Drugs money saved some banks from collapse at the height of the global crisis the United Nations' drugs and crime chief claimed today.
Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, told the Observer that there were signs that some banks were rescued by billions of dollars that 'originated from the drugs trade and other illegal activities.'
Speaking from his office in Vienna, Costa explained that in the second half of 2008, lending was the banking system's main problem. 'The system was basically paralysed because of the unwillingness of banks to lend money to one another,' he told the newspaper. He said he had seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were the 'only liquid investment capital' available to some banks on the verge of collapse last year. Costa said that as a result, a majority of the $352bn (£216bn) of drugs profits was absorbed into the economics system, effectively laundering it.
So just tell the Judge when he asks you if you have anything to say before he passes sentence on you for having a quantity of CLASS 'A' DRUGS, THAT YOU WERE DOING IT TO HELP THE ECONOMY!
