Bahamas Money Manager Locked-Up For Four Years

by Leroy Baker, for LawAndTax-News.com, New York

16 March 2007

A former money manager was on Tuesday sentenced to four years in prison by a US judge for his part in laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of narcotic proceeds through an investment company registered in the Bahamas.

Martin Tremblay, a 43 year-old Canadian national who pleaded guilty to the crimes in November of last year, was also ordered by Judge John F. Keenan, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, to pay a $12,500 fine and forfeit $220,000 in proceeds from his criminal activity.

Tremblay was the former President and Managing Director of the Bahamas-based investment firm Dominion Investments. Prior to Tremblay’s arrest on January 20, 2006, Dominion Investments was an investment services provider and financial advisor incorporated in the Bahamas, licensed by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, and a member of the Bahamas Financial Services Board. According to its website, Dominion Investments was a "leader in the offshore financial services" market, offering clients "the knowledge and expertise they need to effectively use international tax planning, asset protection, and other wealth preservation techniques".

Tremblay was caught as a result of an undercover sting operation conducted by the New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force in 2005.

During the investigation, the Strike Force videotaped a meeting between Tremblay and undercover agents from the Internal Revenue Service, in which they discussed the laundering of large amounts of money earned from narcotics sales. Approximately $220,000 was eventually wire transferred by federal agents to Dominion-related accounts.

During his plea, Tremblay admitted that he met with undercover agents in March 2005 in Manhattan, who requested his assistance to launder what were represented to be the proceeds of narcotics trafficking.

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