Category: Regulatory Fines

Federal prosecutors say the unnamed whale — described only as a Chinese national — made over 100 visits to the Bicycle Hotel & Casino over eight months in 2016 Officials at the Bicycle Hotel & Casino in Bell Gardens, Calif., admitted they filed financial reports for a high roller’s huge cash transactions in the name of the gambler’s assistant, which was against the law. These wagers were too rich for the Department of Justice’s blood. A Los Angeles County casino was hit with a hefty fine for failing to properly alert financial regulators and the Internal Revenue Service when a…

HKMA Takes Disciplinary Actions Against 4 Banks for Contraventions of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (19 November) that it had completed investigations and disciplinary proceedings for four banks under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Chapter 615 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (AMLO) (Note 1). The Monetary Authority (MA) has imposed pecuniary penalties of a total of HK$44,200,000 against China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited (CCBA), CTBC Bank Co., Ltd., Hong Kong Branch (CTBCHK), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited (ICBCA) and UBS AG, Hong Kong…

Britain’s NatWest bank has pleaded guilty to failing to prevent the laundering of nearly £400m. Natwest gave guilty pleas in a London court to three offences of failing to “adequately monitor and therefore prevent money laundering” by one of its customers between 2012 and 2016. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) first brought the case to public attention in March, accusing the bank of paying round £365m into the customer’s accounts – of which around £264m was in cash. “The facts of the case are complex, the likely sentence is a very large fine,” a lawyer for the Financial Conduct Authority…

Leeds’ Victoria Gate Casino (VGC Leeds), trading as Global Gaming Ventures, has been handed a £450,000 penalty package by The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). It comes after a shortfall in the firm’s AML and customer care duties, after an investigation undertaken by the UKGC. These failings, the Commission claims, came from VGC failing to effectively implement its anti-money laundering and safer gambling policies and procedures. The Commission investigated the handling of 10 customers following concerns identified at a compliance assessment in July 2019. Helen Venn, Commission executive director, explained: “These failings were identified as part of our ongoing drive to…

A Malta-based bank has been fined €337,422 for a series of money laundering regulations breaches, including weak oversight over a “very well-known” businessman’s multi-million US Dollar transactions. In an announcement made on October 19, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit said that NBG Bank Malta had breached several anti-money laundering rules. NBG Bank Malta, formerly Finansbank Malta, was established in 2005 and is a subsidiary of NBG Group based in Greece. It services high-net-worth clients and corporations. In one of the files reviewed by the FIAU, it turned out that although a customer had been subject to adverse media reports in…

A law firm owner who ignored anti-money laundering (AML) responsibilities – and even overrode a negative due diligence check – has been banned from holding compliance roles. Silas Ogbonna also failed to undertake a simple internet search that would have told him that one of his clients was a politically exposed person (PEP), triggering extra obligations. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) ruled that he cannot hold the roles of compliance officer for legal practice, compliance officer for finance and administration, money laundering reporting officer or money laundering compliance officer for three years. He was also fined £25,000, which was then…

A New Zealand derivatives trading firm and subsidiary of a Hong Kong company has been fined $770,000 for breaching anti-money-laundering laws over nearly $50 million of suspicious transactions. CLSA Premium New Zealand Limited (CLSAP NZ) admitted it was out of line with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act in a High Court settlement with the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) earlier this year. As part of its agreement with the markets watchdog, CLSAP NZ admitted to failing to conduct enhanced customer due diligence over 12 transactions and failing to conduct customer due diligence in relation to one…

DNB ASA, Norway’s largest financial services group, will pay a fine of NOK 400 million ($48.1 million) for failing to adhere to Norwegian Anti-Money Laundering Act standards. The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) imposed the fine following an inspection of DNB’s anti-money laundering (AML) policies and procedures. Additionally, a separate investigation was conducted into its handling of customer accounts for Icelandic fisheries company Samherji. “The inspection revealed serious breaches in the bank’s compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act,” Finanstilsynet announced Monday in a press release. DNB announced last year the fine was imminent. The details: Finanstilsynet said it found…

Unnamed company fined for a total of eight violations in Ministry of Economy inspection campaign A gold trader in Dubai has been fined a total of Dh1.35 million ($367,597) for eight separate breaches of laws governing money laundering and terrorism financing. The unnamed company was fined as part of the Ministry of Economy’s extensive inspection campaign into Designated Non-Financial Business and Professions (DNFBPs). DNFBPs are a group of non-financial businesses governed by money laundering rules, and include precious metals dealers, property brokers, auditors and corporate services providers that offer company formation services. “Three companies belonging to the group were issued…

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, announced in January 2021 that Capital One would be required to pay a hefty $390 million penalty for AML violations under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The bank admitted to wilfully failing to implement and maintain effective AML procedures to guard against money laundering, also failing to file thousands of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and Currency Transactions Reports (CTRs) with respect to its Cash Checking Group business unit. The violations occurred from (at least) 2008 – 2014, seeing millions of dollars in suspicious transactions go unreported and therefore laundered through the bank into…

Three banking firms have been fined more than £700,000 for breaching anti-money laundering regulations. A Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) investigation found the SGKH entities had failed to show “adequate risk management systems in place”. It included missing minutes from board meetings and a failure to notify the JFSC when rules were breached. The commission said it intended the fines to act as “a deterrent for all regulated businesses”. SGKH Bank, SGKH Trust and SGKH Corporate provide wealth management services from Jersey and form a sub-group of the UK regulated SG Kleinwort Hambros Bank. Between 1 January 2018 and May…

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has levied a fine of $165,000 against Ashish Bhandari – a former relationship manager with a private bank in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) – due to his involvement in breaches of anti-money laundering regulations. The authority has also restricted him from performing any function in connection with the provision of financial services in or from the DIFC. On September 17, 2020, the DFSA decided to take enforcement action against Bhandari for being knowingly involved in breaches of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation from 2011 to 2013 and for obstructing the DFSA in 2017 and…

Malaysian banking group AMMB Holdings Berhad (AmBank) said on Friday it will pay the government 2.83 billion ringgit ($699 million) to settle claims linked to a massive financial scandal at state fund 1MDB, a hefty payment that is expected to have a material impact on the group’s earnings. AmBank Group has been under scrutiny over its role in the alleged theft of $4.5 billion from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a state fund former prime minister Najib Razak set up in 2009. Last year, Najib was found guilty of corruption and money laundering over the transfer of millions of dollars linked to…