Cash smuggler Khemraj Lall is facing the forfeiture of US$7.5m, several properties and aircraft.
Having already pleaded guilty in Puerto Rico to smuggling US$620,000 into the island on November 22nd last year aboard a plane he was piloting, an indictment unsealed in the US state of New Jersey on August 3rd, 2015 accuses him of structuring bank deposits in such a way as to avoid reporting requirements.
According to court documents seen by Stabroek News, the US government indictment mandates that Lall forfeit to the United States all property, real and personal, involved in the offence or traceable to such property.
The US is demanding that Lall forfeit the sum of money equal to $7,549,775 in United States currency as that was the amount which was involved in the structuring offence or is traceable to such property for which the defendant is liable.
It is also moving for the forfeiture of three properties: 104 Coventry Way, Ringwood, New Jersey; 1551 NE 161st Place, Citra, Florida; and 170 Neelytown Road, Hamptonburgh, New York.
The US government is also targeting for forfeiture one 1988 Fixed Wing Multi-Engine Aircraft, Israel Aircraft Industries, Model Number 1124, Serial Number 441, FAA Registration N822QL; one 1985 Fixed Wing Multi-Engine Aircraft, Canadair Ltd., Model Number CL-600-2A12, Serial Number 3042, FAA Registration N923SL (currently displaying former FAA
registration N951RM); and one 2013 Lexus GX Wagon, Vehicle Identification Number JTJBM7FX7D5O53 147. The US government is also seeking the forfeiture of a total of US$442,743 held in 14 accounts controlled by him, his wife Nadinee, his mother or connected businesses.
The indictment sets out in detail how Lall structured his deposits to allegedly avoid detection.
In his sworn affidavit, Leonard Hatton, III, a Special Agent with the US Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation said that from on or about April 6, 2011 to on or about November 24, 2014, Lall structured or caused to be structured more than 1,287 cash deposits totalling approximately $7,549,775.
Of those funds, Hatton said that $7,182,775 were structured in 1,243 cash deposits into approximately 16 bank accounts and 3 credit accounts held at JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citibank in the defendant’s name (individually and jointly), his minor children and relatives’ names, as well as in the names of his wholly-owned businesses The remaining $367,000 were structured in 44 cash deposits made into accounts held in the names of unrelated third parties with whom defendant Lall transacted business. Hatton said that none of the 1,287 cash deposits in the Lall Accounts and third-party accounts exceeded $10,000.
CTR
Any time an amount greater than US$10,000 is processed, the institution is required to file a currency transaction report (CTR) which goes to the Internal Revenue Service.
Said Hatton, “Many individuals involved in illegal activities, such as narcotics trafficking, tax evasion, and money laundering, are aware of the reporting requirements and take active steps to cause financial institutions to fail to file CTRs and other reports in order to avoid detection of the movement of large amounts of cash. Among the tactics employed by individuals wishing to avoid such detection is the process of ‘structuring,’ in which an individual conducts a series of multiple transactions, keeping each individual transaction at an amount below $10,000, to avoid the filing of a CTR or other report.”
Hatton deposed to the nature of the structuring. He said that Lall structured cash deposits on a weekly basis.
“For example, during the week of June 3, 2013, alone, 13 separate cash deposits, none of which individually exceeded $10,000, but which together totalled $60,000, were made into the Lall Accounts held at Wells Fargo and JPMorgan.
“Similarly, during the week of September 16, 2013, alone, 17 separate cash deposits, none of which individually exceeded $10,000, but which together totaled $109,000, were made into the Lall Accounts at JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citibank”, Hatton said.
Lall even structured multiple cash deposits on the same day, Hatton said.
“For example, on October 25, 2013, 5 separate cash deposits, none of which individually exceeded $10,000, but which together totalled $25,000, were made into 5 of the Lall Accounts held at Wells Fargo. Surveillance images show that defendant … made 4 of those cash deposits”, Hatton stated.
Warning
Not even a warning by JPMorgan dissuaded Lall, Hatton swore.
The indictment said that “On or about October 30, 2013, JPMorgan sent a letter to (the) defendant’s … home address indicating that a pattern of cash transactions involving one of the Lall Accounts appeared designed to evade the CTR filing requirements. Enclosed with the letter was an instructional pamphlet published by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network informing defendant Lall that structuring is a crime. Hatton said that Lall “continued to structure cash deposits even after he received the above-discussed letter and pamphlet. Indeed, over the next year, from October 31, 2013 to November 24, 2014, approximately 527 structured cash deposits totalling approximately $3,332,292 were made into the Lall Accounts. None of these cash deposits exceeded $10,000.”
On March 24, 2014, 4 separate cash deposits, none of which individually exceeded $10,000, but which together totalled $33,000, were made into 3 of the Lall Accounts held at JPMorgan and Wells Fargo. Hatton said that surveillance images and video footage show that the defendant made 3 of those cash deposits.
On a single day, June 2, 2014, 7 separate cash deposits, none of which individually exceeded $10,000, but which together totalled $39,000, were made into the Lall Accounts held at Wells Fargo and JPMorgan.
In November 2014, alone, 37 separate cash deposits, none of which individually exceeded $10,000, but which together totalled $218,826, were made into the Lall Accounts.
Hatton’s affidavit said that the structured cash deposits in the Lall Accounts were used mainly to purchase, improve, and operate private aircraft and to purchase and improve real estate properties, all owned by Lall.
The structured cash deposits into the unrelated third-party accounts were primarily used to pay for defendant’s …acquisition of business assets”, Hatton averred.
Lall’s legal troubles all started on November 22 last year when he was en route to Guyana and landed in Puerto Rico. A search of his plane by the Puerto Rican authorities found the cash.
It was subsequently learnt that Lall had a private hangar at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri and had flown former President Donald Ramotar to Brazil. These reports triggered consternation and questions as to what due diligence had been carried out on him before the decision was made to assign him a private hangar.
This decision has been further called into question following two narcotics indictments this year in the US. One indictment asserts that Lall conspired to import into the US five kilogrammes or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine. He also faces a separate indictment of conspiring with others to possess and distribute five kilogrammes or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.
Lall now faces a revocation of bail hearing as the US is alleging that he violated the terms of his bail in the Puerto Rico matter as evidenced by the period over which the alleged drug offence occurred.
