The prosecution dismantled a network that laundered 5.8 billion pesos obtained in illegal mining

The nation’s attorney general’s office succeeded in dismantling several criminal structures in Colombia that were dedicated to laundering money obtained through the export of gold. mined by illegal mining in different parts of the country, under the facades of trading companies.

“I would like to inform the country that the prosecutor’s office and the national police have captured 25 people who legalized the illegally mined gold and exported it. The work of our technical investigation body and the prosecutor’s office took place in the cities of Cali, Medellín, Guapi in Cauca and Galeras (Sucre) “, informed the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa.

The investigative body found that One of these networks had come to launder assets of up to 5.8 trillion pesos in Cali, between 2011 and 2018.

According to the judicial process that takes the members of this criminal structure, They bought the gold mined in the illegal mining of the Bendiciones, Bajo Calima and Anchicayá factories, in Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca), where the Dagua, Calima, Serpis, Bocas de Calima and Malaguita rivers were affected on the environmental plan.

“It was a conglomerate of trading companies in Cali that reportedly laundered 5.8 billion pesos between 2011 and 2018. They bought gold from illegal mining establishments in Buenaventura and supported the transaction with the names of those who died or were deprived of their liberty, ”Barbosa said.

In this way, as the prosecution explained, these people were presented as barequeros certified by the National Mining Agency.

The entities designated by the prosecution as being involved in this illicit practice would be NTR Metals Colombia SAS, CI NTR Metals Zona Franca SAS and Precious Metals Investments SAS, which carried out these simulation operations to legalize gold. Of the 5.8 trillion pesos laundered, 1.2 trillion would correspond to fictitious exports, according to the body in charge of the investigation.

In this case, they captured 16 people, including those who bought gold in areas of illegal mining, such as suppliers, accountants, responsible for the documentation and the departure of the precious metal from the country.

The legal representative of one of these trading companies was arrested in a luxury house in Cali and 20 million pesos in cash confiscated from him.

These people will be charged with the crimes of money laundering, conspiracy to commit a crime, illicit enrichment, damage to natural resources, environmental contamination and illegal exploitation of mineral deposits.

In the meantime, some of the shareholders of the trading company NTR Metals Zona Franca SAS have seen several of their assets confiscated.

The specialized Directorate for the extinction of domain rights imposed the precautionary measures of seizure and removal on 18 properties, 12 vehicles, 6 companies, 4 commercial establishments and 14 financial products from different banking entities.

“This prosecutor’s office has occupied property assets for the purpose of extinction for approximately 74,000 million pesos in Bogotá, Cali and Pasto”said the attorney general.

It was also found that a family clan had its own model of money laundering in its alleged trading company IRCA CISAS. and they supported acquisitions with certificates of origin linked to a number of alleged barequeros that were unrelated to this activity.

“Another structure that was part of this conglomerate illegally mined gold in Guapi, López de Micay, Timbiquí and El Naya in the department of Cauca. They shipped 1,700 kilograms of gold to the United States, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. They carried out 117 exports between 2015 and 2019 for around 63 million dollars, or more or less 190,000 million pesos. These are the economic dimensions of these criminal economies “Barbosa remarked.

These people will be charged with the offenses of money laundering, conspiracy to commit a crime, illicit enrichment of individuals, procedural fraud, falsification of private documents and illicit exploitation of mineral deposits.