Lawyers Who Launder

An undercover sting by a group called Global Witness secretly recorded a dozen New York lawyers who suggested ways to use “suspect funds” to buy luxury real estate, the New York Times reports. Two of them, from two separate Manhattan firms, offered to use their firm’s bank to facilitate the deal. Previous reporting from the Times found that some multi-million dollar residences, whose owners are untraceable because the purchase was made using a shell company, sit empty in Manhattan, where they hold or accrue value like expensive paintings. The Global Witness investigators claimed they represented an African minister of mines who had gotten rich by taking money from companies who wanted to do business in his country. Among those recorded were an ex-president of the ABA, who declined direct representation and said he’d be obligated to report crimes, if any, but offered to provide a “list of countries where the banking systems require less detail.” Only one lawyer among those approached rejected the opportunity entirely. He is shown turning away from the interviewer as if he’d been offered a dead mouse and muttering in his New York accent “I’m not interested.”