08-19-2010, 05:50 PM
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Purveyor, Fine Asian Porn
Industry Role:
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 38,323
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Quote:
Movie Execs Charged in Money-Laundering Case
Federal prosecutors say Limelight Films was a front in international drug smuggling.
July 20, 2006|Andrew Blankstein and Richard Winton, Times Staff Writers
Limelight Films seemed from the outside like so many upstart production companies in Hollywood: It had a Sunset Boulevard address, a connection to Tinseltown royalty and deals to distribute a small slate of low-budget films.
But federal authorities have alleged that the film corporation was a front for an international drug-smuggling and money-laundering operation stretching from Los Angeles to Switzerland.
stigation dubbed "Operation Director's Cut."
D'Esclavelles and De Basseville were arrested in Arlington, Va., and charged with conspiracy to distribute Ecstasy.
Authorities said they learned about Limelight from an informant and set up a sting operation in which agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration posed as Ecstasy buyers working for South American drug dealers.
The criminal complaint alleges that Limelight executives laundered $300,000 through the film company for the undercover agents. The arrests followed numerous meetings between the agents and Limelight executives, who allegedly promised to arrange the sale of half a million Ecstasy tablets, according to court documents.
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Investing in a film is considered a smart way to launder money. Accounting practices are weak, transparency low, and if you are a thug with a lot of cash ?to invest? you get to hang around movie stars by bankrolling a film.
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