The Office of the Attorney General and National Police dismantled a criminal structure which used a new method to enter illegal assets through the airports of the country. Nine people were arrested.
Through the Special Directorate against Money Laundering, the Office of the Attorney General and National Police gave a hard blow to a transnational criminal organization in an investigative and operative action. This organization allegedly laundered more than 11 thousand million pesos (USD $ 3,688,871) that were brought into the country between October 2017 and March 2019.
According to the pieces of evidence, the aforementioned structure allegedly implemented a new modality of money laundering called ‘lavado hormiga’ (in english ant), in which Colombian citizens are sent to Mexico in order to return to the country in a massive way with dollars that are declared before the customs authority (Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN)) by filling the form 530 out.
Official reports show that at least 27 travelers coming from Mexico arrived with foreign currency every day. Upon the arrival, each person declared an amount that ranged between 20,000 and 80,000 dollars.