Financial Crime

23rd January 2020

Giuliani told U.S. his Venezuelan client deserves leniency in dirty money case – Parnas

At a lavish August gathering at a private estate in Spain, a wealthy Venezuelan businessman under criminal investigation in the United States introduced Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, to the father of Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaido. The affair was part of a campaign for leniency for the… Read More

15th January 2020

British Tax Havens to Share Data With Russian Authorities

British offshore tax havens will send information about Russian assets registered in their jurisdictions to the Russian tax authorities, despite London and Moscow having cancelled an international agreement which facilitates the sharing of such financial information. Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are set to share details on bank… Read More

14th January 2020

Getting the Economic Crime Plan Done: Why Economic Crime Matters for Johnson’s ‘Global Britain’

The UK’s first ever cross-government, public-private Economic Crime Plan, a collection of policy, legislative and operational commitments, was published just days before the passing of the baton from Theresa May to Boris Johnson. In this respect, the plan could be viewed as a cuckoo in Prime Minister Johnson’s policy… Read More

14th January 2020

Luxembourg’s financial crime watchdog bemoans lack of firepower

Five years after the LuxLeaks revelations, the fight against white collar crime is failing to take off, according to the magistrates in command. This is due to a lack of qualified staff and the increasing complexity of financial transactions. The two men in charge of the fight – Patrick Konsbruck, deputy… Read More

13th January 2020

Danske’s Cost Burden Keeps Growing in an Age of Bank Scandals

At Danske Bank A/S, the cost of adapting to a world intensely focused on financial crime just keeps growing. In an interview in Stockholm, the chief executive of Danske in Sweden, Johanna Norberg, said “the peak” level of investment to meet anti-money laundering requirements has “not yet been reached.”… Read More

7th January 2020

Egrant inquiry uncovered ‘hidden’ Pilatus filing system

A “dual filing system” at the shuttered Pilatus Bank meant key documents may have been withheld from the MFSA and FIAU during a 2016 review of the bank’s operations. The existence of this ‘hidden’ filing system was revealed to the Egrant inquiry during testimony by Pilatus auditors KPMG. KPMG managing… Read More

7th January 2020

Scottish gangster found dead impaled on railings laundered dirty cash for Russian mobsters

Investigators have lifted the lid on a Scottish gangster’s gory death – claiming he was the Russian mob’s top money launderer in the UK. Scot Young, from Dundee, was impaled on railings after he fell from a fourth-floor window at his luxury London home in 2014. At the… Read More

30th December 2019

Asia-Pacific Wealth Migration Trends Heighten Financial Crime Risk

Ongoing political demonstrations in Hong Kong are impacting APAC financial markets by accelerating wealth migration trends and increasing financial crime risk. As the risk profile in the region evolves, regulators increasingly expect financial institutions to leverage technology to meet compliance demands. This unexpected upheaval and changing regulatory landscape should serve… Read More

18th December 2019

UAE shuts accounts of Maltese tycoon accused of journalist’s murder

A Dubai bank shuttered accounts earlier this year of a secret offshore company belonging to a Maltese businessman since charged with the murder of an investigative journalist, two banking officials have said. The businessman, Yorgen Fenech, was charged last month with complicity in the 2017 killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia,… Read More

16th December 2019

UK Regulators Mandating More External Probes in Financial Crime Crackdown: FT

UK regulators are increasingly ordering independent investigations into financial institutions due to concerns over money laundering and white-collar crime, according to data cited by the Financial Times. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE) ordered 51 “skilled persons’ reports” in the 2018-2019 fiscal year—a 16-percent… Read More