AML

24th June 2020

BaFin Efficacy Called into Question for Wirecard Handling

BaFin (Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) is under fire for failing to properly respond to multiple red flags related to an accounting fraud at Wirecard, a German payments firm which now appears to have misplaced EUR 1.9 billion. Last Thursday (18 June), Wirecard revealed that it was unable to… Read More

24th June 2020

Pakistan: court to indict ex-president Zardari, others on July 7

An accountability court (AC) in Islamabad has decided to indict former president Asif Ali Zardari, Hussain Lawai, Anwar Majeed, others in money laundering case on July 7. According to details, the NAB court has decided to indict the accused in a money laundering case via video link sessions due to… Read More

24th June 2020

University student and boyfriend arrested on suspicion of laundering US$46 million in Hong Kong

A Hong Kong university student and her boyfriend have been arrested on suspicion of laundering more than HK$360 million (US$46 million) through their bank accounts, according to police. The 22-year-old woman, in her fourth year at university, and her 32-year-old unemployed boyfriend were detained when officers raided his home in… Read More

24th June 2020

New Zealand’s FMA takes CLSAP NZ to court for alleged anti-money laundering breaches

The Financial Markets Authority is taking a company to court over nearly $50 million worth of transactions that it alleges breached the anti-money laundering act. The authority has filed proceedings in the High Court at Auckland against CLSA Premium New Zealand Ltd, formerly KVB Kunlun New Zealand Ltd. CLSAP NZ… Read More

24th June 2020

Revealed: Scottish property worth billions owned by tax haven firms

Foreign companies own £4.4 billion worth of Scottish property, The Ferret can reveal, leading to calls for greater transparency to stop Scotland losing out on tax revenue. Concerns have also been raised about the need for urgent action to stop criminals using opaque foreign companies to invest in Scottish property… Read More

23rd June 2020

Ex-banker hid private money deals from employers, approved loans despite conflict of interest, prosecutors say

A former loan officer with Rocky Mountain Bank failed to disclose millions of dollars in private financial dealings he had with a bank customer when signing off on bank loans to that person, prosecutors told a jury on Monday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Rubich said Stephen Phillip Casher approved a… Read More

23rd June 2020

Sri Lanka’s ‘Special Deposit Account’ Prompts FATF ‘Grey List’ Concerns

The recent introduction of the so-called ‘Special Deposit Account’ (SDA) may risk Sri Lanka falling back into the ‘grey list’ of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force). The SDA is a no-questions-asked deposit account designed to attract Diaspora funds into the country, and to entice foreign direct investment, as the… Read More

23rd June 2020

Hong Kong regulator fines Guotai Junan unit $3.25 million

Hong Kong’s market watchdog fined a unit of Chinese securities broker Guotai Junan Securities HK$25.2 million ($3.25 million) for “multiple internal control failures” concerning anti-money laundering and other areas. Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong) had failed to detect numerous potentially suspicious transactions or report them appropriately, the Securities and Futures… Read More

23rd June 2020

UK Financial Watchdog Warns Crypto Firms to Register Before End of June

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has told crypto businesses it will need half a year to fully process applications before the hard deadline in January. The U.K.’s chief financial regulator announced Monday that any company carrying out “cryptoasset activity in the U.K.” must have submitted their completed applications –… Read More

23rd June 2020

Zimbabwe anti-corruption body starts audit of the rich

Zimbabwean authorities say people who cannot explain where their wealth came from are in danger of having their assets seized even if courts clear them of a corruption allegation. The new operation was “an intensive lifestyle audit” of the rich, said the chairman of Zimbabwe’s anti-corruption commission Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo. Read More