Holy Rollers: The Religious Leaders Using Churches to Launder Illicit Cash Across the Americas

[Judi Lynn]

by Columbia Journalism Investigations and CLIP
27 August 2020

When Erik Súñiga died in U.S. custody in April, he left a rich religious and political legacy in the Guatemalan town where he founded an evangelical church, and served as mayor for over a decade.

He also left behind a property empire that was most likely built with drug money. Some of that cash appears to have been laundered through his religious and political network.

Paradises of Money and Faith

That is one of the findings of a cross border investigation by 12 media organizations from nine countries, coordinated by Columbia Journalism Investigations and the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP) , OCCRP’s regional partner in Latin America, into church-related money laundering across the Americas.

The phenomenon is widespread, as religious organizations often escape scrutiny due to their respected role within communities and the lack of regulation governing their affairs, experts say. In a number of countries, this includes tax exemptions.

More:
https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/holy-rollers-the-religious-leaders-using-churches-to-launder-illicit-cash-across-the-americas

Also posted in Editorials and other articles:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016267079

[nycbos]

1. "He needs money! He always needs money!...

... He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more."

-George Carlin

[Judi Lynn]

3. How true! Never heard that one. He had a point, didn't he? George Carlin is sorely missed. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

2. Same article includes US-based churches:

Biofuel Fraud
Jacob Kingston, a member of a Mormon sect primarily based in Utah, was involved in a $1 billion renewable fuel tax credit fraud scheme. Kingston headed of a company called Washakie Renewable Energy, which falsely claimed to be selling the cleaner fuel in order to access tax credits.

Kingston and his wife, mother, and brother all pleaded guilty to crimes relating to the biofuel scam, including money laundering and mail fraud. They cooperated with U.S. prosecutors, who brought charges against their accomplice Lev Dermen, a California businessman. Dermen was convicted in March, and he and the Kingstons are awaiting sentencing for the scheme that ran from 2010 to 2016.

The money trail began with Washakie, which would sell biodiesel to a company controlled by a co-conspirator. The same fuel would then be moved through another company the conspirator either had an interest in or controlled, giving the impression that it was being bought and sold on the open market. That company would resell the fuel as a biodiesel mixture to Washakie, which then claimed it qualified for tax credits.

. . .

According to a separate complaint filed last year in a district court in Utah, the church’s doctrine includes a tenet called “Bleeding the Beast,” which justifies fraudulent conduct against outsiders to benefit the congregation.