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Federal Reserve orders Bank of Montreal to correct lapses in AML program

Abhi — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:58:54 +0000

Federal regulators are ordering the Bank of Montreal to take steps to correct lapses in oversight that could allow the bank to be used for money laundering. The Federal Reserve announced an agreement Friday with the bank, which is Canada’s fourth-largest by assets. The Fed cited procedural deficiencies to prevent money laundering in the bank [...]

Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracies

Abhi — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:52:32 +0000

U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Kenneth M. Griffin, 45, of Rochester, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiring to engage in money laundering activities. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine [...]

Police Smash South Russia Money Laundering Ring

Abhi — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:49:27 +0000

Police in south Russia have arrested nine people suspected of laundering large sums of money in illegal financial operations, Russia’s Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. The criminal group may have laundered over 2.5 billion rubles ($80 million) in transactions by fly-by-night firms in the Stavropol and Rostov Regions, the ministry said. The group had no [...]

First annual report of the Vatican Financial Information Authority

Abhi — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:44:59 +0000

Vatican City, 22 May 2013 (VIS) – This afternoon in the Press Office of the Holy See, Rene Brulhart, director of the Vatican Financial Information Authority (L’Autorità di Informazione Finanziara, AIF), presented the AIF’s first annual report, which examines their activities and statistics from 2012. The AIF is the competent authority of the Holy See [...]

Hong Kong: Three men jailed for using a false instrument and money laundering

Abhi — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:41:18 +0000

One Dutch and two British men, aged between 36 and 46, were jailed for six months to five years today (May 23) for using a false instrument and money laundering. The courts heard that between November 2011 and January 2013, the three defendants came to Hong Kong and set up companies and bank accounts for [...]

Hong Kong: Duo jailed for fraud and money laundering

Abhi — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:38:16 +0000

A 34-year-old man was jailed for six years for fraud and money laundering at the District Court today (May 20), while his 63-year-old mother was jailed for 2.5 years for money laundering. The court heard that in early 2011, the male defendant, who was the manager of a local fuel oil trading company, arranged a [...]

Swiss open criminal investigation linked to Spain graft scandal

Abhi — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:41:51 +0000

Swiss authorities have opened a money laundering investigation into a former treasurer of Spain’s ruling party suspected of depositing millions of euros from bribes in Swiss bank accounts, the Geneva prosecutor handling the case said on Monday. Luis Barcenas, accused by Spanish authorities of abusing his position to secure bribes, evading taxes and laundering money, [...]

India: IRDA probes money laundering allegations against insurers

Abhi — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:31:39 +0000

Insurance regulator IRDA on Monday said it is examining the allegations of money laundering levelled against LIC, Reliance Life, Tata AIA and Birla Sun Life and assured that action will be taken against the guilty at the earliest. “The insurance companies concerned have been asked to file a report on the allegations. The matter is [...]

Dollar store owner charged with allowing more than $5M in fraudulent food stamp purchases

Abhi — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:28:23 +0000

The owner of four dollar stores in Essex and Union counties has been charged with money laundering and other crimes after investigators determined more than $5 million in fraudulent food stamp transactions took place at his stores, authorities said today. Muhammed Farooq, 49, of Somerset, was charged with money laundering, theft by deception and food [...]

Co-Owner of Los Angeles County Toy Company Sentenced to Federal Prison in Drug Money Laundering Case

Abhi — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:09:13 +0000

A Diamond Bar woman who, along with her husband, owns a Los Angeles-area toy wholesaler, was ordered today to serve a total of 14 months in custody for participating in an elaborate scheme known as a Black Market Peso Exchange, which is an underground money-transfer system that enables international drug trafficking organizations to launder narcotics [...]

Vatican signs deal with US to fight money laundering

Abhi — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:54:04 +0000

The Vatican has signed a deal with the U.S financial regulator to combat money laundering and terrorism financing globally that will involve the exchange of information in a move seen as increasing overall financial transparency in the world smallest State. The signing took place in Washington DC on Tuesday. Vatican Radio said the Financial Intelligence [...]

Spain busts Chinese-Moroccan cash-laundering gang

Abhi — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:46:54 +0000

Spanish police said today they busted a network of Moroccan and Chinese nationals who laundered hundreds of thousands of euros a week in drug money. Officers arrested two Chinese nationals, one suspect from Hong Kong and three Moroccans in raids at locations including a major Chinese trading estate near Madrid, a police statement said. The [...]

UAE central bank shuts two money exchange firms for violations

Abhi — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:40:08 +0000

The United Arab Emirates, a major financial hub in the Middle East, has revoked the licences of two money exchange companies for non-compliance with regulations including rules against money laundering, the central bank said on Wednesday. The companies were identified as Al Hilal Exchange and Asia Exchange Centre. “The first company had major regulatory and [...]

India: Cobrapost 3 exposes 10 more banks, says RBI protector not regulator

Abhi — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:36:34 +0000

Cobrapost releases more instances of money laundering by banks, even in the ‘holier than thou’ public sector – Bank of Baroda, Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, and Bank of Maharashtra – thereby conclusively proving that the rot is endemic. Following up on its mega-expose of March 14, 2013 codenamed Operation Red [...]

FINRA Fines Three Firms $900,000 for Inadequate Anti-Money Laundering Programs

Abhi — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:08:17 +0000

FINRA found that between February 2007 through May 2011, Atlas One failed to identify suspicious account activity or did not adequately investigate numerous AML “red flags.” For example, in 2007, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) froze six Atlas One accounts that were all controlled by one customer in connection with a money laundering [...]

FCA fines EFG Private Bank £4.2m for failures in its anti-money laundering controls

Abhi — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:41:49 +0000

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined EFG Private Bank Ltd (EFG) £4.2 million for failing to take reasonable care to establish and maintain effective anti-money laundering (AML) controls for high risk customers. The failings were serious and lasted for more than three years. As part of a thematic review of how UK banks were [...]

Florida man behind Medicare money-laundering transfers to Cuba sentenced to 4 years

Abhi — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:34:49 +0000

A Florida “middleman” convicted of laundering millions of dollars of fleeced Medicare payments to Cuba — in the first criminal case of its kind in the United States — was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison by a Miami federal judge Thursday. Oscar L. Sanchez was also ordered to serve an additional 1 1/2 [...]

Treasury Identifies Kassem Rmeiti & Co. for Exchange and Halawi Exchange Co. as Financial Institutions of “Primary Money Laundering Concern”

Abhi — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:26:56 +0000

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today named two Lebanese exchange houses, Kassem Rmeiti & Co. For Exchange (Rmeiti Exchange) and Halawi Exchange Co. (Halawi Exchange), as foreign financial institutions of primary money laundering concern under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Section 311) – the first time the Department has used Section 311 [...]

Chartis report on Anti-Money Laundering Solutions 2013

Abhi — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:17:07 +0000

Overview Anti-money laundering (AML) solutions were originally implemented by financial institutions in response to the first wave of money laundering regulations in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, in the past five years, there has been renewed interest in AML solutions and a fresh wave of implementations. This has happened primarily for two reasons: Stricter regulation and [...]

Former Bank CEO Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud and Money Laundering

Abhi — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:08:01 +0000

Larry Barnette Hill, 58, of Meadville, Mississippi, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to bank fraud and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen announced. Larry Barnette Hill served as CEO of People’s Bank of the South in Bude, Mississippi. From 2004 through 2012, he fraudulently [...]

EU supports the fight against money laundering in Albania with €1.5 million

Abhi — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:04:59 +0000

A 24 month-long project in support of Albania’s fight against Money Laundering, funded by the European Union with €1.5 million, has come to a successful end. The project has brought EU know-how from the Spanish Institute of Fiscal Studies and the Bulgarian Financial Intelligence Department, to assist the Albanian authorities in improving enforcement of the [...]

Grand Jury Indictments Broaden Alleged Fraud Charges Related to $1.25 Million Grant

Abhi — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:06:33 +0000

Three indictments returned today by the grand jury in Springfield, Ill., collectively broaden allegations of fraud related to a $1.25 million state grant awarded in 2009 to We Are Our Brother’s Keeper, a not-for-profit program owned by Regina R. Evans, former police chief for Country Club Hills, Ill., and her husband, Ronald W. Evans, Jr., [...]

Swiss president rejects tax information exchange with EU

Abhi — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:56:53 +0000

Switzerland does not need to consider an automatic exchange of information with tax authorities in the European Union, its president said in a newspaper interview. Switzerland and Austria have come under even more pressure to abandon bank secrecy after Luxembourg accepted to reveal information on EU depositors from 2015. The EU wants to establish this [...]

Kenya: M-Pesa transactions over Sh300,000 to be checked

Abhi — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:48:39 +0000

THE Central Bank is proposing to start investigating all mobile money transfer services above Sh300, 000 a week, a move that may see business people affected for fear of unnecessary interference. This is less by three times the current maximum allowable limit of Sh980, 000 on services such as Mpesa, Airtel Money, Orange Money and [...]

Treasury Targets Network Attempting to Evade Iran Sanctions

Abhi — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:37:00 +0000

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated Babak Zanjani, an Iranian businessman, along with a Malaysian bank and an international network of front companies for moving billions of dollars on behalf of the Iranian regime, including tens of millions of dollars to an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) company. Today’s actions were taken pursuant [...]

Cyprus: Independent third party evaluation of the implementation of Cyprus’ Anti Money Laundering framework

Abhi — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:28:24 +0000

As agreed with the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank (“the programme partners”) and following the Eurogroup decisions taken in March 2013, Cyprus has commissioned, on the basis of agreed terms of reference with the programme partners, an independent third party evaluation of the implementation of its Anti Money Laundering [...]

Austria defies mounting pressure to end bank secrecy

Abhi — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:00:23 +0000

Austria defied growing pressure to follow Luxembourg in ending bank secrecy, after a group led by Europe’s six biggest countries pledged to work together to tackle tax havens. Late on Friday, the finance ministers of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Spain and Poland announced their desire to jointly push for more bank transparency, a message they [...]

MONEYVAL report on the 4th round assessment visit in Lithuania

Abhi — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:49:29 +0000

The latest Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body (MONEYVAL) report underlines that Lithuania’s results “both in terms of money laundering convictions and confiscation of proceeds of crime remain modest, especially when considering the high incidence of proceeds-generating crime in the country.” The report notes the introduction of provisions which complement the existing system on confiscation [...]

Assets worth €1.3bn seized from Italian businessman ‘with mafia links’

Abhi — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:41:19 +0000

Vito Nicastri, known as the ‘king of wind’ for his renewable energy interests, loses companies, property, cars and boats… Among the assets were 43 companies, 98 properties, 66 bank accounts, credit cards, investment funds, cars and boats. Most were located in Sicily and in Calabria, the southern region of Italy that is home to the [...]

India: NMCE founder Kailash Gupta arrested for alleged fraud

Abhi — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:33:45 +0000

Kailash Gupta, founder and former vice-chairman of the National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE), has been arrested for alleged multi-crore fraud under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He was arrested late last night. Today, he was presented before a magistrate, who remanded him to 10-day judicial custody. In 2011, Gupta [...]