N.J. banker arrested in drug money laundering scheme

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/Photographer: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI

WASHINGTON — Oscar Marcelo Nunez-Flores, a New Jersey-based employee of an international financial institution, was arrested Wednesday for accepting bribes to enable millions of dollars of money laundering, according to Philip R. Sellinger, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

"As alleged, Nunez corruptly exploited his position inside a bank to help launder millions of dollars in drug money in exchange for bribes," Sellinger noted in a statement. "Today's arrest shows that my office will expose and prosecute those who abuse positions of trust and seek to corrupt our financial institutions."

The investigation that led to the charges was conducted in part by special agents at the New York division of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Office of Inspector General. Agents in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Criminal Investigation wing of the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington also assisted in the investigation.

Nunez — an employee at an unnamed international financial institution — worked at a bank branch located in Scotch Plains, N.J. 

An FDIC OIG press release regarding the arrest said as early as 2022, Nunez leveraged his employee access to open bank accounts in the names of shell companies with nominee owners in exchange for bribes. The anonymous accounts were subsequently used to launder proceeds from narcotics trafficking including to Colombia, the largest global producer of cocaine.

Nunez also gave his benefactors online access to the accounts along with dozens of debit cards that were used to withdraw cash from ATMs in Columbia. Nunez received thousands of dollars in bribes for each account opening he facilitated. The joint investigation found millions of dollars had been laundered to Colombia through accounts Nunez opened since the scheme began early last year.

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Money laundering conspiracy is associated with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of either $500,000 or double the sum implicated in the crime, depending on which amount is higher. Meanwhile, the charge of bank bribery can lead to a maximum imprisonment term of 30 years and a fine of $1 million or triple the value of the benefit provided, depending on which amount is greater.

Regulators in the Biden administration have taken a heightened interest in rooting out financial crime, especially as the Treasury Department and other regulators established a raft of sanctions against foreign bad actors, most notably against Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

In September, Fincen announced a $15 million civil penalty against New York City-based Shinhan Bank America for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act involving money laundering transactions. In January the Justice Department arrested the Russian founder of crypto exchange Bitzlato in connection with a range of illegal international financial crimes, including money laundering.

More recently, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a branch of the Treasury, issued guidance advising banks on how to identify funding streams that may be utilized by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, after the organization attacked Israel last month. Hamas purportedly raised millions in funding through cryptocurrency transactions in the years leading up to the attack.