Financial Crime

29th November 2019

Top HSBC Risk Head to Take Sabbatical as Bank Faces BOE Warnings

HSBC Holdings Plc’s head of operational risk, who has been in the role for almost six years, has asked to take a sabbatical. Mark Cooke, whose role involves overseeing non-financial risks such as financial crime, staff misconduct and compliance breaches, has requested a sabbatical, the bank said in an email. Read More

27th November 2019

Swedish bank SEB missed money laundering ‘red flags’ in Estonia: TV report

Swedish Television (SVT) reported on Wednesday that it had obtained a list of 194 clients of Swedish bank SEB (SEBa.ST) connected to suspected money laundering in Estonia. The public broadcaster’s investigative show “Uppdrag Granskning” reported that the client list, which also showed about 2,000 transactions, contained “red flags”… Read More

27th November 2019

Money-Laundering Trouble Spot Says It’s Turned Over a New Leaf

After a string of bank closures and a high-level bribery scandal put it at the heart of Europe’s dirty-money storm last year, Latvia declared efforts to clean up its act a success. The Baltic nation of 1.9 million people, once seen by clients in the former Soviet Union as a… Read More

27th November 2019

Pope defends raid on financial unit despite criticism

AP — Pope Francis defended a controversial raid on the Vatican’s financial watchdog agency, saying Tuesday it showed the Vatican’s in-house system of checks was working. Francis said he authorized the Oct. 1 raid after the Vatican criminal prosecutor came to him with evidence of corruption involving a Holy See investment… Read More

26th November 2019

Westpac Issues Response Plan to Address AML/CTF Failings

Westpac has released its response plan to the AML/CTF issues raised by AUSTRAC last week as it launched civil penalty proceedings against the bank. According to AUSTRAC’s statement of claim, Westpac contravened the AML/CTF laws on 23 million instances between 2013 to and 2019. Among the bank’s failures, AUSTRAC… Read More

26th November 2019

Despite Scandal, Cyprus Will Keep Selling Golden Visas, EU Passports

Cyprus has no plans to stop selling Golden Visas to rich foreigners who invest in the country despite the government’s admission there were laws that let them acquire residency permits and European Union passports without being property vetted – leading to 26 being removed. Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides said… Read More

22nd November 2019

Swedbank May Have Breached US Sanctions Against Russia, SVT Reports

Swedbank AB may have violated U.S. sanctions against Russia by facilitating the transfer of about 10 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from gun maker Kalashnikov to a U.S. subsidiary in Florida, according to a report by Swedish state broadcaster SVT. After Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the U.S. imposed sanctions… Read More

21st November 2019

ECB flags failings in dirty-money screening at Malta’s top bank

Malta’s biggest bank failed for years to detect or address risks involving thousands of payments, the European Central Bank (ECB) said, detailing “severe shortcomings” that could have allowed money laundering or other criminal activities. A confidential ECB report seen by Reuters said Bank of Valletta (BoV) BOV.MT had not dealt… Read More

18th November 2019

NAB faces ‘significant’ penalties for money laundering breaches

NAB is facing a significant financial penalty from the financial intelligence regulator after self reporting a large number of breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws and says there may be more to come. The bank is still working on fixing shortcomings within its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing systems… Read More

15th November 2019

Activists Worry Britain’s Financial Watchdog Is Losing Its Zeal

About seven years ago, the U.K. agency set up to prosecute errant executives and publicly traded companies started taking on some meaty cases. The Serious Fraud Office investigated everything from derivative traders to top brass at blue-chip darlings Barclays Plc and engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc. Now some academics,… Read More