BONAIRE – The United States has shared over US$300,000 in forfeited criminal assets with Bonaire, in recognition of the Dutch Caribbean island’s assistance to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The Justice Department said the island had assisted the DEA in its investigation of, and the department’s forfeiture of criminal proceeds derived from, the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business that was active in the black market for exchanging Venezuelan bolivars for US dollars.

“This transfer marks the first international sharing of forfeited assets involving the governments of the United States and Bonaire. Bonaire’s Public Prosecutors Office intends to use the funds to support ongoing criminal justice efforts,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

It said the US$300,921.09 transferred are a share of net assets forfeited by US authorities from an investigation into the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business run by Hjalmar Gibelli Gomez. A US law enforcement investigation revealed that Gibelli was engaging in unlicensed money transmitting through his business, a Venezuelan insurance agency called Resguardo Sociedad de Corretaje.

The unlicensed money transmitting business exchanged Venezuelan bolivars for US dollars on a black-market currency exchange in violation of US law. The funds were used to promote Gibelli’s illegal money transmitting business and were utilized in money laundering transactions. (loopnews.caribbean.com)…[+]