While Central American businesses assume the costs of the bureaucracy associated with money laundering controls, big banks are granted a license to steal.
EDITORIAL
The United States has lost the moral authority in the fight against drug trafficking, and countries who suffer in the drug war, should taken that into account.
The Department of Commerce has imposed a fine of $1.75 million on the Panamanian subsidiary of Ericsson for exporting equipment to the Caribbean island, violating trade restrictions.
Ericsson Panama, subsidiary of the multinational of Swedish origin, will be fined $1.75 million by the U.S. Department of Commerce for exporting mobile network equipment to Cuba, violating trade restrictions in Washington.
The company will have to pay a total of $12.2 million for having fixed prices with the banana producer Chiquita.
Between June 2004 and April 2005 two of the most important importers and marketers of bananas in the world negotiated in order to agree on sales prices, thus distorting competition in the market.
These price agreements had negative effects on countries in southern Europe, mainly Italy, Greece and Portugal.