The SIC, Lebanon's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), receives, analyzes, investigates suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and ensures compliance of banks, financial institutions and other reporting entities with the AML/CFT regulations.
Police who investigated the international prostitution ring run from a house in Pembroke shire found its victims were subjected to an "oppressive regime".
The women prostituted by Thomas Carroll and his partner Shamiela Clark, who controlled the operation from Castle martin in Pembroke shire, could not refuse a client, and had to be available for work from 1000 to 0100 GMT every day.
Carroll, 48 was sentenced to seven years jail while Clark, 31 got three and a half years by a judge at Cardiff Crown Court after admitting controlling prostitution and money laundering.
Carroll's daughter Toma, 25, was jailed for two years for money laundering.
Their victims were recruited mainly from South America, Portugal and Nigeria by the couple to work as prostitutes in Britain, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
Six were trafficked and forced into prostitution.
Police discovered Carroll and Clark as part of Operation Pentameter 2, a UK-wide operation into human trafficking.
Officers from the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) in Wales and Northern Ireland and the Vulnerable Persons Team were among a number of agencies who then investigated them in an inquiry, codenamed Operation Palladic.
Some women, who knew they would have to work as prostitutes, were recruited by internet and other advertising.
Others, in particular from Nigeria, were trafficked. One was just 15, and another 17.
Before leaving Africa, the victims were subjected to ritual to frighten them into believing that something terrible would happen to them or their family if they did not comply.
Some were made subject to debt bonds and made no money because they were endlessly paying off their "debt".
Once in the UK and under the control of Carroll and Clark, the women would be moved into rented flats or houses (often rented under false names) and frequently moved around brothels, in Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.
The couple ran a "call centre" from the house in Castle martin with Clark co-coordinating up to 300 calls from clients a day.
They effectively ran a booking agency - placing ads, taking booking, providing accommodation, and taking a large proportion of the earnings.
Material found in Castle martin house
More than 70 mobiles all connected to websites set up to advertise prostitution business and recruit women
Leaflets with directions to addresses in Athlone, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, Drogheda, New Bridge, Mullingar and Sligo
Address book with details of the rented flats and their landlords
Descriptions or women working as prostitutes in a notebook
A rate sheet - 160 Euros for half an hour, 260 Euros for an hour
A safety deposit box containing invoices and documents relating to properties in Bulgaria, South Africa and the UK, as well as about 20,000 Euros in cash
Their victims were given rules and the rates they should charge. They were not allowed to turn down a client, had to be available for work 15 hours a day, seven days a week.
The prostitutes had to telephone Carroll both when a client arrived and when he left, so that he could keep account of their profits and ensure that they were not taking clients "on the side".
If a client was missed, the victims had to pay the fee themselves and were threatened.
Police caught up with the pair 14 months ago after other arrests in Wales as part of an international operation.
Surveillance footage by the Serious Organized Crime Agency showed Carroll and Clark on a train to Pembroke, with Clark on her mobile giving numbers and directions to brothels.
CCTV also captured Carroll meeting a Brazilian woman, who had worked as a prostitute in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for him since 2006, at Pembroke Dock.
On 3 December, 2008, officers raided premises in Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic.
Carroll and Clark were arrested in Castle martin.
Nine of their victims were rescued in the Republic of Ireland and five more in a follow-up investigation.
Carroll's daughter Toma was arrested at Pembroke Dock on 21 December, 2008 with a mobile phone and an envelope addressed to her father enclosing documents.
An investigation is now going on to identify, seize and confiscate the wealth obtained through the prostitution ring.
