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Nordic Banks Pinched by Anti-Money-Laundering Compliance Costs

Efforts to improve anti-money-laundering controls continue to weigh on the financial results of Nordic banks, which have faced allegations in recent months of moving dirty money. The region’s largest lenders— Swedbank AB, Nordea Bank ABP and Danske Bank A/S—said this week that investments in new compliance systems and… Read More

Facebook’s Libra gets stark warning from G-7 finance chiefs

AP — Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven rich democracies issued a stark warning on Thursday that cryptocurrencies like the Libra digital money recently unveiled by Facebook should not be allowed before “serious regulatory and systemic concerns” are addressed. France, which this year chairs the G-7 gatherings on topics… Read More

Drugs, Guns and Robberies Lead to Freezes on 8 U.K. Properties

A U.K. court froze 10 million pounds ($12.5 million) of property that authorities suspect was bought with money from drug trafficking, armed robberies and supplying firearms. On July 12, the National Crime Agency secured a so-called Unexplained Wealth Order against eight properties owned by an unidentified businessman in the north… Read More

19th July 2019

U.S. sanctions network selling materials for Iran nuclear programme

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on an international network of companies and their agents it said were involved in the procurement of materials for Iran’s nuclear programme. They are the first punitive steps by Washington since Tehran announced earlier this month it would increase its levels of enriched… Read More

19th July 2019

Bitcoin craze hits Iran as US sanctions squeeze weak economy

AP — Iranians feeling the squeeze from U.S. sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy are increasingly turning to such digital currencies as Bitcoin to make money, prompting alarm in and out of the country. In Iran, some government officials worry that the energy-hungry process of “mining” Bitcoin is abusing… Read More

19th July 2019

Ex-Goldman Banker in Plea Talks To Avoid U.S. Trial Over 1MDB Charges

Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker Roger Ng is still in plea talks to avoid a U.S. trial on charges that he violated American anti-bribery laws and conspired to launder money embezzled from Malaysia’s state investment fund 1MDB. At a hearing Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn,… Read More

19th July 2019

Asia-Pacific meth drug trade worth up to $61 billion, U.N. says

Transnational crime groups are trafficking vast quantities of methamphetamine made in Southeast Asia, the United Nations said on Thursday, putting the value of the Asia-Pacific market for the drug between $30.3 billion and $61.4 billion. The explosion in the meth trade, from an estimated $15 billion in 2013, comes as… Read More

19th July 2019

Canadian police nab nine suspected members of powerful Mafia clan

Canadian police on Thursday said they had arrested nine suspected members of a powerful Mafia clan with roots in southern Italy involved in money laundering and illegal gambling in the Toronto area, seizing C$35 million ($26.8 million) in assets, including five Ferraris. Over three days, police raided 48 cafes, businesses… Read More

19th July 2019

Police need intercept tools as mobile networks develop: Europol

European law enforcement agencies set to lose the ability to tap criminals’ mobile devices with the launch of 5G technology must be brought into discussions earlier when communications networks are modernised, the new head of Europol told Reuters. Appealing to EU leaders for greater powers to fight tech-savvy criminals, Catherine… Read More

18th July 2019

Japan to lead development of SWIFT network for cryptocurrency: source

Japan’s government is leading a global push to set up an international network for cryptocurrency payments, similar to the SWIFT network used by banks, in an effort to fight money laundering, a person familiar with the plan said on Thursday. Tokyo aims to have the network in place in the… Read More

18th July 2019

Swedbank Slashes Dividend as Baltic Dirty-Money Probes Drag On

Swedbank AB acknowledged it will no longer be able to live up to its goal of paying out one of the highest dividend ratios in the Nordic finance industry. Sweden’s oldest bank, which is dealing with the fallout of a money laundering scandal that… Read More

18th July 2019

G7 finance chiefs pour cold water on Facebook’s digital coin plans

Group of Seven finance chiefs cast a cloud over prospects for Facebook’s Libra digital coin on Wednesday, insisting tough regulatory problems would have to be worked out first. The massive social media company’s plan to launch a digital coin has met with a chorus from regulators, central bankers and governments… Read More

18th July 2019

U.S. judge sentences Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ to life plus 30 years

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the Mexican drug lord found guilty of running a murderous criminal enterprise that smuggled tons of drugs into the United States, was sentenced by a U.S. judge on Wednesday to spend the rest of his life in prison. Guzman berated the U.S. justice system, and a… Read More

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Libra: four reasons to be extremely cautious about Facebook’s new currency