Following the money pays off

An apparently insignificant money-laundering case taken against several Colombian men became one of the most important leads for US investigators pursuing a case against an international banking group, write Carrick Mollenkamp and Brett Wolf

WHEN several Colombian men were indicted in Jan 2010 on money-laundering charges, the case in Brooklyn federal court drew little attention.

It looked like a bust of another nexus of drug traffickers and money launderers, with mainly small-time operatives paying the price for their crimes.