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Robert Mazur
Purchase The Infiltrator My Secret Life Inside the Dirty Banks Behind Pablo Escobar's Medellin Carte
BBC PROBES THE INFILTRATOR’S MIND (EPISODE 2)![]()
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Episode 2 of this two-part interview takes you deeper into what you can expect if you chose to become a long-term undercover agent within the underworld. BBC host NICKY CAMPBELL probes what it was like to be asked by my cartel “friends” to kill for them, and how they shared secrets with me about corrupting country leaders that facilitated their massive drug trafficking empires. ![]()
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During this episode, I explain how my journey within the “underground empire” of crime opened my eyes to the reality that laundering billions is not a challenge for powerful cartels, even today. The truth is that governments around the world fail to identify and seize more than 1% of the $400 billion in illicit funds generated from the sale of illegal drugs each year. There's a reason for this horrible reality.![]()
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NICKY also got me to confront my view about the value of what I did as an undercover agent. He asked, “If the clock were turned back to the day you decided to become a long-term undercover agent, would you do it again?” Click on the image below to hear my response, and the rest of Episode 2. I think you will be surprised.
HUMBLED BY THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF TRUE WARRIORS FOR DEMOCRACY![]()
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It was an honor today to deliver the Keynote address at the INTERNATIONAL ANTICORRUPTION CHAMPIONS AWARD CONFERENCE sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and World Partnerships. The award winners included anti-corruption leaders from Belarus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, India, Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Montenegro, Panama, and Timor-Leste. I have not recognized them by name because they have repeatedly been the targets of attack by those that oppose democracy and anti-corruption in their countries.![]()
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In the face of great personal risk, these U.S. Department of State award winners that include journalists, members of non-government organizations, and public servants, have shown a relentless commitment to fighting corruption and countering propaganda used by malicious actors to advance false narratives. They have worked in anti-corruption, exposing corrupt politicians and crooked public officials. They have created and developed social movements aimed at transparency and accountability, public audits, and participatory democracy to counter corruption in government welfare programs. They and their teams have been the victims of endless threats, lawsuits, harassment, cyber-attacks, and much more.![]()
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It was an honor to meet and share ideas with these amazing award winners from around the world that have chosen a road less traveled to improve the lives of millions of oppressed people. These warriors of democracy are the gatekeepers of a better world, willing to endure tremendous personal sacrifice for the good of others. I am immensely humbled to have met them and learned about their devotion to freedom. The world is a better place because of them and their burning desire to serve justice.
BBC 5 INTERVIEWS THE INFILTRATOR![]()
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NICKY CAMPBELL interviews Robert Mazur about the trauma of working deep cover. Listen to Episode 1 of this interview and put yourself in Mazur's shoes. Imagine how your life would have changed if you chose to operate within the underworld as the eyes and ears of the "good guys".![]()
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Let go of the “Oh, I would never do that”, because there are times when good people like you will sense a calling to choose a road less traveled to support a greater good. Thanks to questions posed by BBC radio host NICKY CAMPBELL, this interview opens your eyes to what your life as "007" may have been, or still could be.![]()
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During the first of this 2 Episode interview, Mazur reveals how he was selected to work undercover, how he was trained, and how he put those skills to use establishing rapport with some of the deadliest organized crime figures in the world.![]()
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It may seem strange, but your undercover journey will drag you through unexpected emotional tolls as you live with killers, and afterward when you face them and their families in courtrooms around the world. You will need to be prepared to be a key witness in half a dozen trials, and testifying in one trial alone for every consecutive court day for 3 solid months. Taking incoming slings and arrows from slippery defense attorneys for months will require your endless preparation and focus. At the same time, you'll have distractions, like the heavily armed 10-man anti-terrorism bodyguard detail that will shadow you 24/7 while you visit foreign countries to testify against your "old friends". You also need to anticipate what to do on that fateful day when you are told that the most powerful drug cartel in the world has issued a contact on your life, especially since you have witnessed how horrifically they torture and kill their enemies.![]()
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Next week, Episode 2 of this interview will be posted. It will include a discussion about how cartels routinely compromise leaders of countries, and why it is so easy for the underworld to launder $2 trillion a year.![]()
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For now, sit back, click on the link to this BBC interview, and hear Episode 1 to learn how much your life changes when you chose the road less traveled and become a government mole inside the deadliest drug cartels in the world.
ADVANCED TRAINING FOR COMPLIANCE PROFESSIONALS ![]()
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Today, I had the privilege of presenting a 4-hour masterclass to Compliance professionals that attended the 2023 Annual Conference of the Association du Groupement des Compliance Officers de Suisse Romande et du Tessin (GCO). Conference participants attended live in Geneva, and virtually in Lugano.![]()
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GCO is a non-profit association founded in 2003 with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. GCO brings together Compliance professionals from the financial sectors in French-speaking Switzerland and the Italian speaking Swiss region of Ticino, to ensure the development of professional and academic Compliance functions in those areas.![]()
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With input from GCO membership, I designed a masterclass that uniquely addressed the topics of greatest interest to the attendees. We reviewed:![]()
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• Money laundering related techniques used by dozens of banks that have previously admitted that their institutions intentionally committed criminal offenses to move illicit funds.![]()
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• How black money markets operate throughout the world and the techniques used by those that operate them.![]()
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• Why and how bad actors in China have become major players in the laundering of billions in illicit funds.![]()
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• How some drug cartels launder their profits through fraudulent export revenue transactions, and what red-flags exist to identify this laundering technique.![]()
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• How off-shore entities are often used to disguise the source and ownership of funds.![]()
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• What steps one can take to identify account relationships that carry a higher degree of money laundering risk.![]()
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• Methods often used by corrupt precious metals dealers to launder.![]()
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• The pros and cons considered by criminals when contemplating laundering through cryptocurrency transactions.![]()
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• Common Compliance flaws.![]()
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• Elements of sound anti-money laundering policies & procedures.![]()
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• Why financial institutions must partner with highly competent vendors that provide onboarding and transaction analysis software.![]()
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• How an institution can perfect its enhanced due diligence protocols.![]()
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• Steps an institution can take to facilitate a closer working relationship between sales and compliance professionals.![]()
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• What the public and private sector is not doing, but should be doing, to improve their ability to identify and prosecute money launderers.![]()
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It was a total pleasure to work closely with Dr. Birgul Cotelli, the President GCO, to develop and deliver this masterclass. Her insights and professionalism contributed greatly to the success of our session.
A TREMENDOUS THANKS TO ALOGENT![]()
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It was a privilege to deliver the Keynote at the Alogent Annual Conference in San Diego yesterday. Working with Wendi Klein, VP, Marketing & Communications and the entire Alogent team was a total pleasure. I want to extend a special thanks to Marlene Blas, the amazing independent event planner that seamlessly coordinated my participation and logistics for the 145 attendees.![]()
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For me, it is tremendously rewarding to get the privilege to share time and thoughts with audiences filled with others that share my passion to fight the good fight against money launderers and fraudsters. I cherish the new friendships I got the opportunity to make during this event.![]()
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I got the opportunity to take my new friends inside the cartels, so they gained an enhanced insight into the sophistication of their adversaries. I got to share details about black money markets around the world, and why bad actors in China have become major players in the laundering of dirty money around the globe. We also explored one of the major Trade Based Money Laundering (TBML) methods used by cartels worldwide to launder. As I told each attendee, and I meant it, they now have direct access to me, to help them anyway I possibly can to support them.![]()
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In the end, we all confronted the fact that, despite our well-intended efforts to attack money laundering, the collective efforts of compliance professionals, regulators, and law enforcement personnel identify and seize less than 1% of the underworld’s profits. That's because the underworld buys the support of an army of corrupt intermediary professionals. Despite that reality, we need to keep fighting the good fight and doing our best, because without our relentless efforts, the growth of crime and corruption would overwhelm the rule of law.![]()
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For those that attended, thank you for your very kind feedback, and please do not hesitate to reach out to me if there is anything I can do to support your mission. I care very much about each of you, and the good things you do.
