In today’s world, recent events have raised concerns of how money earned by drugs is laundered and subsequently dispersed. In many cases, the transnational drug trade generates funds which are laundered to increase their legitimacy, and then dispersed to a number of rather negative establishments. The money earned by the drug trade, sufficiently laundered, goes to pay for continuing the drug production cycle, support guns-to-gangs operations, finance organized crime, and even support terrorism. With enough laundering, the money can also be used by supposedly reputable business for a variety of purposes. In many cases, corrupt governments, local or regional, aid and abet the laundering process. Drug-related money laundering, without doubt, is an issue recently risen to a level deserving of serious international consideration.
The Republic of Mozambique, sadly, is one of those countries mentioned above,
where corruption and limited regulatory ability make the country an easy
target for those wishing to launder drug related money. As such, Mozambique
is strongly supportive of any actions or plans which would help countries in
need of a little more structure in order to facilitate more careful regulation
of monetary institutions so as to prevent the laundering of drug related funds.
Although our country suffers in some small localities from corruption that makes
the laundering of funds a simple task, Mozambique’s national government
is fully dedicated to hindering the ability of criminal individuals and entities
from laundering funds, gained from drugs or otherwise.
In order to best keep drug related funds from being laundered, the Republic of Mozambique feels that the best solution would be the utilization of existing systems in place in order to monitor financial institutions, as well as devising new more efficient systems. There already exist some systems which would allow for the monitoring of world financial bodies, and, as stated before, Mozambique feels these adequate, but more must be designed if a truly progressive stance is to be taken in fighting drug-related money laundering. What Mozambique feels inadequate is the stance taken by the world body on combating the root causes for this drug money laundering: the poverty, oppression, the desperation that is bred by these. So in addition to fighting this money laundering at its source, Mozambique feels that by attacking its deeper underlying causes, we may most effectively solve both the problem at hand and, more importantly, the deeper and more significant drug related issues which face this committee.