Department of Financial Institutions Announces New Transmitter of Money Abroad – La Curacao Money Transfer will officially open in Los Angeles on May 18

San Francisco-The California Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) announced today that the Department has approved the opening of a new Transmitter of Money Abroad (TMA). ADIR Money Transfer Corporation DBA La Curacao Money Transfer (La Curacao) will open its doors in Los Angeles on May 18, 2006.

“I am pleased to welcome La Curacao – the first Transmitter of Money Abroad to officially open in California in 2006, said Brian Yuen, Acting Commissioner of Financial Institutions. “Five new TMAs opened during 2005 and 24 during the past five years,” added Yuen. DFI currently supervises 60 money transmitters.

La Curacao will specialize in the transfer of funds to Mexico and Central America from California. Unique features such as financed transactions, automated IVR (interactive voice response) transfers and Visa ® pre-paid cards, are just a few of the added value services that La Curacao plans to offer in the competitive money transfer market.

During 2005, the Department’s transmitter licensees forwarded $11 billion from California to foreign countries, an increase of almost $2 billion from the $9.2 billion forwarded during 2004.

La Curacao is located at address 1605 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015. Their Web site address is http://www.lacuracao.com/English/overview.htm.

Officers are Ron Azarkman, CEO; Mauricio Fux, President; Jerry Azarkman, Secretary; and Ben Carrillo, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director.

La Curacao currently operates major department stores located within geographic areas with high concentrations of Hispanic Households, a telephone company (Curatel), and a finance company (ADIR Finance). Over 4.5 million customers visited their retail locations in 2005.

DFI supervises over 700 financial institutions. The Department is responsible for administering state laws regulating state-licensed financial institutions: banks, credit unions, industrial banks, savings associations, trust companies, offices of foreign banks, issuers of travelers’ checks and payment instruments (money orders), and transmitters of money abroad. DFI reports to Business, Transportation & Housing Agency Secretary Sunne Wright McPeak and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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