" and "banker negligence" 
provisions and applies money laundering controls to 
nonbanking financial institutions, such as casinos, exchange 
houses, cash couriers, and insurance companies. However, 
intermediaries such as lawyers, accountants and 
brokers/dealers are not controlled under the current law; 
 
-- the existing bank secrecy laws do not prevent banks and 
financial institutions from disclosing information to bank 
supervisors and law enforcement entities. Additionally, 
bankers and others are protected under the anti-money 
laundering law with respect to their cooperation with law 
enforcement agencies; 
 
-- law 1015 requires banks and financial institutions to know 
and record the identity of customers engaging in significant 
currency transactions and to report those suspicious 
activities to the FIU; 
 
-- the current legislation does not address alternative 
remittance systems, such as hawala and other black market 
exchanges. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
New Anti-Money Laundering Legislation Before Congress 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
7.  Paraguay (with direct Embassy assistance) drafted a new 
law in late 2003 through early 2004 to improve the 
effectiveness of its money laundering legislation.  The GOP 
formally introduced the new anti-money laundering bill to 
Congress in May 2004, where it now remains under 
consideration by legislative commissions.  The draft bill 
should come before the full Congress for consideration in 
2005. The new law reaffirms the existence of a single 
functional FIU under the direction of SEPRELAD, which reports 
directly to the Office of the President (similar to SENAD). 
The draft law also lays out the following provisions: 
 
-- establishes money laundering as an autonomous crime 
punishable by a prison term of five to 20 years; 
 
-- establishes predicate offenses as any crime that is 
punishable by a prison term exceeding six months and 
specifically criminalizes money laundering tied to the 
financing of terrorist groups or acts; 
 
-- allows prosecutors to recommend that judges freeze or 
confiscate assets connected to money laundering and its 
predicate offenses; 
 
-- creates a special asset forfeiture fund (to be 
administered by a consortium of national governmental 
agencies) to support programs for crime prevention and 
suppression, including combating money laundering and related 
training; 
 
-- requires the full range of relevant institutions to report 
suspicious transactions to SEPRELAD and to maintain 
registries of large currency transactions that equal or 
exceed $10,000, including proceeds from gambling or winnings 
at casinos; 
 
-- establishes penalties for falsifying or failure to file 
reports, "know-your-client provisions" and standardized 
record keeping for a minimum of seven years; 
 
-- requires SEPRELAD to refer cases as appropriate for 
further investigation to the Economic Crimes Investigatory 
Unit (UDIF) of SENAD and to the Attorney General,s Office 
for prosecution; 
 
-- establishes SEPRELAD as the central entity for related 
information exchanges with other concerned foreign entities; 
 
-- specifies that the UDIF of SENAD is the principal 
authority for carrying out all antidrug and other financial 
investigations, and will also have the authority to initiate 
investigation of cases on its own; 
 
-- establishes that obligated entities that must interact 
with SEPRELAD will include, inter alia, banks, financial 
institutions, insurance agencies, currency exchange houses, 
casinos, securities companies and brokers (including the 
stock exchange), investment companies, money transmitters, 
administrators of mutual investment and pension funds, credit 
unions, operators of gambling facilities, real estate 
agencies, nongovernmental organizations, pawnshops and 
dealers in jewels, precious stones and metals, automobiles, 
art and antiques. 
 
--------------------- 
Still Work to be Done 
--------------------- 
6.  While casinos are addressed in the current and new money 
laundering legislation, Paraguay still lacks the appropriate 
enforcement, criminal investigation, and prosecution of 
criminal offenses for money laundering cases.  Paraguay does 
not have the resources necessary to ensure that casinos are 
compliant with the anti-money laundering legislation and are 
meeting reporting requirements to the FIU.  Nor does the 
country have the proper Criminal Procedure Code, which allows 
Prosecutors to perform long-term criminal investigations. 
Additionally, there is no mechanism in place to trace the 
physical movement of large amounts of cash. Adoption and 
implementation of the new money laundering law and providing 
GOP authorities with the necessary resources and mechanisms 
essential for proper investigation and law enforcement will 
create an opportunity for Paraguay to get a better handle on 
the casino industry.  To tap that opportunity, however, 
Paraguay's casino regulation commission, CONAJZAR, will need 
to get serious about compelling the casino industry to meet 
its reporting responsibilities. Other money laundering 
targets, such as exchange houses, also require greatly 
enhanced investigation and are a higher priority given the 
volume of fund transfers. 
KEANE