Saturday, July 22, 2017

Project Sideshow: Oliver Banayos does ATM washjob with drug cash


Oliver Banayos
A brother and sister from Winnipeg have been found guilty of using ATMs to launder money earned by trafficking cocaine after an 18-month sting dubbed Project Sideshow. Oliver Banayos was convicted of one count of trafficking cocaine and another of conspiracy to traffic cocaine on June 28.
The same ruling found Banayos and his sister, Carol Banayos, guilty of several offences related to money laundering.
More than 200 charges were laid among 14 people from Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver. Police seized cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine, marijuana, firearms and ammunition, nine vehicles and $301,800 in cash.

Project Sideshow investigators seized at least six privately owned or "white-label" ATMs.
The Crown argued money was "cycled" through machines owned by Oliver Banayos to enter the legitimate banking system via bank accounts controlled by Carol Banayos. Carol Banayos maintained she wanted to help her brother set up a lawful ATM business as his nominee and claimed she didn't know the cash coming from Oliver Banayos was illegitimate.

In it's ruling, the court found her "willfully blind" to the source of the large amounts of cash.