Attorney Andrew Bennet wanted in US for money laundering

Posted: Friday, December 29, 2017. 11:53 a.m. CST.

By BBN Staff: Yesterday BBN reported that the United States government sent a request to extradite a Belizean attorney, wanted for money laundering charges.

7News Belize, in a report yesterday, confirmed that Andrew Bennett, 46, who was a partner in the law firm of Glenn D Godfrey and Company, is the wanted attorney.

The arrest warrant is from the District of Puerto Rico dated July 2015 and an indictment for 7 counts of money laundering against Bennett.

Belize’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the request for extradition last week from the US State Department.

According to the report, Bennett was caught in a special operation which targeted big players in the banking sector. In 2013, a confidential informant in Belize told agents that political figures and high profile bankers were running money laundering operations for drug trafficking organizations through two international banks in Belize.

An undercover agent set up a meeting with Bennett as an attorney and explained that he represented a Colombian and Puerto Rican drug trafficking organization that needed to launder drug money.

Bennett reportedly told the agent that he could set up some IBC’s or shell companies to provide a front for laundering the monies.

The report cites that in May of 2015, the agent took US $250,000 dollars in a backpack to a meeting with Bennett at the Riverside Tavern.

After receiving the money, Bennett who was under US surveillance went to Slingshot Signs.

Bennett informed the agent that he would be using that business to launder the money.The owner of Slingshot signs says that he knew nothing about Bennett’s activities.

The documents explain that Bennett and his driver walked into slingshot signs with the same backpack full of money and exited with it empty.

He then reportedly wired the money minus his 20% commission of US $50,000 – as instructed by the agent – to accounts in Atlanta, New York and Puerto Rico.

Bennett told 7News that he denies all the allegations being made against him and said he will meet with his legal team.