Category: Money Laundering

Mastercard is bringing its TRACE financial crime-fighting and anti-money-laundering tool to the Asia-Pacific region. TRACE uses “timely and large-scale payments data from multiple financial institutions” to provide intelligence beyond a “financial institution’s siloed view,” allowing financial crime tracing across payment networks, according to a Thursday (Feb. 13) news release. Consumers and businesses in APAC are increasingly using real-time payments to settle accounts within seconds rather than days, per the release. “However, this speed has also made it a target for money launderers and ‘mules,’ who try to evade detection by moving funds rapidly between multiple accounts,” the release said. “Oftentimes,…

The acting head of Papua New Guinea’s central bank was the subject of a police investigation for suspected money laundering when she was permanently appointed to the position in early 2024, according to court documents obtained by OCCRP. Officers from the country’s National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Director executed a series of searches on the offices of the Bank of PNG (BPNG) in August and September of 2023 as part of inquiries into its then-acting governor, Elizabeth Genia. The documents, from PNG’s National Court, show that Genia lodged a legal challenge later that year that managed to temporarily freeze the probe.…

Key TakeawaysFCA Investigation: Barclays is under investigation by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over its money-laundering controls, with the probe focusing on the management of higher-risk customers.Civil Enforcement: The investigation is classified as a civil enforcement action, a common procedure for high-profile institutions, though details about the probe’s scope remain limited.Transparency and Cooperation: Barclays has confirmed full cooperation with the FCA and highlighted its transparency by submitting an annual report to the National Storage Mechanism, offering further public insight into the investigation.Deep DiveBarclays has found itself in the midst of an investigation by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)…

The Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body, MONEYVAL, has today published a report urging Guernsey to improve the investigation, prosecution and conviction of money laundering offences whilst also highlighting Guernsey’s good understanding of the risks of money laundering/terrorist financing and its highly effective application of targeted financial sanctions.The report commended Guernsey’s Financial Intelligence Unit for producing high-quality analytical products and strategic analysis, while acknowledging the limited extent to which they are used by law enforcement authorities to initiate investigations. The quality of suspicious activity reports also remains a concern.The Guernsey Financial Services Commission and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission have…

Last week, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) unveiled its long-awaited plan for granting access on the ultimate owners of companies registered there – a vital tool to prevent tax abuse and financial crime. Unfortunately, rather than enhancing corporate transparency the BVI’s proposal would effectively block journalists and NGOs from uncovering the true owners of companies, maintaining the region’s long-standing culture of financial secrecy. Despite the UK Parliament mandating UK Overseas Territories like the BVI to reveal the true owner of companies registered on their shores, their proposed register is designed to hinder scrutiny, effectively undermining global efforts to combat money…

Brazilian authorities have arrested a police officer who owns a fintech allegedly used to launder money for the powerful criminal group First Capital Command (PCC). The case highlights the infiltration of organized crime into state structures and exposes regulatory gaps that have allowed fintechs to operate with minimal oversight, facilitating large-scale money laundering. Brazilian authorities said they have detained a police officer who also owned a bank believed to be one of the financial institutions laundering money for a major criminal organization. Brazil’s Federal Police and the Special Action Group for Combating Organized Crime (GAECO) of the São Paulo Public…

Rachel Reeves is sitting on a £5billion windfall of Bitcoin seized from organised criminals that could now be used to plug the huge black hole in her budget. The Mail on Sunday has learnt the Government has amassed an astonishing stash of crypto-currency after a money-laundering probe into a Chinese fraud led to one the world’s biggest ever seizures. Valued at an estimated £5.2billion, the seized Bitcoin was last night described as a ‘get out of jail free card’ for the embattled Chancellor amid fears that Britain faces an ‘economic doom loop’. Crucially, the sum is worth more than the…

French authorities have announced their decision to extend the 2023 investigation into Binance, over alleged money laundering accusations. Following this announcement, the French authorities have deepened their investigation into Binance on suspicion that a large cryptocurrency exchange broke European money laundering and terrorist financing laws. The public prosecutor also mentioned that it had opened a judicial investigation into Binance as it was likely to have assisted in habitual money laundering, in particular drug trafficking and tax fraud. The potential offenses were committed in the region of France, but also in all countries of the European Union. France deepens probe into…

Belgian prosecutors have seized about $2 million as part of an investigation into Iryna Kut and her diamond company. In Ukraine, authorities raided her warehouses while investigating a scandal about food sold to the military at inflated prices. Kut has not been charged in either country, and it’s unclear if the cases are connected. Formed in 1893, the Diamond Club of Antwerp “watches over certain moral values in the sector,” and hosts more than 150 companies in its building. Among them is IKG, a firm at the center of a Belgian money laundering investigation. The jewelry and diamond trading company…

Singaporean authorities have announced 17 new suspects in their sprawling investigation of a money laundering network, which cleaned billions reaped from illegal gambling and cyberfraud. Leaked data shows that three of those suspects bought properties worth at least $28 million in Dubai, which has become a magnet for dirty money from around the world. Courts in Singapore have already convicted 10 members of the money laundering syndicate. They were arrested in August 2023, when more than 400 officers swept in on multiple locations throughout the Southeast Asian island state. Prosecutors said shortly afterwards that they had seized $1.32 billion in…

From 12 to 24 November, Europol supported Customs authorities from 23 EU Member States in a large operation against money laundering, transnational criminal activities and terrorism financing. The operation resulted in over 500 cash movement checks and the subsequent detection of illicit cash flows of almost EUR 2.7 million in cash. This amount is likely to increase in the upcoming months as many discoveries are currently being prosecuted. In addition to cash, authorities also seized valuable items such as gold and jewellery, including 18 gold bars with a value exceeding EUR 1,7 million. The joint action was aimed at identifying…

Operatives said to be behind a billion-dollar Russian money-laundering network – used by drug dealers, financial criminals and foreign spies – have been sanctioned and arrested in a coordinated international investigation led by the National Crime Agency. The UK law enforcement body, which tackles serious and organised crime, said the actions constituted the “most significant money laundering operation” it had undertaken in the past few years. The operation involved America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation, France’s Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire and Ireland’s Garda. The networks are said to have laundered cash and cryptocurrencies for serious and organised crime gangs…

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today issued a cease-and-desist order (order) against Bank of America, N.A. (bank) for deficiencies related to its Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and sanctions compliance programs. The OCC took this action based on violations and unsafe or unsound practices relating to these programs, including a failure to timely file suspicious activity reports and failure to correct a previously identified deficiency related to its Customer Due Diligence processes. The order also identifies deficiencies in the internal controls, governance, independent testing, and training components of the bank’s BSA compliance program. The order requires the…

Angelo Figliomeni was at the center of a media storm when police brought organized crime and money laundering charges against him in 2019. But the charges were never tried in court, and two top banks continued to do business with him, documents show. With Toronto Dominion Bank already reeling from historic fines in the U.S. for conspiracy to commit money laundering, evidence has emerged that the bank continues to do business in Canada with alleged mafia boss Angelo Figliomeni. Property documents show that Toronto Dominion, better known as TD Bank, continues to provide financing for Figliomeni on two homes in…

The U.K.’s National Crime Agency successfully argued in a High Court case in London that accounts at the Banque Internationale à Luxembourg were used to move millions from a high profile embezzlement case in Azerbaijan into expensive properties. Accounts at a major Luxembourg bank played a “central” role in moving funds from an embezzlement scheme that led to the imprisonment of the former chairman of the International Bank of Azerbaijan, Jahangir Hajiyev, according to the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA). The claim by the NCA sheds light on how tens of millions of dollars stolen from Azerbaijan’s most important state-owned…

Switzerland’s parliament is unlikely to adopt rules forcing lawyers to fight money laundering as many lawmakers are themselves attorneys, the country’s finance minister said. “It’s very difficult because there are a lot of lawyers in parliament and they really don’t feel that they have anything to do with that,” Karin Keller-Sutter said on Thursday at a Bloomberg event in Zurich. Her comments come as the Swiss parliament debates a draft law that would force companies to declare their real ownership and require lawyers to flag suspect transactions — or face criminal prosecution. With Switzerland’s traditional bank secrecy now notionally a…

Citigroup Inc., one of the largest banking institutions in the United States, has been ordered to significantly overhaul its anti-money laundering (AML) compliance programs following deficiencies uncovered by federal regulators. A consent order, issued jointly by the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), requires Citigroup to implement sweeping reforms across its subsidiaries to address critical lapses in its oversight and governance. Citigroup’s global operations, including its ownership of Citibank, N.A. in South Dakota and Banamex USA in California, are governed by stringent U.S. anti-money laundering laws. The Bank…

A man who laundered more than £2m has been jailed after being extradited back to the UK. Calin Barta, 29, originally from Romania, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court to four years and 10 months in prison. Three years ago, Surrey Police executed a warrant at an address in Woking as part of an investigation into indecent image offences. However, whilst at the property, officers said they found multiple mobile phones and bank card readers along with 38 passports in different names but all with the same photo. Barta returned to Romania while he was on bail, said police. Surrey’s…

A lack of proper oversight across the City of London’s network of lawyers, bookkeepers and accountants is hampering efforts to crack down on dirty money being funnelled through the UK, the City watchdog has warned. The latest report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) flagged concerns over the work of the UK’s 25 professional bodies – which oversee the accounting and legal sectors – and found that some were spending as little as £73 a year on anti-money laundering supervision or were outsourcing it entirely to third parties. It also found “weaknesses” in how bodies were using their powers, resulting…

Hong Kong Customs mounted an operation codenamed “Fencing” yesterday (August 7) and dismantled a money laundering syndicate receiving suspicious funds from the Asia-Pacific region. It was suspected that the syndicate masterminds and members made use of shell companies and cryptocurrency to launder crime proceeds amounting to about $1.5 billion. During the operation, Customs arrested four persons suspected to be connected with the case and has already arranged to freeze a total of about $2.2 million in assets held by the arrestees.      Earlier this year, Customs officers identified a money laundering syndicate for a financial investigation. It was revealed that the…

Seven people have been jailed for operating an undercover £55m money-laundering ring aimed at international university students seeking to bypass limits on the amount of cash that can be taken out of China. Four people – three men and one woman – were sentenced at Snaresbrook crown court on Monday for a range of money-laundering offences. In June, three others were sentenced for similar offences. They were handed sentences ranging from 11 months to 12 years. Chinese citizens cannot transfer more than $50,000 (£38,000) for personal purposes out of the country a year. To regulate this, citizens are required to…