Carlos Bernace

Two former executives of a now-closed U. S. bank that provided correspondent services to many offshore financial institutions are targets of a criminal investigation. They are Eduardo Masferrer and Carlos Bernace, formerly Chairman/CEO and Executive Vice President/Director, respectively, of the Hamilton Bank, in Miami.

Recently-unsealed court documents have thrown up allegations of money laundering and "unsafe banking practices" that led to the forced closure in January of Miami-based Hamilton Bank, which provided correspondent services to many offshore banks. This activity included receiving deposits of approximately $1.9 billion per year via courier from Latin American countries without conducting any checks as to its legitimacy, it has been alleged.