HOW THE ANONYMOUS CARDS ARE FUNDED

The question has arisen: how does the money get into the anonymous prepaid debit cards a/k/a stored value cards ? The vast majority, which originate in Venezuela, are funded in this manner :

(1) The card user has one of a number of prominent Panama City law firms form a corporation ( bearer shares, of course) and list the firm's partners as the sole officers and directors. They may also hold a Carta de Poder, or Power of Attorney, to act on behalf of the the corporation. With the corporate documents in hand, the lawyers open one or more bank accounts, as they are well known at the bank; the client's name never surfaces.

(2) The card user purchases a number of prepaid debit cards that have no owner/user identification information inscribed or embossed thereon.

(3) The money, either in the form of cheques, drawn on Venezuelan banks, or cash, bulk cash smuggled into Panama's principal private aviation airfield, is brought into the Republic.

(4) The bank accepts the deposits without performing any Customer Identification Procedure on Beneficial Ownership of the corporation, or requesting any information regarding Source of Funds, or any details of the client's lines of business, or business operations. Essentially, there is zero compliance.

(5) The customer can now authorise the bank to top off, or upload, any sum from the account, on into the prepaid debit card account, using the account number on the reverse of the card. If you have not seen the image that I posted, look below. He can now redeem the funds anywhere in the world.