Gold laundering hit provides seed money for new program

PANAMA and the U.S. agreed Monday, December 19 to create a bilateral commission to combat drug trafficking and money laundering, with a support fund of about $36 million. 

Panama’a Foreign Minister, Roberto Henriquez, said after a meeting with representatives of the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that  the commission will look into projects to be developed to combat organized crime. 

He said  that the $36 million representing 70% of the approximately $52 million dollars, that was raised in the auction of gold that was seized in the "Speed Jewelers" case in 2000.

 According to local media at that time , the company Speed Jewelers, located in the Colon Free Zone, was used by a criminal network to launder drug traffic money through  billions of dollars of gold. 

The U.S. delegation was headed by charge d'affaires of the United States Embassy in Panama, John Law.