FARC COMMANDER REPORTED KILLED IN COLOMBIA

Alfonso Cano, the supreme commander of the designated global terrorist organisation known as the FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was killed this week in Cauca Province, in a gun battle with the Colombian Army, along with a number of other FARC operatives. There reportedly was a $3.7m reward for his capture. The death of Cano, whose real name was Guillermo León Sáenz, is the latest in a number of successful operations conducted against the FARC recently, which have reportedly greatly weakened it.

Note well that six laptop computers, together with 39 memory sticks, were seized after the battle, which could assist the Government of Colombia in following the trail of FARC money launderers, who are responsible for cleaning the organisation's illicit profits from narcotics trafficking, kidnapping and extortion. The information gleaned could also identify FARC members and associates in the financial services industry, both inside Colombia, and outside the country, especially in Venezuela and Panama.

Money launderers working for the FARC may now fear that they, and funds entrusted to them, are at risk, and might seek to move both to a new, and therefore safe, jurisdiction. I would, therefore, look closely at any large transfer of US Dollars, from traditional offshore financial centres in Central America and the Caribbean, to countries further afield, especially in Asia. Frightened money launderers may betray themselves by their insistence that wire transfers are urgent; Watch for them.

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