Financial Crime

6th April 2020

Financial Criminals See Opportunities as Europe Reels from Virus

Criminals are increasingly trying to profit from the turmoil unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic, posing a new challenge to bankers who are expected to continue guarding against illicit financial flows. Austria’s financial regulator on Thursday became the latest authority to warn of a jump in criminal activity as the drastic… Read More

3rd April 2020

EU regulators issue money laundering warning as criminals adapt to Covid-19

Europe’s top banking regulator is instructing financial institutions to pay closer attention to transactions linked to international trade, as the effects of Covid-19 prompt criminal groups to seek new ways of moving illicit funds and goods across borders. In a series of statements issued on Tuesday evening, the European Banking… Read More

2nd April 2020

Morocco’s ‘$65-million’ real-estate swindle

“Give us our money!”, demands a group of home buyers, standing on land that should by now be finished condos — one of many fictitious projects that together comprise what is described as Morocco’s biggest-ever property scam. Adverts on state television had promised dream homes at three for the price… Read More

30th March 2020

Case Closed? Why We Should Review Historic Wildlife Trafficking Cases from a Financial Perspective

It is a sad fact that, even today, enforcement action against the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) usually begins and ends with a seizure of illegal wildlife products. Financial investigations – routine for other serious crimes – are seldom undertaken for IWT. In recent years, however, a growing consensus has… Read More

30th March 2020

PayPal Australia warns external audit into financial crime could hurt results

PayPal Australia has warned the company could take a financial hit after the completion of an external audit into the company’s compliance with financial crime laws. “The company cannot estimate the potential impact, if any, on our business or financial statements at this time,” the company said in the reporting… Read More

30th March 2020

The Northern Irish ghost companies that mask crime worldwide

By David Leask, Peter Geoghegan and Richard Smith openDemocracy — Nikolai Sukhanov is used to flags of convenience. The flags of many nations flutter from the stern of ships on the docks and quays of Nakhodka in Russia’s far east. Owners often register their vessels thousands of miles from home, in countries… Read More

26th March 2020

How Covid-19 is Changing the Organised Crime Threat

It happened: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the strictest curbs on life in the UK during peacetime. This followed the adoption of emergency legislation which, most controversially and among others, gives law enforcement agencies the right to detain people on public health grounds and place them in isolation. Meanwhile, shops have experienced… Read More

25th March 2020

Banks, regulators move to protect customers from wave of coronavirus scams in UK, U.S.

UK banks are stepping up fraud prevention measures to protect customers from scammers eager to exploit the coronavirus pandemic with a whole range of new tricks, including fake sales of medical supplies and bogus government relief schemes. With British households effectively on lockdown, some banks said customers had already been… Read More

23rd March 2020

Coronavirus and Financial Institutions—How Compliance Programs Should Respond

Like any industry, financial services anticipates disruption from the new coronavirus. Government agencies and economists expect most everything—from employment to GDP to inflation—will be affected. As organizations large and small tighten purse strings to brace for impact, how can financial services institutions ensure services are not disrupted—or, even more concerning,… Read More

18th March 2020

Another Kind of Outbreak: COVID-19 as Financial Crime Threat

When the World Health Organization (WHO) designated COVID-19 a ‘pandemic’ earlier this month, it understandably left out another concern linked to the outbreak: how financial crooks might exploit it. Whether it is this virus or another in the future, the significant attention and panic that comes with such outbreaks can… Read More