High-profile sanctions cases are spurring large banks and third-party software vendors to improve how they identify when counterparts and clients secretly act on behalf of blacklisted entities, say compliance experts.
The U.S. Justice Department has issued a rare letter exculpating a former top American Express banker fired in the wake of a multimillion-dollar anti-money laundering deferred prosecution agreement reached in August 2007.
The Royal Bank of Scotland will pay the United States $500 million over Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions violations committed by the now defunct ABN Amro, U.S. officials said Monday.
A Milwaukee-based company sues American Express for failing to block illegal transactions and Royal Bank of Scotland discloses that the U.K. Financial Services Authority is investigating it, in this week's news roundup.
We never said compliance professionals had it easy, and 2010 doesn't look to be a year when things will be any better for the anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing industry.
A Spanish judge's use of universal jurisdiction in a case involving a bank's alleged role in laundering money for Augusto Pinochet could affect how countries cooperate in prosecuting financial crimes.
A former American Express compliance officer is facing an uphill battle in his efforts to win $7.5 million from the bank and an apology from the U.S. Justice Department, say lawyers.
A group of 90 American, Israeli and Canadian citizens are suing American Express Bank and Lebanese Canadian Bank for $650 million, alleging the institutions provided financial services to blacklisted terror group Hizbollah.
Financial institutions are struggling to determine how to comply with a federal ban on "facilitating" companies and individuals that do business with OFAC sanctioned countries, say compliance experts.
The Republic of the Netherlands must improve communication between agencies that investigate money laundering and terrorist financing and make better use of the suspicious transaction reporting information provided by financial institutions, according to a government audit report released Tuesday.
Rick Small, head of global compliance at GE Money, joins American Express Co. this month as vice president of anti-money laundering and sanctions risk management. Separately, Wachovia Bank has hired Dan Soto, former chief compliance officer at RBC Centura, to head its AML efforts.
Two Venezuelan businessmen accused by U.S. prosecutors of acting as clandestine agents for Hugo Chavez's government have dropped a lawsuit against American Express Bank International related to $25 million the men had placed with the bank.
Getting all the necessary know-your-customer information from foreign nationals who are private banking clients can be a daunting task, in part because many of the wealthy individuals who use these services are highly secretive.
Banks seeking to acquire other financial institutions must carefully absorb, analyze and monitor the customer information and transaction history of its target not only to ensure it is paying a fair price but also to protect itself against possible regulatory trouble down the road.
The $1.1 billion sale to U.K. bank Standard Chartered PLC follows enforcement actions issued in August requiring American Express Bank Ltd., the American Express private banking subsidiary, to pay $65 million in penalties and acknowledge its responsibility for AML and Bank Secrecy Act failures.
The biggest challenge banking compliance departments face is the internal struggle for adequate resources and attention from senior management, says Markus Schulz, chief operating officer of the anti-money laundering compliance department for ABN AMRO in the Netherlands.
But the bad news continued this week for the company as its American Express Bank Ltd. unit reached an agreement on Tuesday with the New York State Banking Department to improve its AML regime.
The penalty, the largest against a U.S. institution for AML violations, resulted from a four-year investigation of a Colombian narcotics and money laundering operation.
In a letter sent to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox on Thursday, Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said the list unfairly includes companies that have divested, or have negligible business dealings, in these countries.
American Express Co. has set aside $60 million for regulatory and legal matters related to a U.S. Justice Department investigation of anti-money laundering compliance programs at its private banking operation.