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Inside scandal-rocked Danske Estonia and the shell-company ‘factories’ that served it

By Simon Bowers, Karrie Kehoe and Holger Roonemaa, ICIJ, 21 September 2020 ICIJ — The Estonian banker was frantic: A whistleblower inside the bank suspected nine anonymous companies — all registered in the United Kingdom — of serious financial crimes and was threatening to go to authorities. “The whistleblower demands… Read More

FinCEN Files: UAE central bank failed to prevent sanctions evasion

The United Arab Emirates’ central bank failed to act on warnings about a local firm which was helping Iran to evade sanctions, the BBC has found. Leaked documents show Dubai-based Gunes General Trading processed $142m (£110m) in suspicious transactions through the UAE financial system in 2011 and 2012. The activity… Read More

By Suitcase And By Wire: How Reza Zarrab Smuggled Russia’s Money

By Tom Stocks, Daniela Castro, Kelly Bloss and Adam Klasfeld, OCCRP, 20 September 2020 OCCRP — Best known for laundering billions of dollars for Iran, notorious gold smuggler Reza Zarrab’s ties to Russia received only passing mention when he was prosecuted in the U.S. in 2016. That was a huge… Read More

9th September 2020

UAE rolls out new system to monitor and curb financial crimes

The UAE rolled out a new smart system named ‘Fawri Tick’ to monitor and curb terrorism financing in the country, the country’s central bank said in a statement on Tuesday. The tool, which is developed by Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), integrates and aggregates various anti-money laundering and counter… Read More

4th September 2020

U.S. blacklists companies for helping facilitate Iran’s exports of petroleum, petrochemicals

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on 11 foreign companies, accusing them of helping to facilitate Iran’s export of petroleum, petroleum products and petrochemicals in violation of American sanctions. The Treasury said it slapped sanctions on six companies based in Iran, the United Arab Emirates and China that it… Read More

3rd September 2020

India’s ED arrests ‘hawala’ operator suspected to have facilitated transfer of over ₹1 lakh crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested notorious “hawala” operator Naresh Jain, who along his accomplices is alleged to have facilitated illegal transactions involving more than ₹95,000 crore in India using over 600 bank accounts. The accused also got transferred about ₹11,500 crore overseas on various pretexts. It is alleged that… Read More

3rd September 2020

UAE makes it mandatory for hawala service providers to register

The UAE has made it mandatory for Hawala service providers in the country to register, as the country strengthens its anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CFT) framework, the Central Bank said in a statement on Monday. The announcement was made following the sixth meeting of the National Committee for… Read More

31st August 2020

Essentra says it’s in the clear after sanction breaches

A FTSE 250 cigarette products supplier that has been under investigation by United States authorities over possible sanctions breaches is not expecting a second fine. Essentra agreed to pay a £530,000 fine for sanctions violations in North Korea last month but the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control… Read More

21st August 2020

U.S. imposes Iran-related sanctions on UAE-based companies

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two United Arab Emirates-based companies, the U.S. Treasury Department said, accusing them of providing material support to Iranian airline Mahan Air. The Treasury in a statement said Parthia Cargo and Delta Parts Supply FZC provided key parts and logistics services for Mahan… Read More

18th August 2020

Trump Administration eyes new phase of Syria sanctions

The Trump administration is readying new rounds of sanctions against Syria, U.S. officials said, planning to expand its blacklist by focusing on financial-support networks outside the war-torn nation in a renewed effort to coerce Damascus into peace talks. As President Bashar al-Assad has secured military and political gains in… Read More

18th August 2020

Malta: Government official accused of money laundering

Malta’s consul to Shanghai was charged with money laundering on Sunday after police discovered a large sum of money hidden in his home. Aldo Cutajar, 55, was remanded in custody after being arraigned in court by the police’s Economic Crimes Unit along with his wife Isabel. The police told the… Read More

7th August 2020

Dubai court tells bank to pay customer Dh4.6 million after his account got hacked

A Dubai commercial court order for a bank to repay a customer Dh4.5 million has been upheld by the Dubai Court of Appeals. The amount is worth of balance, siphoned off from his account. In October last year, the Dubai Commercial Court found the bank responsible for the losses incurred… Read More

6th August 2020

Hezbollah operatives seen behind spike in drug trafficking, analysts say

At first glance, the shipping trailers that arrived at the Italian port of Salerno appeared to contain only paper, rolled up on giant industrial spools as tall as a man. But when an investigator sliced into one of the rolls with an electric saw, he unleashed an avalanche of little… Read More

Must Read

Inside scandal-rocked Danske Estonia and the shell-company ‘factories’ that served it

HSBC moved vast sums of dirty money after paying record laundering fine

European Regulators Failed to Spot Suspicious Money Flooding Through Latvia’s Banks

How banks helped Venezuela’s ‘boligarchs’ extract billions

ING Bank Worked for Russian Money Laundering Network