Month: October 2020

Most of Europe’s largest banks declare profits in tax havens

Exploitation
A majority of Europe’s largest banks are relying on tax havens to stash their profits, despite the fact that in some cases, these firms don’t have a single employee working where these earnings are booked, a new report released on Tuesday by Transparency International EU revealed.  The report, which analyzed 39 of the biggest banks in the European Union, found that 31 of them declared profits in low or zero-tax jurisdictions, and that 29 did so through the use of “ghost operations,” meaning none of the firm’s personnel were working in the areas where large portions of their earnings were declared.   Since…

Almost half of UK bank specialists can’t spot signs of human trafficking among transactions

Exploitation, Organised Crime
Only one in five expert staff believe they can stop transactions or behaviour linked to trafficking It is one of the most prolific crimes on Earth, affecting almost 25 million men, women and children.   But human trafficking – the modern slave trade of living and breathing people for commercial gain – isn’t occurring on some distant, dusty and lawless shore.   From domestic servitude, forced labour and forced marriage to sexual exploitation and the commercial trade in human organs, such harrowing practices steal through every nation on Earth, the UK included.   The proceeds of these crimes are the subject of…

Former Unaoil executive sentenced for paying bribes to win $1.7bn worth of contracts

Corruption
Basil Al Jarah has today been sentenced to three years and four months’ imprisonment for paying in excess of $17m in bribes to dishonestly secure approximately $1.7bn worth of contracts in post-occupation Iraq. Al Jarah, Unaoil’s former Iraq partner, conspired with others to pay millions of dollars in bribes to public officials at the South Oil Company and Iraqi Ministry of Oil. These bribes secured contracts for Unaoil and its clients to construct oil pipelines, offshore mooring buoys in the Persian Gulf, and other infrastructure projects, collectively worth just over $1.7bn. These contracts formed part of the Iraqi Ministry of…

FATF Mutual Evaluation Report – People’s Republic of China

Download
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an independent inter-governmental body that develops and promotes policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The FATF Recommendations are recognised as the global anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) standard. For more information about the FATF, please visit the website: www.fatf-gafi.org. This document and/or any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.…

British Virgin Islands joins UK overseas jurisdictions in public company ownership commitment

Compliance
September 30th 2020, London –  Transparency International UK welcome the announcement made last week by the Government of the British Virgin Islands that they would be opening their company ownership register to the public.  Andrew Fahie, the Premier of the British Virgin Islands, speaking to the House of Assembly stated the territory would adopt a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership for companies, in line with international standards by 2023.The British Virgin Islands join the rest of the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies in announcing their commitment to transparent company ownership.  The secrecy offered by companies registered in the British Virgin…

FinCEN Files sparks fresh UK inquiry into laundering of dirty billions

Money Laundering
The Treasury Committee says it will examine the effectiveness of anti-money laundering systems and sanctions, listing areas of concerns investigated by ICIJ. Image: Photo by Kirsty O’Connor/PA Images via Getty Images Prompted by the FinCEN Files, a powerful U.K. parliamentary committee has launched a fresh anti-money laundering inquiry 19 months after it outlined findings that the nation’s response to billions of pounds in money-laundering was “fragmented.” In light of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ recent investigation, the U.K. Treasury Committee says it will examine the effectiveness of both anti-money laundering systems and sanctions. The Treasury Committee says the precise scale…

FinCEN wants to clamp down on small payments fueling crime

Compliance
Concerned that money transfers worth just a few hundred dollars are helping terrorists and fentanyl traffickers, the U.S. Treasury is pushing a new rule for banks, money transmitters and others. The top U.S. financial crime watchdog wants to slash the value of transactions that banks and other financial institutions must report as potentially suspicious, citing small payments used to plan terrorist attacks and to import deadly drugs. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, published a proposal with the Federal Reserve last week to require banks and others to collect and share with authorities information on potentially suspicious transactions…

Banks face financial crime headache over free trade zones

Exploitation
Banks are being urged to pay closer attention to the crime risks associated with free trade zones (FTZs), with fresh research warning of potential exposure to trade-based money laundering, as well drugs, weapons and counterfeit goods trafficking. Defined as areas where customs duties do not apply in the same way as in the rest of a country’s territory, there are now believed to be at least 3,500 free zones in operation around the world, up from just 79 in 1975. In some regions, FTZs are becoming more popular. In the UK, for example, government officials have this month announced plans…

Online agents are more attractive to money laundering criminals, warns HMRC

Money Laundering
Lack of face-to-face contact is a key reason why criminals graduate towards internet agents, its latest updated AML guidance says. HMRC has updated its AML guidance for sales and lettings agents including a warning that online-only operators are at higher risk than traditional high street firms. It claims that sales and lettings transaction made without face-to-face contact including online, over the phone or via an intermediary reduce an agent’s ability to spot whether money laundering is being attempted. “This is particularly true when dealing with customers in higher-risk overseas jurisdictions,” the guidance says. But leading AML software firm Smartsearch says…

Goldman Sachs fined by FCA and PRA over 1MDB in $2.9bn global resolution

Investigation
Firm to clawback $174m from executives Goldman Sachs International (GSI) has been fined £96.6m by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) for risk management failures in connection with 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). In a statement, the FCA and PRA said GSI had “failed to assess and manage risk to the standard that was required given the high risk profile of the 1MDB transactions, and failed to assess risk factors on a sufficiently holistic basis”, and that GSI had also “failed to address allegations of bribery in 2013 and failed to manage allegations of misconduct in connection…

Bid to make gambling companies liable for stolen money

Compliance
Federal Independent MP Andrew Wilkie will introduce a bill to Parliament on Monday to make gambling companies liable if the person placing the bet is using stolen money. Under the legislation, if a bettor has paid for a gambling service using money they obtained illegally, the Federal Court could order the gambling company to compensate the victim of the original crime. The “Making Gambling Businesses Accountable” bill, which amends the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, uses the same definition of “stolen property” as the Criminal Code. Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie will second the bill and Mr Wilkie’s team…

MEPs call for creation of EU financial crimes authority in wake of FinCEN Files scandal

Consultation
European Commission pledges to step up fight against money laundering. European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica has pledged to step up the fight against money laundering, saying that planned new legislation in the New Year aims to address “shortcomings” in existing legislation. Šuica, responsible for the democracy and demography portfolio in the Commission, told MEPs, “we aim to ensure that dirty money has no place to hide in the EU. We must close the door on dirty money.” She was speaking at the Parliament’s Plenary on Thursday in a debate with members on recent money laundering revelations about how the world’s…

Over £300,000 recovered from accounts suspected of use in money laundering

Money Laundering
Investigation by North Yorkshire Police after reports of investment scam. After receiving information about a company that was suspected of laundering money from investment scams, North Yorkshire Police identified two business bank accounts which they believed held monies obtained through fraud. Using powers introduced in the Criminal Finances Act 2017, Account Freezing Orders (AFO’s) were obtained on both bank accounts and a frozen funds investigation was commenced. One bank account contained £210,000 and the other £124,000. These AFO’s enabled North Yorkshire Police to investigate and obtain evidence into a large scale money laundering network involving two companies, whilst preventing this…

Unexplained Wealth Orders: Suspected money launderer gives up £10m of property

Money Laundering
Around £10m of property has been surrendered in a major victory against some of northern England’s most dangerous criminals. The apartments and homes were given up to the National Crime Agency by a Leeds businessman who investigators suspect of being a major money-launderer.  The NCA says Mansoor Mahmood Hussain acted for gangsters, including a murderer and drug trafficker. The agency believes he laundered their profits through a property empire.  Over two decades, Mr Hussain, known as Manni, developed his portfolio across West Yorkshire, Cheshire and London while posing as a legitimate businessman.  His social media accounts show him living a…

Leicester textile firms ‘involved in money laundering

Money Laundering
A network of clothing manufacturers in Leicester are involved in money laundering and VAT fraud, a BBC investigation has found. The companies are based in the city’s garment district where a local MP said such activity was “endemic”. Some of the firms involved have supplied fast fashion brands, including Boohoo. Boohoo told the BBC it would never knowingly conduct business with anyone acting outside of the law. It has now terminated its relationship with one of the firms highlighted by the investigation by BBC Radio 4’s File on 4. Leicester textile firms face enforcement action Clothes factories ‘doubled staff during pandemic’…

Crown chairman Helen Coonan admits casino ‘facilitated’ money laundering

Money Laundering
The former Howard government minister insists, however, that Crown didn’t turn a blind eye to illegal activity The Crown Resorts chairman, Helen Coonan, has admitted the company facilitated money laundering at its Melbourne casino but denied it was “turning a blind eye” to criminal activity instead blaming it on “ineptitude”. The concession was made at the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority’s inquiry into Crown’s suitability to hold a Sydney casino licence. Coonan was asked on Tuesday about Crown’s relationship with SunCity, a high-roller junket partner with alleged criminal links. She was challenged on why Crown did not shut down SunCity’s private…