User Rating: 5 / 5
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has, sua sponte,* set Oral Argument in the Waked civil appeal of the District Court's adverse decision, regarding their OFAC designations. The case has generated a lot of interest, irrespective of the procedural & substantive issues, due in part to the criminal indictment, and recent change of plea to guilty, of one of the leaders of what the Government refers to as the Waked Money Laundering Organization, a group of legitimate Panamanian companies allegedly engaged in laundering narco-profits of Colombian & Mexican cartels.
Many observers were surprised when the District Court case was filed, wondering of the level of arrogance these known money launderers had, believing that they could prevail in seeking to have OFAC SDN sanctions removed, when classified, incriminating evidence against them would certainly be redacted from any response to a request for information. Moreover, case law definitely favors the Government position.
Oral Argument has been scheduled for January 29, 2018 at 9:30 AM.
Chronicles of Monte Friesner - Financial Crime Analyst
Contributed by Kenneth Rijock - Financial Crime Consultant
