A U.S. official's threat last month of economic sanctions against four Chinese banks is likely to be toothless given economic and enforcement hurdles, say sanctions analysts.
U.S. officials have secretly solicited and, at times, received data from foreign banks on accounts tied to Iranian entities, without notifying the accountholders of the requests, say sources.
U.S. officials believe that representatives of at least two major American banks agreed to help top Afghan officials disguise hundreds of millions of dollars in corrupt funds, according to a person familiar with the matter.
A Web site that purports to list the foreign correspondent relationships of many of Iran's financial institutions could cause U.S. institutions to rethink their ties to well-known international banks.
The United Arab Emirates, a key oil producer situated between Iraq and Iran, has failed to adopt a coherent national strategy against money laundering and terrorist financing, despite the country's rapid influx of foreign capital over the past decade, the IMF said Friday.