Dirty money behind Dominican Republic?s economic thrust: experts

[Criss Colon]

Germans, and the "Aussies" have a HUGE annual intake of "BEER", yet THEY are very productive!!!
Being "Drunk" half the time is NOT the cause of low productivity here in the DR, It's a symptom.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Just like the very high birth rate, spousal abuse, gambling,corruption, lack of health care/education, clean water,etc., etc., etc.,..................................

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

one good thing about 20 pesos is that it is completely washable. so after a failed wipe you can still refresh the cash as if nothing happened. think about it next time you are handled a twenty.

==========================================
The plastic 20 peso notes are all over the Capital and Juan Dolio, but in two weeks in Barahona I did not see even one. I have no idea what this means.

 

[dv8]

==========================================
The plastic 20 peso notes are all over the Capital and Juan Dolio, but in two weeks in Barahona I did not see even one. I have no idea what this means.

capitale?os wipe more often!

 

[Criss Colon]

"BIG "O", it means that there are no 20 peso note in Barahona!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
"Dominicanos" are not Productive, but they are VERY "Re-Productive"!
Years ago, my "Toddler" daughter was staggering around naked on the front patio.
She had a "Baby Poop" accident.
As she leaned against the bars, one of our "Outside Dogs" licked her clean! :lick::lick::lick:
I saw it as a "Win/Win" situation.
No more "Pampers", "Butt Wipes",or "Dog Food"!!!!!!!
My wife didn't agree!!!!!

 

[Expat13]

"BIG "O", it means that there are no 20 peso note in Barahona!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
"Dominicanos" are not Productive, but they are VERY "Re-Productive"!
Years ago, my "Toddler" daughter was staggering around naked on the front patio.
She had a "Baby Poop" accident.
As she leaned against the bars, one of our "Outside Dogs" licked her clean! :lick::lick::lick:
I saw it as a "Win/Win" situation.
No more "Pampers", "Butt Wipes",or "Dog Food"!!!!!!!
My wife didn't agree!!!!!

That's an idea that should sell here. Cheaper for a chopo papi to find a street dog than 2 years of pampers

 

[hammerdown]

Germans, and the "Aussies" have a HUGE annual intake of "BEER", yet THEY are very productive!!!
Being "Drunk" half the time is NOT the cause of low productivity here in the DR, It's a symptom.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Just like the very high birth rate, spousal abuse, gambling,corruption, lack of health care/education, clean water,etc., etc., etc.,..................................

But CCCC that doesn't matter anymore cause they have that there shiny new train that solves all things.................

 

[mountainannie]

One interesting thing is that even if it is black money, and even if it is built by illegal Haitian workers in about three weeks, that does not bring down the price of the apartments here in Santo Domingo. There is nothing really under 100k. Despite the fact the fact that most of the new apartments do not have the space of the old ones.. have no cuarto de servicio, have tiny balconys.. In tGazcue, it seems that Dominicans.. or other foreigners, just buy them to rent them out or resell them..

They are still going up. But now there seem to be a lot more "se vende" signs than "se Alquier"

 

[the gorgon]

One interesting thing is that even if it is black money, and even if it is built by illegal Haitian workers in about three weeks, that does not bring down the price of the apartments here in Santo Domingo. There is nothing really under 100k. Despite the fact the fact that most of the new apartments do not have the space of the old ones.. have no cuarto de servicio, have tiny balconys.. In tGazcue, it seems that Dominicans.. or other foreigners, just buy them to rent them out or resell them..

They are still going up. But now there seem to be a lot more "se vende" signs than "se Alquier"

when the housing bubble bursts in the DR, the consequences are going to be devastating...

 

[kampinge]

In Santiago you ca buy 80 m2 condos for 40K thats no" bubble price"

 

[dv8]

i think that all this depends on the building, project, location and so on. a cousin in SD is a developer. he buys land, builds a torre, sells apartments. makes decent money and sells well. drug involvement only by vague association, his wife is a plastic surgeon. but then he works slowly, raises one building, sells apartments, moves to another project.

 

[mountainannie]

Yes, certainly the actual building and construction is work. And the land prices themselves here in their neighborhood cannot be cheap. There may be places in the Capital for sale at 40k but I have not seen them. I just keep track of my neighborhood. And certainly lots of folks who invest in a condo just have money to invest since the DR is not taxed to death...

But still. There are only so many ways to get all that drug money back into circulation. And when one sees.. a Cartier, Porsche, Louis Vuitton, etc.. opening up.. not in the tourist centers.. but in the center of a city which is hot, noisy, crowded.. hard to navigate..

gotta wonder.... who these stores are for?

Well there is a one percent of legal money,.. and there is a 1 percent of illegal money.. and in the end it all comes down to houses, food, hats and jewels and shoes, and handbags...

And this is a good country to reinvent oneself

me, I shop at La Sirena..

(Oprah tells the story of going into Louis Vuitton or one of those stores and pointing to a bag on the top shelf and asking to see it and the clerk says No, really, you would really prefer this one here, and hands her a small bag.. and Oprah says no, I would like that one, pointing again to the top shelf... and the clerk says "I do not think you would be able to afford it Her net worth is estimated at $2,9 billion)

 

[mountainannie]

when the housing bubble bursts in the DR, the consequences are going to be devastating...

I don't think that there is a bubble either because there is no funny financing here. You only get a mortgage with about half down and at a pretty high interest rate. So people are not speculating really with the housing. These are solid prices. Places just stay empty waiting for the prices because they are not being eaten up by taxes and maintenance as they would be in the States.. there is no fear that the tax people are going to come and take it and auction it off. Even hard for the condo association to take it.

 

[bob saunders]

Yes, certainly the actual building and construction is work. And the land prices themselves here in their neighborhood cannot be cheap. There may be places in the Capital for sale at 40k but I have not seen them. I just keep track of my neighborhood. And certainly lots of folks who invest in a condo just have money to invest since the DR is not taxed to death...

But still. There are only so many ways to get all that drug money back into circulation. And when one sees.. a Cartier, Porsche, Louis Vuitton, etc.. opening up.. not in the tourist centers.. but in the center of a city which is hot, noisy, crowded.. hard to navigate..

gotta wonder.... who these stores are for?

Well there is a one percent of legal money,.. and there is a 1 percent of illegal money.. and in the end it all comes down to houses, food, hats and jewels and shoes, and handbags...

And this is a good country to reinvent oneself

me, I shop at La Sirena..

(Oprah tells the story of going into Louis Vuitton or one of those stores and pointing to a bag on the top shelf and asking to see it and the clerk says No, really, you would really prefer this one here, and hands her a small bag.. and Oprah says no, I would like that one, pointing again to the top shelf... and the clerk says "I do not think you would be able to afford it Her net worth is estimated at $2,9 billion)

That's Oprah's story, but not the clerk's. I think that washed money is more than 1%, but I don't think it is the main source of investment money. There are enough extremely rich Dominicans to fuel the investments, and builders always seem to build more than the demand.

 

[sanluisdavid]

If the drug money was as free flowing as some people here say then the city of Sosua would not look the way it does. Check out Medellin to see the incredible shopping malls and you will see effects of real drug money. Nobody buying anything but they look like palaces. Never saw a mall that nice in the States and in Medellin they have 4 or 5 like that.

 

[Tamborista]

If the drug money was as free flowing as some people here say then the city of Sosua would not look the way it does. Check out Medellin to see the incredible shopping malls and you will see effects of real drug money. Nobody buying anything but they look like palaces. Never saw a mall that nice in the States and in Medellin they have 4 or 5 like that.

I suggest you take a ride to S.F. de Macoris and look at the Scarface Mansions.

 

[jinty05]

My Irish countrymen can vouch to this fact.

Germans, and the "Aussies" have a HUGE annual intake of "BEER", yet THEY are very productive!!!
Being "Drunk" half the time is NOT the cause of low productivity here in the DR, It's a symptom.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Just like the very high birth rate, spousal abuse, gambling,corruption, lack of health care/education, clean water,etc., etc., etc.,..................................

 

[mountainannie]

That's Oprah's story, but not the clerk's. I think that washed money is more than 1%, but I don't think it is the main source of investment money. There are enough extremely rich Dominicans to fuel the investments, and builders always seem to build more than the demand.

no Bob I think that you missed my point.. The amount of "dirty" money is massive. One estimate I read, over 15 years ago was that the cocaine cartels had an annual budget equal to that of the US military.

It is very well know that Dominicans have been in charge of the distribution of cocaine from Florida to Quebec.. since Tony Yayo came up with crack. So indeed there are plenty of "rich Dominicans" whose money is dirty. They can just turn that drug money into a mall or apartment building here with no questions asks..

I know more than one polical family that has a sizeable fortune from rental apartments. One more than a million a month. How did they come by those? That is the way the bribery system works as well.

But my point was that all that money has to make its way back into the banking system somehow.

As for Sosua.. well., it is a dive. It is what is it is. If they upgraded it, the folks who go there would not be able to afford it.

 

[bob saunders]

I suggest you take a ride to S.F. de Macoris and look at the Scarface Mansions.

There was, and still is drug money being washed throughout the DR. The locals know who has honest money and who doesn't, because Dominicans like to brag. Word on the street here in Jarabacoa is that there isn't very much washed money available. My sources is a local banker plus a successful building contractor. Obviously this will vary from city to city.

 

[keepcoming]

Here in the Capital you see these highrise condo buildings going up but not many look full. Some never finish or take years to finish. So one can figure out those investors behind some of these buildings really are not too concerned about the profits from the investment. The washing of money is the main concern, anything extra made is a bonus. We have a family friend who is in construction (legal money) and he will not start another project until everything is finished, sold, etc....I agree with Tambo on SF de Macoris, there are some pretty nice "mansions" there and it is no secret moneywise how they were built/bought.

 

[the gorgon]

Here in the Capital you see these highrise condo buildings going up but not many look full. Some never finish or take years to finish. So one can figure out those investors behind some of these buildings really are not too concerned about the profits from the investment. The washing of money is the main concern, anything extra made is a bonus. We have a family friend who is in construction (legal money) and he will not start another project until everything is finished, sold, etc....I agree with Tambo on SF de Macoris, there are some pretty nice "mansions" there and it is no secret moneywise how they were built/bought.

anyone who attempts to downplay the importance of dirty money in the DR economy is living in some distant planet.