Category: Prosecutions

OFAC Slaps $215 Million Penalty on GVA Capital for Russia Sanctions Violations

Prosecutions, Sanctions
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a hefty penalty of $215,988,868 against GVA Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm. The firm is being held accountable for knowingly managing investments linked to Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian oligarch already under sanctions, and for failing to respond properly to an OFAC subpoena. This is a case that underscores the immense risks involved when gatekeepers like venture capital firms fail to uphold sanctions compliance. Between April 2018 and May 2021, GVA continued managing investments for Kerimov, after the Russian official had been added to the…

NYDFS Hits Block, Inc. with $40 Million Settlement Over Cash App Compliance Failures

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Key Takeaways: $40 Million Penalty: Block, Inc. has agreed to pay a $40 million penalty for failing to meet BSA/AML compliance requirements related to Cash App.Independent Monitor: Block must retain an Independent Monitor to oversee the company’s compliance improvements.Investigation Findings: DFS found inadequate customer identification, insufficient risk-based controls, and transaction monitoring issues within Block’s operations.Bitcoin Transactions: The company failed to scrutinize high-risk Bitcoin transactions, creating vulnerabilities for illicit activity.Growth-Related Issues: Cash App’s rapid growth between 2019 and 2020 led to a significant backlog of transaction alerts that were not promptly addressed.Deep Dive The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)…

Canadian Businessman Sentenced for Obstruction of Justice for Hiding and Laundering Millions After His 2020 Money Laundering Conviction

Fraud, Prosecutions
Firoz Patel, 50, of Montreal, Canada, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison today in connection with his efforts to conceal and launder 450 Bitcoin, currently valued at over $43 million, that he hid from the U.S. District Court handling his 2020 conviction and sentencing for conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and to commit money laundering. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Kai Wah Chan of Homeland Security Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office. Patel plead guilty on September 17, 2024, to one count of obstruction…

EXCLUSIVE: Montenegro Will Extradite Convicted Money Launderer to China

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Montenegro will extradite a man convicted in one of Asia’s largest-ever money laundering cases to his native country of China, where he is wanted for allegedly running illegal gambling operations. Wang Shuiming has lost his appeal against extradition from Montenegro, a court in the capital of Podgorica told OCCRP’s local member center, MANS. “The defendant’s attorney filed an appeal against the aforementioned decision, which was rejected as unfounded,” said Ivana Vukmirović, a spokesperson for the Podgorica High Court, in an email. Wang Shuiming was arrested in Singapore in August 2023 for his role in a money laundering syndicate that cleaned…

As the Azerbaijani Laundromat scandal reaches German court, will there finally be some accountability?

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
For an autocracy, maintaining a clean reputation is a Sisyphean task. While the international news cycle moves quickly from one scandal to the next, some stains are not easily erased. Silencing members of the opposition, journalists, academics and other independent voices can provide temporary relief. Regimes that imprison or intimidate dissidents effectively kill two birds with one stone: from behind bars or under serious threat, it is much harder to raise awareness or criticise the wrongdoings of public officials, while at the same time there are fewer people left to tell the stories of those who have been imprisoned for…

Block Faces $175 Million CFPB Order Over Fraud Failures, Following $80 Million State-Led Crackdown

Fraud, Prosecutions
In a world where swiping right or transferring money can be done in seconds, trust is the bedrock of our digital lives. For Cash App users, that trust has been shaken—and regulators are stepping in with a forceful reminder that convenience can’t come at the cost of consumer protection. Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a $175 million settlement with Block, Inc., the parent company of Cash App. The headline is grim: $120 million is set aside to refund users burned by fraud and mishandled disputes, with another $55 million going to a victims relief fund. But the…

U.S. Transfers $50M in Forfeited Assets to the Republic of Estonia in Recognition of Assistance in the Danske Bank Prosecution and Forfeiture

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
The Justice Department announced today that it entered into an agreement to share $50 million in forfeited assets with the Republic of Estonia (Estonia) in recognition of Estonia’s assistance in the successful prosecution of Danske Bank and related forfeiture. “Coordinating with our foreign law enforcement counterparts is critical in the fight against complex financial crime — which now, more than ever before, is transnational in nature,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s agreement to share $50 million in forfeited funds with Estonia recognizes Estonia’s valuable contribution to the successful…

McKinsey Africa to Pay $122 Million Over Bribery Scheme Involving South African Officials

Bribery, Prosecutions
McKinsey & Company Africa (Pty) Ltd (McKinsey Africa) will pay $122 million to resolve charges of bribing South African government officials in a years-long scheme. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the settlement as part of a coordinated effort with South African authorities, underscoring the growing international push against corporate corruption. Between 2012 and 2016, McKinsey Africa partnered with South African consulting firms to pay bribes to officials at Transnet and Eskom, the state-owned entities responsible for managing South Africa’s infrastructure and energy. These bribes granted McKinsey Africa access to confidential information, helping the firm secure lucrative consulting contracts.…

Senators Demand Accountability from TD Bank Executives as Insider Arrested for Money Laundering

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Senators Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) are turning up the heat on TD Bank, demanding answers about what its executives and employees knew regarding a sprawling money-laundering operation. This operation, spearheaded by Da Ying Sze—a Queens-based individual—funneled more than $470 million from drug sales through the bank. The senators’ inquiry, detailed in a letter to TD Bank CEO Bharat Masrani, signals ongoing scrutiny despite October’s record-breaking $3 billion settlement with the Justice Department. The senators’ letter, obtained by The Wall Street Journal and dated Monday, presses TD Bank to disclose internal knowledge and accountability for the…

EBA Finds Gaps in Combating Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing, Despite Significant Progress

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has unveiled the results of its fourth and final round of reviews, examining how competent authorities across 30 EU/EEA member states are tackling the ever-present risks of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) in the banking sector. With this report, the EBA has completed its comprehensive assessment of the authorities responsible for AML/CFT supervision, offering a detailed snapshot of the progress made—and the work that remains. Authorities have come a long way since the first round of reviews in 2018. The EBA’s findings point to meaningful steps taken towards implementing a more risk-based approach to…

AAR CORP. & Former Executive Face $55 Million Penalty Over International Bribery Schemes

Bribery, Prosecutions
AAR CORP., a global aerospace and defense aftermarket solutions company, has agreed to pay over $55 million to resolve U.S. charges related to bribery schemes involving officials in Nepal and South Africa. Between 2015 and 2020, AAR admitted to conspiring to pay bribes to government officials to secure business with state-owned airlines in Nepal and South Africa. In Nepal, the company secured a contract for the sale of two Airbus A330-200 aircraft to Nepal Airlines Corporation by offering and paying bribes through intermediary companies. In South Africa, AAR obtained an aircraft component support contract with South African Airways Technical, a…

Gen Digital’s $55.1M Settlement Closes the Curtain on a Decade-Long Fraud Battle

Fraud, Prosecutions
After ten years of legal wrangling, Gen Digital Inc. — the tech giant once known as Symantec Corp. — has paid $55.1 million to settle a False Claims Act case involving overcharges to the U.S. government. The hefty payout, which includes $16.1 million in damages and $36.8 million in civil penalties, wraps up one of the longest-running procurement fraud battles in recent memory. The saga began with a whistleblower’s claims that Symantec had deliberately fudged its pricing disclosures during negotiations for a lucrative General Services Administration (GSA) contract. Those alleged misrepresentations not only secured higher payments than the government should…

OPINION: It’s not the system, it’s the people – TD Bank scandal through a different lens

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Stop blaming inferior AML software and arrest the individual responsible for the crime, says former federal agent Robert Mazur. TD Bank and its employees had no idea their crimes would be revealed in May of 2021 when Special Agents of the IRS and DEA arrested Da Ying Sze (AKA David). Six years before his arrest, David had began laundering mountains of cash generated from the sale of drugs, including deadly fentanyl, that killed tens of thousands of residents in the United States. Most of the $653m in currency he cleaned went through the TD Bank laundromat, but six other banks…

Bitcoin Fog Operator Sentenced for Money Laundering Conspiracy

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Operator of Notorious Darknet Cryptocurrency “Mixer” Laundered $400M in Cryptocurrency since 2011A dual Russian-Swedish national was sentenced today to 12 years and six months in prison for his operation of the longest-running bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2011 through 2021, Roman Sterlingov, 36, was involved in operating Bitcoin Fog, the darknet’s longest-running cryptocurrency “mixer.” Over the course of its decade-long operation, Bitcoin Fog gained notoriety as a go-to money laundering service for criminals seeking to hide their illicit proceeds from law enforcement and processed transactions involving over 1.2…

Telefónica Venezolana to Shell Out $85 Million to Settle U.S. Bribery Probe Amid Venezuelan Currency Scandal

Bribery, Prosecutions
Venezuela’s Telefónica Venezolana—a subsidiary of Spanish telecom giant Telefónica S.A.—has agreed to pay over $85 million to resolve allegations of bribery. The telecom firm admitted to a scheme involving payments to Venezuelan officials to gain preferential access to U.S. dollars through a government currency auction, a critical exchange in a nation with tight foreign currency controls. This DOJ settlement spotlights not only the costs of corporate corruption but also the lengths companies sometimes go to work around challenging market conditions in places like Venezuela. In a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) filed in New York federal court, Telefónica Venezolana conceded to…

TD Bank Pleads Guilty to $1.8 Billion in Criminal Penalties, Totaling Over $3 Billion in Regulatory & Civil Penalties

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
TD Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in North America, has pleaded guilty to multiple felonies and agreed to pay a staggering $1.8 billion in criminal penalties, in a resolution that also involves civil enforcement actions totaling over $3 billion. This marks the largest penalty ever imposed under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and signals a significant shift in how U.S. regulators are addressing persistent compliance failures in the banking industry. In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) applied the Bank Secrecy Act’s daily fine provision—$500,000 per day for violations—making it the first-ever daily fine levied…

Alleged Hong Kong Crypto Swindler Tied to Singapore Money Laundering Syndicate

Digital Currencies, Prosecutions
A Chinese national accused of stealing millions from investors after the collapse of a cryptocurrency exchange also owned companies with businessmen linked to major money laundering investigations in Southeast Asia — including one who has been convicted, and another suspect on the run. Hong Kong police have called Su Weiyi the “mastermind” behind Atom Asset Exchange (AAX), which had more than two million users before collapsing in 2022. Su Weiyi allegedly absconded with investors’ money, but returned to Hong Kong where he was arrested on July 18 and charged with theft. The charges have not been proven in court and…

Raytheon to Pay Over $950 Million in DOJ Settlement for Defective Pricing, Foreign Bribery, & Export Control Violations

Bribery, Prosecutions
Raytheon Company, a defense giant and subsidiary of RTX, has agreed to pay over $950 million to settle criminal and civil investigations by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The hefty settlement addresses the company’s involvement in fraudulent pricing schemes, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and breaches of export control regulations under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA). The DOJ has outlined two significant schemes. The first relates to Raytheon’s fraudulent pricing practices on U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contracts, while the second involves foreign bribery in Qatar and the company’s failure to properly disclose such conduct in…

OCC Cracks Down: October Enforcement Actions Highlight BSA/AML Failures & Insider Threats

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has unveiled its latest round of enforcement actions for October 2024, cracking down on banks and individuals for a variety of compliance failures. This month’s actions cover a wide spectrum of issues, from severe violations in Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) programs to internal fraud by individual employees. The most significant penalty on the list goes to TD Bank, which received a hefty $450 million civil money penalty, coupled with a cease-and-desist order, for BSA/AML compliance deficiencies. This penalty continues to send shockwaves through the financial sector. It highlights that when…

New York Man Pleads Guilty in Crypto-Fueled $25M Money Laundering Case

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Prosecutions
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI announced on Friday that Yanbing Chen, a 30-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to his involvement in an international money laundering and drug trafficking conspiracy. The organization, led by Jin Hua Zhang of Staten Island, laundered over $25 million in drug proceeds and illegal funds. Chen delivered $50,000 in drug profits, which were converted to Tether, a cryptocurrency, and transferred to Zhang, minus a fee. The funds were traced to multiple countries, including Hong Kong, India, and Brazil. Additionally, Chen transported five kilograms of cocaine in two separate meetings under Zhang’s direction. Zhang…

New York Regulator Fines Nordea $35 Million for Compliance Failures

Due Diligence, Prosecutions
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has reached a $35 million settlement with Nordea Bank Abp over serious compliance failures and inadequate due diligence practices. The settlement, announced on August 27, 2024, by DFS Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris, follows an extensive investigation into the bank’s role in facilitating potentially illicit financial activities. The investigation, sparked by the 2016 Panama Papers leak, revealed Nordea’s involvement in helping hundreds of customers create tax-sheltered companies using offshore accounts. Further scrutiny uncovered the bank’s connections to major money laundering schemes, including the Russian Laundromat, the Azerbaijani Laundromat, and the Hermitage Capital Allegations.…

Wells Fargo Enters Agreement with OCC to Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering Controls

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., has entered into a formal agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to address deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) and financial crimes risk management practices. The agreement, announced today, outlines a comprehensive plan to enhance the bank’s compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and U.S. economic sanctions laws. The OCC identified several areas of concern, including violations related to internal controls, suspicious activity reporting, customer due diligence, and compliance with sanctions enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In response, Wells Fargo has committed to implementing a wide-ranging…

SEC Charges Macquarie Investment Management Business Trust with $79.8 Million Fraud Settlement

Fraud, Prosecutions
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced today that Macquarie Investment Management Business Trust (MIMBT), a registered investment adviser, has agreed to pay $79.8 million to settle charges of fraud. The case involves the overvaluation of illiquid assets and the execution of unlawful cross trades that favored certain clients over others. According to the SEC’s order, from January 2017 through April 2021, MIMBT managed the Absolute Return Mortgage-Backed Securities strategy, which primarily invested in mortgage-backed securities, collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs), and treasury futures. The firm is accused of overvaluing approximately 4,900 largely illiquid CMOs held in 20 advisory accounts, including…

Walgreens to Pay $106.8 Million in Major Healthcare Fraud Settlement

Fraud, Prosecutions
Retail pharmacy giant Walgreens has agreed to pay $106.8 million to settle allegations of widespread fraud against government health care programs, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday. The settlement resolves claims that Walgreens billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs for prescriptions that were never actually dispensed to patients. The alleged fraudulent activity spanned over a decade, from 2009 to 2020, during which Walgreens is accused of submitting false claims for payment, resulting in the company receiving tens of millions of dollars for prescriptions that were processed but never picked up by beneficiaries. Principal Deputy Assistant…

Swedish Court Sends Ex-CEO of Swedbank to Prison

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Overturning her previous acquittal, a Swedish court sent former Swedbank CEO Birgitte Bonnesen behind bars for 15 months for having made misleading, financially damaging statements about the bank’s poor anti-money laundering operations. An expert called the verdict of the Svea Court of Appeals “unprecedented.” The lower Stockholm District Court had cleared Bonnesen of all charges in January 2023. Following revelations in 2017–2018 that hundreds of billions of dollars could have been laundered through Danske Bank’s operations in the Baltics, Bonnesen was asked by reporters if Swedbank had similar problems with ties to that scandal. “The court concluded that two of…

FCA charges first individual with running a network of illegal crypto ATMs

Prosecutions, Regulation
The FCA has charged Mr Olumide Osunkoya, who is 45 and resides in London, for unlawfully running multiple crypto ATMs without FCA registration. Crypto ATMs are machines that allow you to buy or convert money into cryptoassets. Mr Osunkoya is accused of running crypto ATMs, which processed £2.6m in crypto transactions across multiple locations between 29 December 2021 and 8 September 2023 without the required registration. The charges mark the FCA’s first criminal prosecution relating to unregistered cryptoasset activity under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs). These are also the…

PwC Fined £15m for Fraud Alert Failures

Fraud, Prosecutions
PwC has been fined £15m for failing to alert the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to suspected fraudulent activity at London Capital & Finance (LCF). The FCA, which is fining an audit firm for the first time, said PwC encountered “significant issues” throughout its 2016 audit of LCF, with the company having and provided the Big Four outfit with “inaccurate and misleading information”. A senior individual at LCF also acted aggressively towards auditors. Considerably longer to complete According to the FCA, PwC found the audit very complex and it took “considerably longer to complete” than anticipated with the firm ultimately coming…

SEC Charges NovaTech and its Principals and Promoters with $650m Crypto Fraud

Digital Currencies, Fraud, Prosecutions
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Cynthia and Eddy Petion, along with their company, NovaTech Ltd., for operating a fraudulent scheme that raised more than $650 million in crypto assets from more than 200,000 investors worldwide, including many in the Haitian-American community. The SEC also charged Martin Zizi, Dapilinu Dunbar, James Corbett, Corrie Sampson, John Garofano, and Marsha Hadley for their roles in promoting NovaTech to investors. According to the SEC’s complaint, the Petions operated NovaTech as a multi-level marketing (MLM) and crypto asset investment program from 2019 through 2023. They lured investors by claiming NovaTech would…

Singapore Charges Ex-Bankers with Abetting $2.2 Bn Money Laundering Ring

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Singapore charged two bankers Thursday for their alleged role in abetting clients responsible for a US$2.2 billion money laundering ring, marking the first time that criminal charges have been laid against finance professionals since the scandal came to light. The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) has been trying to clean up its image after allegations of major mismanagement. But those efforts are now overshadowed by dueling lawsuits between the bank and its former president –– with each accusing the other of tarnishing their reputations. A former Georgian defense minister is under investigation for his alleged role in a…

Investigation Goliath: Suspected ringleaders of international crime group charged with €93 million VAT fraud

Fraud, Prosecutions
Three suspected ringleaders of an international criminal group were indicted yesterday at the Regional Court of Dusseldorf (Germany) for a €93 million VAT fraud, following an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Hamburg, code-named Goliath. The three were charged with criminal association and VAT fraud on a large scale. Two of the defendants remain in pre-trial detention. One of the suspects was arrested during an action carried out by the EPPO on 22 November 2023, targeting the international criminal ring. Another suspect – a Danish citizen who had fled to Africa to escape detention – was arrested…

Illinois judge orders $120 million payment in crypto fraud case

Digital Currencies, Prosecutions
An Illinois district judge has ruled in favor of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), ordering Oregon resident Sam Ikkurty and his company Jafia, LLC to pay over $120 million, partly in restitution, to victims of what the CFTC described as a “Ponzi”-like scheme. Judge Mary Rowland of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued the opinion on Monday, which was posted by the CFTC on Wednesday. The ruling stated that Ikkurty and Jafia made “material misrepresentations” and engaged in fraud without proper registration. In a notable part of the order, Judge Rowland classified cryptocurrencies…

U.S. is seizing Los Angeles mansion from family of Armenian politician accused of bribery

Bribery, Prosecutions
The U.S. is seizing a more than 30,000-square-foot Los Angeles mansion from the family of an Armenian politician, a sprawling estate on the Westside which federal prosecutors allege was paid for with millions of dollars in bribes. The home belonging to the family of Gagik Khachatryan is situated in LA’s Holmby Hills neighborhood, wedged between Beverly Hills and Bel Air, and was estimated by U.S. prosecutors to be worth $63.5 million in May 2022. An updated estimated value of the home was not given Monday. But the American government will sell it off for the “highest obtainable market price” and…

Spanish Court Asked to Fine Duro Felguera €160M in Venezuela Alleged Bribery Case

Bribery, Prosecutions
Spanish anti-corruption prosecutors have asked a court to impose a fine of 160 million euros ($173 million) on the engineering and construction company Duro Felguera S.A., which they allege bribed Venezuelan officials in return for securing a contract to build a power plant.Prosecutors have also requested prison sentences and fines for two of Duro Felguera’s previous presidents, as well as Nervis Villalobos, Venezuela’s former energy vice-minister, according to an indictment seen by OCCRP.“All the commissions paid by ‘Duro Felguera’ were aimed at ensuring the company was privileged both in the awarding of the construction of the thermoelectric power plant and…

Ten years after an ICIJ exposé, Danish authorities charge Nordea bank with money laundering violations

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Danish authorities last week indicted Finland-based Nordea, one of Northern Europe’s largest banks, for violating anti-money laundering laws by failing to stop $3.7 billion of suspicious transactions involving Russian clients, shortcomings previously exposed by an International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ investigation a decade ago. The indictment, by the Danish Special Crime Unit (NSK), covers transactions that took place from 2012 to 2015 and is the result of an investigation that lasted nearly eight years. “Nordea failed to adequately investigate the bank’s Russian customers’ transactions and ignored warnings about transactions to exchange offices in Copenhagen,” the NSK said in a statement.…

Money laundering gang jailed over £1.2m IT fraud

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
Five people who helped launder the proceeds of a £1.2m computer scam have been jailed. The fraud targeted elderly and vulnerable people, tricking them into paying out thousands of pounds each to fix non-existent IT problems. Between May 2015 and November 2019 the gang transferred £1,289,837 to two brothers based in India, who had been posing as representatives of HP, Microsoft Norton and Epson to defraud their victims. Amanda Grigg, 66, of Truro, Gena Harrington, 39, of Birmingham, Bindu Devasia, 49, of Kent, Nicholas Alcide, 40, of Birmingham, and Jose Kuriakose, 50, of Kent, were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court…

Epoch Times CFO charged in $67m money-laundering plot

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
The chief financial officer of the Epoch Times news outlet has been arrested over his alleged involvement in a massive money-laundering scheme.  Federal prosecutors allege that Bill Guan, 61, participated in a global plot to launder at least $67m (£52m) of illegal cash to benefit himself and the Epoch Times. According to the indictment, Mr Guan led the outlet’s “Make Money Online” team, which used cryptocurrency to purchase tens of millions worth of crime proceeds.  Mr Guan has not yet entered a plea. If convicted, he could spend more than 30 years in prison.  In a statement on Monday evening,…

Fiji’s former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama jailed for a year

Bribery, Corruption, Prosecutions
Frank Bainimarama, who was Fiji’s prime minister for some 15 years until losing power in 2022, has been jailed for a year after he was found guilty of using his position to shut down a corruption investigation into a prominent university. Once armed forces chief, Bainimarama seized power in a 2006 coup and later won democratic elections in 2014 and 2018. The 70-year-old narrowly lost the December 2022 election to a coalition of parties led by the current prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, but remains a popular figure. Outside the court in Suva on Thursday, a crowd of supporters gathered ahead…

Canada’s anti-money laundering agency imposes $6.7 mln fine on TD Bank

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
May 2 (Reuters) – Canada’s anti-money laundering agency said on Thursday it had imposed its biggest-ever penalty of nearly C$9.2 million ($6.71 million) on TD Bank (TD.TO) The bank has been grappling with regulatory probes over its AML compliance program both at home and in the United States, which have been a drag on the stock’s performance.The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) said the administrative monetary penalty on TD Bank was imposed on April 9 following a compliance examination in 2023. FINTRAC said it found that TD Bank had failed to submit suspicious transaction reports as…

Audit Firm BF Borgers and Owner Charged with Massive Fraud

Fraud, Prosecutions
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has leveled charges against audit firm BF Borgers and its owner, Benjamin F. Borgers. The SEC alleges “deliberate and systemic failures” by the firm to maintain compliance with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in over 1,500 SEC filings. The SEC’s investigation revealed a pattern of misconduct, including false representations to clients about compliance with PCAOB standards, fabrication of audit documentation, and misleading statements in audit reports included in more than 500 public company SEC filings. As part of the settlement, BF Borgers agreed to pay a substantial $12 million civil penalty, with…

NCA secures first Unexplained Wealth Order in Northern Ireland

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has secured the first Unexplained Wealth Order in Northern Ireland against a man suspected of involvement in serious organised crime. The Order compels the man and his wife to explain the source of funds used to construct a property in County Armagh worth approximately £275,000. It was obtained at the High Court in Belfast on Friday (17 May) as part of an ongoing NCA civil recovery investigation.                           NCA investigators believe that the man, who is now resident in the Republic of Ireland, has…