U.S. awards $300K to island of Bonaire for its help with money exchange probe

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- The Justice Department announced on Friday that it shared more than $300,000 in forfeited criminal assets with the Dutch Caribbean municipality Bonaire for their assistance with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The department said the $300,921.09 in funds derived from the operations of an unlicensed money-transmitting business that was active in the black market exchanging Venezuelan bolivars for U.S. dollars.

The Justice Department said it was investigating an unlicensed money-transmitting business run by Hjalmar Gibelli Gomez.

"As part of his illegal scheme, Gibelli transferred $2,486,525 from the scheme to purchase a luxury yacht named the Navigante, among other transactions," the Justice Department said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri filed a civil forfeiture complaint against the yacht in Dec. 22, 2017.

"The yacht is subject to forfeiture as property involved in a transaction in violation of U.S. money laundering statutes, of property traceable to such property," the Justice Department said.

"Bonaire authorities provided important law enforcement assistance in the seizure and forfeiture by restraining the Navigante in their territory, safely offloading the yacht's crew and assisting in the yacht's transfer."

The department said Gibelli consented to the forfeiture of the yacht and other property.

The island municipality is about 50 miles off the coast of Venezuela.

In 2009 , then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claimed that the United States had spies and other military personnel in Bonaire along with Aruba and Curacao with plans to invade the country to remove him.