8/26/2004 07:10:30 AM|||Nathan Moore|||

Turns out that more hands got dirty. It was only a matter of time before the banks involved were implicated. The money had to flow through somewhere.

The action against Infobank was widely seen as a warning to Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko, who is said to have close ties to the bank.

According to the Treasury department, several other banks and shell corporations were also involved in the laundering, though it did not name these companies. Identifying a bank as an alleged money launderer is one of several tools available under the controversial US Patriot Act, designed to help stamp out terrorism.

Blackballing such institutions is a nice first step. Depending on how involved they were, further sanctions ought to be pursued. Crony country leadership who may have benefited from the cash flow should be treated as terrorist supporters. Belarus - you're on the list.

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