A dearth of trained staff, ineffective mutual evaluations and questions raised by last year's audit of Cypriot efforts to foil financial criminals motivated an intergovernmental group's adoption this month of new quality controls.
Although three of the world's largest financial institutions will soon open or expand offices in Iraq, don't expect them to take on new and risky clients in the country any time soon.
The U.S. Treasury Department lifted sanctions from a British resident whose conviction more than 20 years ago on charges of attempting to transport nuclear triggers to Iraq was quashed by an English court.
The U.N. Security Council voted a third round of sanctions against Iran over its alleged ambitions to develop nuclear weapons. Fourteen of the 15 members of the Security Council supported a measure calling for tighter monitoring of Iranian financial institutions, travel bans, and cargo inspections.
An executive order, issued by President Bush on July 17, requires U.S. financial institutions to block, or freeze, the transactions of people or organizations that commit or "pose a significant risk of committing" a violent act intended to undermine Iraqi stability.
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