Category Archives: CAFRA Abuse

Connecticut Just Banned Civil Forfeiture Without A Criminal Conviction

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Institute For Justice “We are the national law firm for liberty.”
Nick Sibilla, Contributor

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed HB 7146 on Monday, which curbs the state’s civil forfeiture laws. Not only did the bill earn endorsements from the Yankee Institute for the Public Policy and the state chapter of the ACLU, HB 7146 even passed both the House and the Senate without a single no vote.

Under the new law, in order to permanently confiscate property with civil forfeiture, the property must be first seized in connection to either a lawful arrest or a lawful search that results in an arrest. If prosecutors do not secure a guilty verdict, a plea bargain or a dismissal from finishing a pretrial diversion program, the government must return the property to its rightful owner. With the stroke of a pen, Connecticut now becomes the 14th state to require a criminal conviction for most or all forfeiture cases.

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Click Here for Forbes article 

U.S. Gov Awards $1.5 Million in Lost CAFRA Suit, article and more below

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Washington, D.C.-  The former Taiwanese First Family has won $1.5 million from the U.S. after filing a CAFRA suit, per DOJ.  Preceding the suit, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched a bilateral initiative to investigate the family’s purchase of a New York City, NY condominium and Keswick, VA Estate (amounting to the aforementioned $1.5 million).  The HSI-ICE team discovered the properties were acquired via bribe dollars, tracing back to a 2004 payout from a Taiwanese banker, Yuanta Securities, in exchange for the then-presidency’s competition protection.  Although the First Family used a series of shell companies and offshore accounts to hide the source of the funds, the HSI-ICE team confiscated the properties upon exposition of the bribery.  

The DOJ article regarding the case is reproduced below with its original link following.

United States Returns $1.5 Million in Forfeited Proceeds from Sale of Property Purchased with Alleged Bribes Paid to Family of Former President of Taiwan

The Department of Justice announced today that it is returning approximately $1.5 million to Taiwan, the proceeds of the sale of a forfeited New York condominium and a Virginia residence that the United States alleged in its complaint were purchased with the proceeds of bribes paid to the family of Taiwan’s former President Chen Shui-Bian.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Executive Associate Director Peter T. Edge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.

According to the civil forfeiture complaints filed in this case, Yuanta Securities Co. Ltd. paid a bribe of 200 million New Taiwan dollars (equivalent to approximately $6 million USD) to former First Lady Wu Shu-Jen in 2004, during former President Chen Shui-Bian’s administration.  The bribe was allegedly paid to ensure that the president would use his power so that the Taiwan authorities would not oppose Yuanta’s bid to acquire a financial holding company.  The former first family used Hong Kong and Swiss bank accounts, shell companies and a St. Kitts and Nevis trust to transfer the bribe proceeds needed to purchase the properties in Keswick, Virginia, and New York.  The properties were owned by the former first family of Taiwan through two limited liability companies.  In October 2012, U.S. District Courts in Virginia and in New York entered final forfeiture judgments against these two properties without opposition by the record owners.  The United States then sold these two properties and obtained approximately $1.5 million in proceeds, which is being returned to Taiwan.

“The Kleptocracy Initiative was established to prevent corrupt leaders from using the United States as a safe haven for their ill-gotten gains,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “We are committed to rooting out foreign official corruption and preventing corrupt officials from enjoying their spoils in the United States.  We appreciate the cooperation of Taiwan law enforcement in this matter.”

“After many years of collaborative work, we are happy to return these funds to their rightful owners,” said Executive Associate Director Edge.  “This is part of an ongoing effort by HSI to identify and seize illegal assets in the United States obtained by corrupt foreign leaders who abuse our financial systems in order to conceal the illicit proceeds of their crimes.  HSI special agents in our 62 offices in 43 countries will continue to work with our domestic offices and international law enforcement partners to hold these individuals accountable.”

ICE-HSI investigated the case, with assistance from the agency’s attaché in Hong Kong, HSI Miami’s Foreign Corruption Investigation Group and the Taiwan Supreme Prosecutors Office’s Special Investigations Division.  Trial Attorney Jennifer Wallis and former Deputy Chief Linda Samuel of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFMLS) prosecuted the case.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided valuable assistance.

The Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is carried out by a dedicated team of prosecutors in AFMLS, working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, return those proceeds to benefit those harmed.  Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through institutions in the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to [email protected]

HSI’s Foreign Corruption Investigations Group targets corrupt foreign officials around the world who attempt to utilize U.S. financial institutions to launder illicit funds.  The group conducts investigations into the laundering of proceeds emanating from foreign public corruption, bribery or embezzlement.  The objective is to prevent foreign derived ill-gotten gains from entering the U.S. financial infrastructure, to seize identified assets in the United States and repatriate these funds on behalf of those affected.
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