Operation Arch Stanton was a law enforcement operation targeting international, illegal gold money laundering focusing on gold dealers in South America and refineries in Miami, Florida.
Grave of "Arch Stanton" from the Sad Hill Cemetery
The name of the operation was derived from the film The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, the plot of which centers around a search for stolen gold hidden in the Sad Hill Cemetery next to a grave marked "Arch Stanton."[3]
Investigation
The initial investigation focused on U.S. precious metals refinery Elemetal (also known as "NTR Metals") and several of its Miami-based sales staff who were responsible for purchasing unrefined gold from South America and Peru.[2][4]
According to a criminal complaint affidavit sworn by the FBI:
Aerial view of illegal gold mining in Peruvian rainforest
The international gold trade has become a common method for the laundering of illegal mining, narcotics, and other criminal proceeds. Criminals frequently trade illegal gold through illicit shell or front companies using false or incomplete documents, often smuggled through third-party countries, and then sold to refineries in the U.S., in an effort to hide the true source, ownership, and origin of gold from foreign and U.S. law enforcement.
Criminals use the same scheme to launder narcotics and other criminal proceeds. In general, gold is a good medium for money laundering because it has universal and readily ascertainable value and is difficult to trace. By way of example, a confidential source, with established ties to Peruvian narco-traffickers, explained that he is aware of millions of dollars paid in the U.S. to Peruvian narco-traffickers. The narco-traffickers then physically smuggle the cash payments back to Peru where it is used to purchase illegally mined gold, and the gold is then sold to refineries in the U.S. and elsewhere. Once the gold arrives at the refineries, the criminals receive wire transfer payments into the bank account of their choice. On the surface, the payment appears to be for a legitimate gold-sale transaction, and not from any underlying criminal activity.[2]
Elemetal and three Elemetal salesmen in particular came under investigation because of highly suspicious transactions, including declaring $980 million in U.S. gold imports in 2013 after having imported only $73 million the year before, and none the year before that.[2]
Prosecution
Numerous individuals and organizations were charged with federal crimes as a result of Operation Arch Stanton:
The three Elemetal salesmen were charged with money laundering and pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. and received between 72 and 90 months' imprisonment.[1]
Elemetal pled guilty to failure to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering program, in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.[1]
Four Peruvian nationals, including well-known money launderer, Pedro David Perez Miranda "Peter Ferrari," were also indicted for money laundering.[5]
Reception
Operation Arch Stanton was widely covered in the press and other media.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
The Miami Herald published an award-winning multi-part, investigative series on the prosecutions and illegal-gold money laundering generally: "Dirty Gold, Clean Cash,"[12] which was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.[13]
The book "Dirty Gold: The Rise and Fall of an International Smuggling Ring" chronicled both the gold smuggling activities and the investigation from the perspective of the investigation the Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) and law enforcement agents involved in Operation Arch Stanton.[3]
Season 2, Episode 4 of Netflix'sDirty Money TV series, "Dirty Gold," chronicled the Operation Arch Stanton and the investigation and prosecution of Elemetal and featured the AUSA and several eyewitnesses.[14]
Season 13, Episode 5 of CNBC's American Greed, "Black Market Dirty Gold," also chronicled the investigation and prosecution.
Episode 450 of the Jordan Harbinger Show, "The Dirty Money Behind Illicit Gold Smuggling," featured the AUSA.[15]
On December 5, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security, briefed members of the U.S. Senate on the state of illegal mining in Peru and Operation Arch Stanton.[16]
↑December 5, 2019, U.S. Senate, SUBCOMMITTEE ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE, TRANSNATIONAL CRIME, CIVILIAN SECURITY, DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND GLOBAL WOMEN’S ISSUES OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE, Hearing Report[1]
