The effort is part of a project prioritized on the so-called legislative fast-track agenda, aimed at directly attacking the illegal entry of funds used for drug trafficking and organized crime.
of senate room They unanimously signed on to a project to criminalize money smuggling and approved changes introduced by the House of Commons to the plan.
The project is part of the security priorities of Congress and the Executive, and was initiated by a motion by Senators Luz Evensperger, Alfonso de Uresti, Pedro Araya, Rodrigo Galilea, and Matthias Walker. .
Its basic purpose is to more severely punish acts that are currently punishable only as administrative crimes. Similarly, it aims to combat organized crime funding sources.
Senator Ruth Ebensperger, chair of the Constitution Committee and one of the authors of this project, was responsible for informing the House of Representatives of the changes introduced by it.
He now recalls: Bringing in more than $10,000 without declaring it is considered a simple administrative offense and is punishable by a fine. . He specified that the project would now be considered a crime and subject to criminal penalties.
This is essential because, as the lawmaker explained, funds that are used for drug trafficking and organized crime flow in illegally.
During the debate, Senators Francisco Chajuan, Pedro Araya, Kenneth Pugh, and Matthias Walker spoke, assessing the scope of the initiative and asserting that: “This is a new tool that police, customs and courts need to fight smuggling.”
Similarly, they agreed that this is an important advance in the pursuit of financial channels that finance organized crime. They also appreciated the inclusion of new assumptions regarding smuggling and increased fines and restriction periods.
Meanwhile, Minister of Interior and Public Security Carolina Toha emphasized that: He recalled that this initiative was prioritized in the legislative fast-track agenda, which included two further issues considered in the aforementioned agenda.
Specifically, the project criminalizes money smuggling crimes and strengthens penalties and statutes of limitations for smuggling crimes. It would also be possible for the Ministry of Civil Service to launch an investigation into this crime in some cases.
It also limits the ability of customs authorities to exempt from criminal action and includes all smuggling offenses and offenses of malicious export declaration as basic crimes of money laundering.
Source: Biobiochile
