Portugal – in the vanguard

Located on the western seaboard of Europe, Portugal presents a welcoming coastline not just to tourists and golfers but also to smugglers and drug traffickers. It has responded by implementing some of the most sophisticated and wide-ranging money laundering legislation anywhere. Indeed its scope already covers many of the entities identified in the Second UK Directive as Sue Grossey reports.

Geography and vulnerability

Portugal is on the edge of Europe in more ways than one. It is a very traditional society wanting to embrace modernity and yet struggling with it. Its brand-new motorways feature signs informing the locals that horse-drawn carts and other livestock are not permitted and its very location makes it prey to one of the evils of modern life: drugs. With its 1,800km coastline, it is the perfect target for water-borne smugglers, seeking to push Latin American cocaine and Asian heroin onto the European mainland.With Spain, Portugal forms a buffer between North Africa and Europe, and as such is a trans-shipment route for hashish. Indeed, Portugal maintains strong cultural and linguistic links with drug-producing nations in both Latin America and Africa. Sadly, Portugal is developing its own domestic drug problem, as the young Portuguese become more affluent.