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European PEP Standards May Weaken Anti-Money Laundering Efforts, Analysts Say
By Brian Orsak
printIn anti-money laundering circles, the name Augusto Pinochet remains a warning. The once powerful Chilean dictator was indicted for tax fraud in November 2006, a month before he died, after investigators turned up evidence that he and his associates laundered at least $100 million through more than 125 U.S. bank accounts. For some financial institutions, that disclosure was devastating. Washington D.C.-based Riggs Bank, for example, was hit with a $25 million civil money penalty for Bank Secrecy Act violations and forced to sell itself in July 2004 because of financial losses stemming from the case. Pinochet became the posthumous paragon...
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A European Parliamentary committee Thursday approved far-reaching changes to the EU's rules combating money laundering and terrorist financing, including an amendment that would require nations to publicize corporate owners.
British asset management firms are failing to adequately address their vulnerabilities to money laundering, bribery and corruption, the United Kingdom's chief financial regulator said Thursday.
Calls for a survey of how U.S. banks monitor high-risk accounts are likely to be ignored even if such a review would expose anti-money laundering compliance gaps, say industry experts.
One out of every three British banks is unwilling to turn away customers with an "unacceptable" level of risk for money laundering, the United Kingdom's chief financial regulator said in a report Wednesday.
A Miami-based bank is expected to agree to pay between $10 million and $15 million to the U.S. government in the next month for Bank Secrecy Act violations, according to individuals familiar with the matter.
An ousted Tunisian leader's transfer of suspect funds into Western bank accounts highlights the pitfalls financial institutions face when they maintain relationships for foreign political leaders, say analysts.
After 11 days of testimony and three days of deliberations, a Texas jury found former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay guilty on Wednesday of laundering nearly $200,000 in illicit corporate donations.
Foreign government officials with U.S. accounts are increasingly banking at smaller financial institutions that are vulnerable to financial abuse because of scant compliance resources, say analysts.
The trial of former U.S. lawmaker Tom DeLay for allegedly laundering campaign funds will likely hinge on whether Texas state prosecutors can prove he attempted to cover up corporate donors, say lawyers.
An intergovernmental group said Wednesday that it was considering asking countries to make tax evasion a predicate crime of money laundering and to issue tougher AML standards on political figures.
Two initiatives to recover assets embezzled by corrupt political leaders will result in banks receiving more subpoenas and data requests from law enforcement, say analysts.
A U.S. Senate subcommittee called for reforms Thursday to better detect when corrupt foreign politicians hide dirty money in the United States, including the implementation of federal beneficial ownership rules.
The Central Bank of Uruguay has issued an official list of politically-connected individuals in a wide variety of government or quasi-government positions to aid banks and law enforcement in due diligence and criminal investigations.
International efforts to combat corruption associated with the political elite are only now beginning to bear fruit, buoyed by maturing anti-money laundering programs, say compliance consultants.
A French money laundering and arms trafficking trial involving more than 40 politically-connected individuals and their wealthy associates may turn up damaging information about the private banking clients of major banks, say consultants.
A U.S. federal grand jury indicted Puerto Rico's governor and two of his political aids on honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering Tuesday.
Romania and Bulgaria, the two newest members of the European Union, are among a number of EU nations that are unlikely to adopt sweeping new anti-money laundering measures by a December 15 deadline, according to public officials and AML professionals.