Year: 2022

Lee Jae-yong: Why South Korea just pardoned the Samsung ‘prince’

Corruption
Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong – convicted of bribery and embezzlement in 2017 – has been granted a special presidential pardon.One of South Korea’s most powerful white collar criminals, Lee was twice imprisoned for bribing a former president. South Korea’s government justified the move, saying the de-facto leader of the country’s biggest company was needed back at the helm to spearhead economic recovery post-pandemic. This marks another swing in a struggle over how the country is run that has raged since mass protests took over Seoul six years ago and ousted a president from office.Lee’s crimes were directly tied up in…

Companies House plans digital ID verification

Regulation
Companies House is developing a new digital identity verification process to prevent people registering companies for illegal purposes. Chief executive Louise Smyth referred to the plan in a blogpost, published to coincide with the release of the agency’s corporate plan for 2022-23, saying that anyone setting up, running, owning or controlling a company in the UK will need to provide assurance they are who they claim to be. A spokesperson for Companies House said an individual will have to verify their identity, either directly or through an agent, by linking themselves with an authorised photo ID. They will take photographs…

Insider dealing occurs in 10% to 25% of cryptocurrency listings

Digital Currencies, Market Abuse
According to a recent study conducted by the University of Technology Sydney, researchers estimated that insider trading occurs in 10% to 25% of cryptocurrency listings. In deriving the conclusion, researchers first sampled 146 token listing announcements on cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase between Sept. 25, 2018 and May 1, 2022. Afterward, researchers examined the price movements of the sampled tokens in the time interval of 300 hours before Coinbase listing announcements up until 100 hours after the announcement, on various exchanges. The hypothesis was that if insider trading was involved, tokens that were also available to trade on decentralized exchanges, or DEXs,…

Estate Agents failing foul of Money Laundering Regulations

HMRC, Money Laundering
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) recently published a list of firms that have received penalty notices for failure to meet their anti-money laundering (AML) obligations, and almost half were in the property sector. In a list of 79 firms that had breached AML regulations between April and December last year, more than 30 were estate agents, commercial property firms, valuers and auction houses, meaning property firms accounted for almost half (44%) of all AML breaches during that time period. Why are HMRC clamping down on estate agents? The property market is one of the most vulnerable sectors in the UK…

Latvian Prosecutors Charge Bankers with Laundering 2.1B Euro

Money Laundering
Latvian prosecutors have charged a shareholder and top managers of the country’s erstwhile third largest bank, ABLV, with laundering 2.1 billion euros through a network of shell companies. Also to go on trial is the manager of the notorious shell company provider investigated by OCCRP. The indictment accuses ABLV co-owner and CEO Ernests Bernis, former deputy CEO Vadims Reinfelds as well as Arvis Šteinbergs, co-manager of shell firm provider ‘International Overseas Services’ (IOS) group, and five others of laundering the proceedings from crime using shell firms incorporated and administered by IOS.money, according to a copy of the indictment obtained by…

UK Filed over 34,000 Crypto scam reports in the last 6 years

Digital Currencies, Fraud
Along with the rise in popularity of cryptocurrency trading worldwide, there has been a significant increase in the number of crypto scams or frauds. In the UK alone, there have been 34,305 allegations of criminal behavior involving cryptocurrencies since 2016. Cybercrime is now a widespread issue on a global scale. The amount of criminality involving cryptocurrencies peaked in 2021. According to a Chainalysis analysis, a blockchain data company, criminals laundered $8.6 billion in cryptocurrencies in 2021, an increase of 30% from the year before. Since 2017, hackers have laundered nearly $33 billion in cryptocurrencies, with the majority of that amount…

FCA fines The TJM Partnership Limited (in liquidation) £2 million for serious financial crime control failings in relation to cum-ex trading

Financial Crime, Regulation
The FCA has fined The TJM Partnership Limited (in liquidation) £2,038,700 for failing to ensure it had effective systems and controls to identify and reduce the risk of financial crime and money laundering in its business. This is the third case brought by the FCA in relation to cum-ex trading and the largest fine so far. This reflects the multiple examples of serious misconduct over a lengthy period. TJM did not have adequate procedures, systems and controls to identify and mitigate the risk of being used to facilitate fraudulent trading and money laundering in relation to trading on behalf of…

How North Korean Cryptocurrency abuse is expanding

Sanctions
Countries must secure new and emerging gateways that are used to circumvent sanctions, as North Korea’s exploitation of cryptocurrency continues. Blockchain analytics companies are identifying potential links between North Korea and the Harmony Bridge Exploit that occurred in June 2022. In this cyber attack, hackers stole $100 million worth of cryptocurrency, and began transferring funds in a similar manner to North Korea’s approach following the Ronin Bridge hack in March 2022. This latest attack reinforces the need for countries to monitor the rise of new cryptocurrency gateways that allow North Korea to circumvent sanctions and finance its nuclear weapons programme.…

Five problems with Economic Crime Policing and how to solve them

Money Laundering, Policing
The policing response to economic crime is not fit for purpose, and money launderers and fraudsters operate with impunity – but evolution and not revolution is the answer. Despite the valiant efforts of an under-resourced law enforcement contingent and a commitment in the UK government’s Economic Crime Plan (2019–2022) to ‘strengthen the capabilities of law enforcement … to detect, deter and disrupt economic crime’, the policing response to economic crime is not fit for purpose: money launderers continue to launder with impunity, and fraudsters rarely face retribution. There are, however, some green shoots. The National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), established…

Lyne Barlow: Travel agent faces money laundering and fraud charges

Fraud, Money Laundering
A travel agent suspected of duping hundreds of customers has been charged with fraud and money laundering totalling more than £1.6m. Lyne Barlow was arrested in September 2020 after an investigation into claims surrounding discount holidays. Durham Police said her travel business was no longer operational and its social media page had been deleted. The 39-year-old, formally of Stanley, County Durham, is due before Newton Aycliffe magistrates on 5 September. Mrs Barlow, who has moved from the area, has been charged with 18 counts of fraud relating to loans, investments and holiday sales. Durham Police said she faced a further…

Head of ‘colossal’ UK-Dubai money-laundering gang jailed for nine years

Money Laundering
The ringleader of Britain’s biggest ever money-laundering gang has been jailed after a “colossal” criminal enterprise was broken up by police. Abdulla Alfalasi, 47, an Emirati national, enlisted dozens of couriers in his role at the helm of the gang. In total they smuggled more than £100m of dirty cash out of the UK to Dubai between April 2019 and November 2020. He was sentenced to nine years and seven months in prison, after the “considerable network” of criminals was exposed following an arrest at Heathrow airport in October 2020. Couriers received £3,000-£8,000 a time. A total of 83 trips…

The Nigerian gas deal, the Irish impresario and the £8bn ruling amid claims of bribery

Corruption
It has been described as one of the most extraordinary cases ever to come before the high court, involving an Irish impresario, an alleged $50,000 bribe stuffed into a bag and potentially one of the biggest payouts in legal history. The saga of two Irish businessmen, Michael Quinn and Brendan Cahill, who promised to revolutionise Nigeria’s energy sector, will be at the centre of a high court trial early next year. It is claimed the two men’s hopes of a 20-year project to provide plentiful supplies of electricity for the country were dashed when Nigeria failed to build the required…

Universal Credit: Fraudulent claims in NI almost double to £102m

Fraud
The cost of fraudulent Universal Credit (UC) claims in Northern Ireland almost doubled to £102m last year, a public spending watchdog has said. The figure has emerged in the auditor general’s annual audit of the Department for Communities accounts. The department said a significant number of the fraudulent claims date to the start of the pandemic. At that time certain conditions were eased to allow unprecedented numbers of people to get financial help. In the previous year the cost of fraudulent UC claims was £51.8m. The number of households on UC in Northern Ireland almost doubled between February and July…

Bernie Ecclestone charged with fraud following investigation, says CPS

Fraud
Ex-Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has been charged with fraud by false representation, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. The 91-year-old billionaire businessman failed to declare overseas assets believed to be worth in excess of £400m, according to investigators. The charge was authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Monday, following an investigation by Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Andrew Penhale, chief Crown prosecutor, said: “The CPS has reviewed a file of evidence from HMRC and has authorised a charge against Bernard Ecclestone of fraud by false representation in respect of his failure to declare to HMRC the existence of…

Risk-based Approach Guidance for the Real Estate Sector

FATF, Money Laundering, Regulation
Real estate is a popular choice for investment, but it also attracts criminals who use real estate in their illicit activities or to launder their criminal profits. It allows criminals networks to thrive and grow using the profits of their illegal activities, which impacts society and undermines the rule of law. In some countries, these practices also contribute to driving up the prices of real estate, making housing inaccessible to many as well as further incentivizing the criminal activity. FATF assessments show that the real estate sector often has poor understanding of these risks and regularly fails to mitigate them.…

Sanctioned Russian Banker, Head of Putin’s Piggy Bank, Uses Proxy for Vast Holdings

Sanctions
The son of a globe-trotting Canadian communist, Eric Whyte moved to the Soviet Union as a boy in 1966, and was educated at a prestigious school outside Moscow. Those are nearly all of the scant details publicly available about his life –– even “Champagne and Meatballs,” a book-length memoir by Whyte’s late father, Bert, only mentions his birth. But while Whyte maintains a low profile, leaked corporate documents offer a clue about his activities over the past decade or so: He appears to be a frontman for sanctioned Russian banker Andrei Kostin. Whyte owns companies registered in secretive offshore financial…

ESG is Becoming a Magnet for Financial Crime

Financial Crime, Regulation
In the words of Atilla the Hun, “The spirit of the law is greater than the letter.” How organizations adhere to principals, puts the organization ahead of the compliance curve. Ahead of rules there are movements and ideas, written laws follow closely thereafter. The principals of ESG are still being widely debated across the globe, the underlying principles of ESG are to do the right thing and elevate a consciousness of stakeholdership by organizations in the world in which they interact, naturally, such a broad mandate is going to be subject to rigorous debate, as creating policy around “impact” is…

Guatemala’s Former Economics Minister Pleads Guilty to Paying Bribes

Bribery, Prosecutions
A former high-ranking government official in Guatemala has pleaded guilty in Miami federal court to conspiring to commit money laundering while paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Guatemalan politicians through the U.S. banking system. Acisclo Valladares Urruela, the former economics minister in Guatemala, admitted that he transferred $350,000 in bribery payments to the unidentified Guatemalan politicians through two companies with bank accounts in Miami, according to a factual statement filed with his plea agreement. Valladares also acknowledged that he received $140,000 for moving the dirty money into those accounts, the statement says. Valladares paid the illegal bribes…

Exploring the New Dawn for Crypto and Regulation

Digital Currencies, Regulation
In recent times there has arguably been a global shift in the regulatory attitudes and action towards cryptocurrency. What once was considered a fringe currency is gradually being brought into the mainstream and legitimised by regulation. In the past six months, the UK government has created a Crypto and Digital Assets Group, announced that it is “open” for crypto business, and launched a consultation into an insolvency regime for cryptocurrency, specifically stablecoins. A recent report by CUBE has explored global regulatory data to understand the shifting regulatory attitudes for crypto. It has found that in four years alone, there has…

Deutsche Bank Settles Money-Laundering Case for $7.1m

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Deutsche Bank AG settled a probe by Frankfurt prosecutors looking into whether the bank violated money-laundering prevention rules for 7.01 million euros ($7.1 million). The bank agreed to pay the amount and accepted an administrative penalty notice, the lender said in a statement. Frankfurt prosecutors confirmed the end of the investigation, which found the bank failed to file 701 reports of suspicious activities. Deutsche Bank acted “thoughtlessly,” they said. The settlement comes less than three months after law enforcement officials raided Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt as part of the investigation. The bank had processed payments related to the extended…

Why not a single banker was jailed over HSBC’s billion-dollar money laundering scandal

Money Laundering
Ten years after the bank admitted enabling El Chapo’s Mexican drug cartel, the drug lord is serving a life sentence but bankers only faced fines. Whose job is it to police global finance? No senior banker went to jail over 2008; no HSBC banker was charged, let alone went to jail, when the bank admitted in 2012 to enabling the laundering of billions of dollars of drugs money for El Chapo and his Mexican Sinaloa cartel. The reason, as I explain in my new book Too Big to Jail – Inside HSBC, the Mexican drug cartels and the greatest banking…

Londongrad: how the City became a money-laundering haven

Money Laundering
Which key factors have conspired to make the UK capital synonymous with financial crime? Insights outlines the root causes, and ICAEW’s Michelle Giddings highlights emerging vulnerabilities.Since the dawn of Russia’s war with Ukraine, scrutiny has intensified on illicit financial activity conducted in and around the City of London. Rooted primarily in money laundering, the cycle of criminality has earned the UK’s financial hub two damning sobriquets: ‘The Laundromat’ and ‘Londongrad’ – monikers steeped in such blithe resignation, they convey that London’s susceptibility to malign influences is essentially taken for granted. Faith in a medium- or long-term solution is conspicuous by…

Review of the UK’s AML/CFT regulatory and supervisory regime

Money Laundering
The government is publishing two post-implementation reviews and a forward-looking review of the UK’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime. Review of the UK’s AML/CFT regulatory and supervisory regime Post Implementation Review of the Money Laundering Regulations Post Implementation Review of the OPBAS Regulations Details The government is publishing a forward-looking review of the UK’s AML/CFT regime, in response to the call for evidence launched last year. Alongside this, the government is also publishing two post-implementation reviews to fulfil its statutory obligations; one of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and one of the OPBAS Regulations 2017. Taken…

Ex-bank manager sentenced for £255,000 money laundering

Money Laundering
A former Barclays Bank manager has been sentenced today (31 May 2022) for helping to launder £255,000. Heather Smalley, 31, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, for entering an arrangement which facilitated the laundering of another person’s criminal proceeds, at Warwick Crown Court. Smalley had pleaded guilty to this charge on 23 March, at Coventry Magistrates’ Court. Smalley had worked for Barclays Bank for 14 years and was the bank manager at a Coventry branch. On six occasions, between February and October 2020, she arranged to take in bags of low value £10 and £20 notes…

Mining firm Glencore pleads guilty to UK bribery charges

Bribery, Corruption
A British subsidiary of the mining firm Glencore has pleaded guilty in a UK court to corruption offences for the second time in the last two months. It was accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure access to crude oil in several African countries. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) found that bribes occurred from 2012 to 2016. It found that bribes of over $28m (£22.8m) were paid via the Swiss-based firm’s employees and agents. The bribery charges stated that the firm’s aim was for officials to “perform their functions improperly, or reward them for so doing, by…

UK’s revenue and customs agency begins handing out fines to art market players

Art Dealers, Money Laundering
HMRC, the UK’s revenue and customs agency, has started to hand out fines to art market participants (those handling transactions of €10,000 or above) who failed to register under the new anti-money laundering legislations, by the June 2021 deadline. The list of companies and individuals receiving fines will not be publicly available (via the government’s website) until later this year, but one such penalty notice seen by The Art Newspaper makes it clear that “trading whilst unregistered” was now being pursued as a breach of the regulations. In addition to carrying out increased due diligence, art market participants have been…

U.K. Regulator FCA Fines Ghana International Bank $7.1M for Weak Anti-Money-Laundering Controls

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Thursday that it fined U.K.-based Ghana International Bank PLC about GBP5.8 million (US$7.1 million), for alleged failures in its anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing controls in relation to its correspondent-banking activities. By using correspondent-banking relationships, banks can gain access to financial services in various jurisdictions and provide cross-border payment services to customers. The regulator said that no money laundering was detected, but that between 2012 and 2016, the bank failed to perform required checks on its established relationships with overseas banks and assess those banks’ anti-money-laundering controls. As a result, the FCA said the risk…

Justice Department Urges Companies to Self-Report Sanctions Violations

Sanctions
The Justice Department is looking to enlist the private sector in its efforts to enforce U.S. sanctions on countries such as Russia, a top official said. The agency has long worked to police the restrictions that the U.S. has placed on countries such as Iran or North Korea, but it has dialed up its efforts following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Thursday. The Justice Department is adding resources and looking for new ways to enforce sanctions, said Ms. Monaco, who spoke via video at a conference hosted by Global Investigations Review in London. The agency…

French Woman Violaine Clerc Takes Over as FATF’s New Executive Secretary

FATF, Financial Crime
FRENCH regulator Violaine Clerc was today unveiled as the new FATF Executive Secretary. Ms Clerc comes to the international position with more than 25 years experience in prudential, AML and CFT supervision through positions at the French Central Bank and French financial supervision authority (ACPR). She previously served as a member of the AML standing committee of the three European supervisory authorities, as well as a senior member of the French delegation to FATF. She was co-chair of the Evaluation and Compliance Group of the FATF for eight years. FATF said Ms Clerc takes the lead at an “important time,”…

Publication of the Effectiveness Through Collaboration Paper

Money Laundering, Terrorism, Wolfsberg
Today, the Wolfsberg Group is publishing its paper on Effectiveness through Collaboration. The document expands on a key element of the Wolfsberg Group’s views on developing an effective Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) programme (The Wolfsberg Factors), which is to engage with the public sector, including law enforcement. The paper specifically focuses on successful engagement through Public-Private Partnerships and is intended to be an introduction to the subject for those who may be less familiar with the principles underpinning these arrangements and the pivotal role that national authorities must play. The Wolfsberg Group urges the public sector to prioritise the establishment…

Credit Suisse Prosecutor Finds $60 Million in Money Laundering

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
A prosecutor has identified more than $60 million that he believes was laundered through Credit Suisse Group AG, in the precursor to what would be just the second Swiss criminal indictment ever against a major local lender. Geneva’s top financial-crime prosecutor, Yves Bertossa, identified a series of 8 transactions the bank failed to prevent between 2008 and 2014 at a hearing last week, which he said constituted aggravated money laundering by the Swiss lender, according to people familiar with the investigation. Patrice Lescaudron, the fraudster at the heart of the case, faked signatures and contrived dummy portfolio statements to illegally…

Sanctions Take Toll on Laundering Tools Used by Ransomware Gangs

Sanctions
U.S. sanctions in recent months have hammered a handful of cryptocurrency services used by ransomware groups, suggesting Washington can effectively target some tools hackers use to convert digital ransom payments into cash. The Treasury Department since last year has sanctioned at least three Russia-based crypto exchanges, as well as a mixing service hackers allegedly used to help launder dirty money, barring U.S. companies from transacting with them. “Sanctions have been catastrophic to their business, severely damaging their operations,” said Jackie Koven, head of cyber threat intelligence at Chainalysis Inc., which analyzes crypto transactions across public ledgers known as blockchains. Ms.…

Deutsche Bank investors can sue in U.S. over Epstein and Russian oligarch ties

Corruption, Money Laundering
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Monday said shareholders can sue Deutsche Bank AG for allegedly hiding shortfalls in its internal controls while doing business with risky, ultra-rich clients like the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Russian oligarchs. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said shareholders may try to prove in their proposed class action that the German bank was aware its know-your-customer and anti-money laundering controls were ineffective, and that its share price fell as the truth became known. In a 30-page decision, Rakoff said the complaint described specific processes that Deutsche Bank knowingly undermined through an…

Justice Department Secures Forfeiture of Property Purchased with $3.5 Million in Alleged Corruption Proceeds Linked to Ex-President of The Gambia

Corruption, DoJ, Prosecutions
The Department of Justice, pursuant to a court-ordered default judgment and final order of forfeiture entered on May 24, has secured the forfeiture of a Potomac, Maryland, property acquired with approximately $3.5 million in alleged corruption proceeds by the former President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia, through a trust set up by his wife, Zineb Jammeh. The judgment is the result of a civil forfeiture complaint filed by the United States in July 2020 seeking the forfeiture of the Maryland property. As alleged in the complaint, Yahya Jammeh corruptly obtained millions of dollars through the misappropriation of stolen public funds…

The Crackdown on the Illicit-Finances Aiding Oligarchs

Money Laundering, Sanctions
The United States Department of Treasury has outlined actions it plans to take to address illicit finance, saying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had underscored the need to close regulatory loopholes and step up the fight against related financial crime and transnational corruption. Major international financial institutions have previously been caught red handed in scandal in banking sanctioned groups and individuals the most historically notable was HSBC Mexico facilitating a money laundering scheme on a grand scale for drug cartels, which resulted in a fine in excess of $2 billion. Most recently, a massive leak outlining Credit Suisse’s less than reputable…

Crypto Exchanges Should Lose Licenses for Laundering Breaches, EU Regulators Say

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Regulation
Crypto exchanges should lose their licenses if found to have seriously breached anti-money laundering rules, European Union financial supervisors said. The recommendation comes as lawmakers reach the closing stages of landmark legislation known as the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, or MiCA, introducing an authorization regime for virtual asset companies within the 27-nation bloc.Regulatory authorities responsible for authorizing or registering crypto exchanges and wallet providers should “be empowered to withdraw the authorisation/registration for serious breaches of AML/CFT [anti-money laundering and terrorist finance] rules,” said a report published Wednesday by the three European supervisory authorities responsible for overseeing banks, insurers and…

Decision on Lifting EU Sanctions Against Alisher Usmanov and Sisters Expected Soon

Sanctions
European court of justice deciding appeal filed by ‘one of Putin’s favourite oligarchs’ Sanctions imposed on the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and his two sisters could be suspended after a legal challenge at the European court of justice by the businessman once described as one of Vladimir Putin’s “favourite oligarchs”. Usmanov, as well as his sisters Saodat Narzieva and Gulbakhor Ismailova, each filed separate legal appeals in April in an attempt to overturn sanctions that have blocked them from travelling across the EU or making use of assets located in member states, including a $600m (£484m) yacht. The Guardian understands…

70% Accountants and Lawyers Have Money Laundering Fears Over Russian Dark Funds

Money Laundering, Sanctions
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM 25th MAY, 2022: 70% of accountants and lawyers are more concerned about money laundering since Russian events and sanctions began, with 75% moving anti-money laundering (AML) up the company agenda in the past year. That’s according to First AML, the end-to-end AML software solution, which surveyed 200 accountants and lawyers in the UK to discover attitudes toward current compliance and AML procedures. Despite 53% of respondents having identified an instance of suspected money laundering in the past three years (with 24% identifying more than one) only 45% are completely confident in their AML procedures. Alongside this, a…

Time to Shut Down Dirty Money’s “London Laundromat”

Money Laundering
Just before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the British anticorruption advocacy group Transparency International UK estimated that Russians accused of corruption or having close links to the Kremlin owned an estimated £1.5 billion worth of property in the United Kingdom, and that front companies registered in the United Kingdom and its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies had concealed more than £82 billion of corrupt Russian funds. This was only part of a bigger problem. The research corroborated what countless reports and exposés have shown in recent years: the role played by institutions and expertise in…

Mining Giant Pleads Guilty to U.K. Bribery Charges

Bribery
A subsidiary of the mining and commodities trading giant Glencore has pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery in a London court. The firm also said it will pay more than $1bn (£800m) to resolve similar claims with the US and Brazil. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office said it had exposed “profit-driven bribery and corruption” across Glencore Energy UK’s oil operations in five African nations. The firm will find how much it must pay in fines at a sentencing in June. It previously set aside $1.5bn to cover the investigations it faced in the UK, US and Brazil. Glencore’s chairman…