News
Judge’s Pursuit of Pinochet Funds Could Open Legal Avenues for Asset Forfeitures
By Colby Adams
printA 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. Madrid-based judge Baltasar Garzon has called on the former wife of the deceased Chilean dictator and three employees of Santiago-based Banco de Chile to pay a $77 million bond as part of the court's investigation into whether the four individuals helped Pinochet launder money internationally, according to Nov. 30 reports by the Associated Press and Reuters. The Spanish court's criminal investigation began in 2007 after the Fundacion de Salvador Allende,...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
Follow the headlines and you'll find an all too common story: the political winds shift, a leader is deposed and a fortune in dirty money is uncovered in a warren of offshore accounts. But why did no one stop the plundering sooner?
The Bank of England reportedly exerts "strong pressure" on Russia's second largest bank, an arrested Zetas leader's sons tweet incriminating photographs, and more, in this week's news roundup.
Large banks need to clearly delineate which senior executives are responsible for Bank Secrecy Act compliance violations, the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency said in a speech Monday.
An influential Senate subcommittee will hear testimony on tax evasion through offshore banks, Switzerland agrees to follow automatic data exchange standards and more, in this week's news roundup.
Last year, I told you not to believe any of that "best of years, worst of years" stuff à la Charles Dickens with regard to 2012. But if 2013 was less eventful than the prior year, every indication is that 2014 will be "challenging" for financial institutions and regulators.
The U.S. Justice Department seizes digital funds tied to an Internet black market, Republicans line up behind effort to fight FATCA and more, in this week's news roundup.
Ahead of expected anti-money laundering regulations for investment advisers, some private equity firms may find themselves subject to such oversight for a reason few would have guessed: their fee structures.
Lawmakers should expand financial safe harbor protections to allow banks to better share their suspicions about money laundering and its predicate crimes, a top U.S. regulatory official said Sunday.
Amid all of the political rhetoric and bombast that accompanied television coverage of the 16-day government shutdown last month, one question never seemed to get any airtime: what did it all mean for the financial compliance industry?
JPMorgan Chase launches AML SWAT team as the bank's legal costs mount, Turkey blacklists over 350 entities in an effort to comply with United Nations sanctions, and more, in this week's news roundup.
Federal officials will weigh whether financial institutions can bank medical marijuana shops, New York's financial regulators asks two financial consultancies for data and more, in this week's news roundup.
Germany's BaFin is reportedly investigating potential AML violations by Deutsche Bank, a U.K. court could order the British government to pay millions to compensate a blacklisted Iranian bank, and more, in this midweek roundup.
The United States has done little to address gaps identified in 2006 by an international anti-money laundering watchdog, despite a follow-up national review expected within the next two years, say consultants.
U.S. lawmakers threaten to impose sanctions on Russia for harboring Edward Snowden, Switzerland transfers $962 million for backdated taxes, and more, in this week's news roundup.
As the compliance expectations of European regulators grow, banks should proactively move to adopt future changes outlined in proposals for the EU's Fourth Money Laundering Directive, according to the former global head of compliance at ABN Amro.
Canada's primary financial regulator is looking into whether Bank of Montreal violated anti-money laundering rules following the issuance of two enforcement actions Friday by federal U.S. agencies, a spokesperson confirmed.
The median salaries of compliance officers tasked with identifying money laundering and other financial crimes rose nearly six percent from 2011 to 2012, according to an industry survey released Thursday.
The Chilean government has filed lawsuits against four banks it says either negligently or deliberately helped former dictator Augusto Pinochet hide $26 million in stolen funds.
Top executives at Riggs Bank were actively involved in the handling of Augusto Pinochet's accounts at the bank and instructed bank employees to keep the true ownership of his accounts a secret.
A Chilean judge that is investigating Augusto Pinochet's accounts at Riggs Bank has questioned the ex-Chilean dictator's wife and family about the origin of Pinochet's funds - but no one seems to know.