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Auditors EY accused of pushing out whistleblower, in High Court case

Global auditing firm EY has been accused of pushing out a whistleblower who raised concerns about a client in Dubai, in a case that raises questions for the auditing profession at a time of upheaval. Former EY partner Amjad Rihan claims executives at EY helped its client Kaloti Jewellery International,… Read More

‘Robber baron’ with famous friends set to lose her £40m property empire

Her website once described her as a “poet, mezzo-soprano, designer and exotic Uzbekistan beauty”. Or, as more critical voices have put it, a “robber baron” who purloined hundreds of millions of pounds in bribes. Now another facet of Gulnara Karimova has come to light: former neighbour of Sir Bruce Forsyth. Read More

U.S. Blacklists Foreign Companies Allegedly Supporting Iran’s Petroleum Sector

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday blacklisted four foreign companies for allegedly supporting and facilitating Iran’s petrochemical and petroleum exports, among the latest efforts by Washington to ramp up pressure on Tehran. The Treasury alleged the four companies, based in areas ranging from Hong Kong to Shanghai to Dubai, collectively… Read More

22nd January 2020

Nigeria charges ex-attorney general with financial crimes in $1.3 billion oil deal

Nigeria’s financial crimes watchdog charged a former attorney general suspected of taking bribes to facilitate a $1.3 billion oil block sale, the agency said on Tuesday, in the latest twist in one of the industry’s biggest alleged corruption scandals. An international investigation into the 2011 sale of the offshore oilfield… Read More

21st January 2020

Portugal probes Angola leaks as Eurobic bank distances itself from dos Santos

Portuguese authorities said on Monday they had started investigating media reports concerning Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, while a small bank said it had decided to put an end to commercial relationships with entities she controls. This was the latest fallout from increased scrutiny of Angola’s former first daughter, a… Read More

8th January 2020

Recordings Show Najib’s Effort to Seek Help on 1MDB Scandal

Malaysian investigators played audio recordings of former premier Najib Razak seeking help from people including a member of Abu Dhabi royalty and former prosecutors to try to untangle himself from the 1MDB scandal in 2016. One of the clips show Najib reaching out to Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince… Read More

27th December 2019

Turkey’s Halkbank fails to halt U.S. prosecution for aiding Iran

A federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday rejected a request by Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank to put on hold a federal prosecution accusing it of helping Iran evade U.S. economic sanctions. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said Halkbank would not face irreparable harm if the case proceeded, and that limiting its… Read More

26th December 2019

A Real Estate Empire Built on Dark Money

Since 2012, hundreds of millions of dollars from Kyrgyzstan — one of the poorest countries on earth — have poured into bank accounts in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East on behalf of a single family. Much of that money ended up in an expansive real estate portfolio… Read More

23rd December 2019

Deutsche Bank whistleblower hits back at Dubai regulator

A whistleblower who highlighted suspicious activity at a Dubai firm has hit back after the publication of a damaging finding against her. In October Anna Waterhouse said Dubai regulators had failed to investigate “suspicious circumstances” at Kaloti, the emirate’s biggest gold refiner. Subsequently the regulator found she “acted without integrity”… Read More

20th December 2019

Goldman Is in Talks to Settle Malaysia Fund Scandal

Goldman Sachs is negotiating with federal prosecutors to pay a fine of as much as $2 billion, and have a subsidiary plead guilty to settle claims about its role in a scheme to loot billions from a sovereign wealth fund in Malaysia, according to two people with knowledge of… Read More

20th December 2019

UAE: DFSA decision upheld over ex-Deutsche Bank compliance head

Independent specialist the Financial Markets Tribunal (FMT) has upheld the decision by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to fine Anna Waterhouse $100,000 (£76,438, €89,860). As well as restricting her from being involved in providing financial services in or from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Waterhouse was previously head… Read More

20th December 2019

Egrant inquiry raised red flag on money laundering by Azeri rulers inside Pilatus

Transactions at Pilatus Bank involving the daughters of Azerbaijan ruler Ilham Aliyev and the sons of his minister for emergency situations Kamaleddin Heydarov, show “commonly accepted red flags for money laundering”, a forensic review included in the Egrant magisterial inquiry concludes. On the basis of this suspicion that the… Read More

20th December 2019

Iran sanctions force Brazil beef exporters to re-route shipments

U.S. sanctions against Iran have forced Brazilian beef exporters to re-route shipments through nearby countries, adding to costs but largely maintaining trade flows, according to exporters and trade data compiled by two industry groups. Meatpackers now send much of their Iran-bound beef to other ports in the Middle East, where… Read More

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