News

A new law that gives U.K. officials up to seven months to freeze and investigate suspicious transfers played a key role in foiling the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars from the National Bank of Angola last year, according to legal records and an unpublished report. The measure, which took effect in October 2017, empowers U.K. law enforcement to petition a court to extend a 31-day "moratorium period" on transfers flagged in suspicious activity reports, or SARs, to as long as 217 days with the aim of giving investigators, particularly those working global financial-crime cases, time to gather enough...