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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Zia Sun(zsun) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sir Auric Goldfinger who wrote (9106)	8/2/2000 6:57:19 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 10354

Canada moves to wash away 'crime-laundromat' image By Ian Karleff TORONTO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - To make the Canada a less attractive hub for global criminal activity, the province of Ontario plans to introduce tough legislation this fall that would allow police to seize the assets of individuals believed to be engaged in organised crime before they are convicted of an offence. At a Toronto conference on fighting international organised crime on Wednesday, the province's attorney general, James Flaherty, said he would introduce legislation that would enable the freezing and seizure of assets obtained by illegal means. ``We have to take the profit out of organised crime and treat the criminals like a business,'' Flaherty said. Because property rights are not entrenched in the Canadian Constitution, it is possible to seize assets before criminal judgments are reached, the attorney general argued. At present, people facing criminal charges would be able to move assets out of the country before a conviction is obtained, thereby allowing illegal activities to continue without disruption, Flaherty said. ``Canada has not done enough to fight organised crime. The Criminal Code hasn't done very well.'' Money laundering estimated at about C$17 billion ($11.5 billion) a year is done annually in Canada, half of that in the province of Ontario, he said. Flaherty said he would like to introduce a system whereby police would be able to seize assets and freeze bank accounts of suspected organised criminals as part of a search warrant, granted by a judge to obtain evidence. Experts at the conference said Canada is an important beachhead for global organised crime because of its long, largely unprotected, border with the U.S., easy access to its financial sector, and weak justice and prison systems. Before Bill C-22, the federal government's money-laundering legislation, was passed this year Canada was a ``near perfect laundromat,'' said Antonio Nicaso, an international expert on organised crime and author of the book ``Mafia's Code.'' ``Canada's importance in the global criminal network far outweighs the actual dollars generated by criminal activity here,'' Nicaso said. Canada is ``the hub of international drug-trafficking, organised fraud, and corresponding money-laundering operations by many crime syndicates,'' added Nicaso. Nicaso cited an intercepted phone conversation between a drug trafficker and a Mafia boss to demonstrate the thoughts of criminals toward Canada: ``Canada for wanted people is the safer place to live. Here there is much lower risk of detention and prosecution than in the U.S. or Europe,'' the conversation went. Recently, some officials in the United States threatened to put Canada on its ``major list'' of countries that do little to combat drug traffickers, in response to Canada's growing role as the North American conduit for marijuana, speed, and designer drugs such as ecstasy. Organised criminals have also used Canada as a landing point for illegal Chinese immigrants on their way to the U.S., with nearly 600 people detained last summer after arriving on Canada's Pacific Coast. And while Ontario's move toward taking the profit motive out of crime is seen as a good first step, there must be a coordinated national effort that would see all provinces enact legislation to seize the profits of organised crime groups, experts said. Organised crime is no longer a local problem, but has become globalized, using the Internet and sophisticated technology, said Giuliano Zaccardelli, deputy commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. ``We need a seamless body of law enforcement across the world. We need to look at better ways to seize assets...and have legal tools to move across international jurisdictions,'' Zaccardelli said. Canada's organised crime scene has advanced from being a branch of international crime syndicates to a key place from which to operate internationally. Nicosa said as many as 15 major criminal groups work together in Canada to slice up criminal profits, rather than sticking to their individual turf as is the case with motorcycle gangs. ($1-$1.48 Canadian) 18:38 08-02-00