Pubdate: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 Source: Chomedey Laval News, The (CN QU) Copyright: 2004 The Chomedey Laval News Contact: http://www.chomedeynews.ca Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2596 STOCKMARKET USED BY ORGANIZED CRIME Along with using casinos as a money laundering tool, drug lords and other criminals are believed to be using the stock market for their illicit activities. According to Quebec Securities Commission president Pierre Godin, even if activities go through legal corporations, the enormous benefits to their shareholders come at the price of laundering money from the drug trade and organized crime. In an effort to find a solution to the growing problem, twenty countries will to sign information exchange agreements in the near future. Meanwhile, over the next few weeks, Quebec1s Minister of Finance Yves Seguin is expected to implement a special financial crimes unit. The squad would be composed of a mixture of Surete du Quebec inspectors, Revenue Quebec auditors and Securities Commission personnel. According to Seguin, the new squad could recover up to one billion dollars. The RCMP has also announced that it would create its own financial crime investigating unit to fight the problem. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman