美国国家公共电台 NPR Looking Into Trump Campaign's Russia Ties, Investigators Follow The Money

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Federal investigators¹ are looking into banking² records to examine the ties between Russia and the Trump³ campaign. One thing they're looking for is evidence of money laundering⁴. Now, U.S. officials keep records of suspicious financial transactions, and these records may be key to exploring Russia's involvement in the 2016 election. NPR's Jim Zarroli has more.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE⁵: President Trump has spent much of his career in real estate and casinos. And these two industries have one thing in common - both are notorious venues⁶ for money laundering. It's something Trump had to contend with in 1990 when he opened the glittering Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: In a space the size of three football fields there are over 3,000 slots, some taking $100 chips, plus 167 gaming tables.

ZARROLI: Within a few years, the Taj was cited by federal officials for having inadequate⁷ money laundering controls. Fred Gushin, a longtime gaming industry consultant⁸, says fines like these were common at the time.

FRED GUSHIN: His level of compliance⁹ was no better or worse than everybody else's in Atlantic City. It took time for these regulations to take effect. There were some early violations¹⁰ by almost every casino in Atlantic City at that point in time.

ZARROLI: Over the years, the Taj was repeatedly cited for violations. And in 2015, when Trump was much less involved with the property, it had to pay a civil fine of $10 million. The agency behind the fine was the Treasury¹¹ Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. It's responsible for tracking suspected money laundering - that is, hiding illicit¹² funds from regulators and tax collectors.

Lately, FinCEN has been concentrating on real estate. Mark Hays is with Global Witness, which campaigns for tighter money laundering laws. Hays says if you're a drug dealer¹³ or a corrupt¹⁴ government official, one great way to stash¹⁵ your ill-gotten gains is buying and selling expensive properties in places such as New York and Miami.

MARK HAYS: These make for attractive landing pads if, say, you're a suspicious person wanted for criminal activity in your home country and you actually need a place to cool your jets.

ZARROLI: This is especially true of high-end properties that attract a lot of foreign buyers, such as Trump's. Hays says such transactions are easily shrouded¹⁶ through shell companies.

HAYS: You make the purchase. The real estate person says, who owns this company? It's so-and-so LLC. Well, who owns that? Well, that's not on the record. No one knows that.

ZARROLI: Still, banks and real estate companies are required to tell FinCEN about suspicious transactions such as all-cash purchases of large properties. And over the years, FinCEN has built an extensive database of possibly shady transactions. Senate investigators have already said they will use it to examine the ties between Russia and Trump associates. Notre Dame¹⁷ law professor Jimmy Gurule.

JIMMY GURULE: Congress has kind of shifted the focus here to the money. And they're trying to see if there's a money trail that could link and identify different participants.

ZARROLI: Gurule, who used to oversee¹⁸ FinCEN at the Treasury Department, says the agency's database could provide investigators with important leads.

GURULE: If there was collusion between the Russians and members of the Trump campaign, I mean, was it for free? Or was there some exchange of monies or payments from foreign governments?

ZARROLI: And Gurule says if someone in the Trump campaign was involved with criminal activity, that should make them very nervous indeed. Jim Zarroli, NPR News.

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

7 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

8 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

9 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

10 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

11 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

12 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

13 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

14 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

15 stash   

v.藏或贮存于一秘密处所；n.隐藏处

参考例句：

• Stash away both what you lost and gained,for life continues on.将得失深藏心底吧，为了那未来的生活。
• That's supposed to be in our private stash.这是我的私人珍藏。

16 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

18 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。