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?
Ukraine's widespread protests and weakened political stability are likely to prompt nervous investors and corrupt officials alike to move their money abroad, say economic analysts.
A Berlin-based advocacy group said Tuesday that Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia remained the least trusted nations in the world for the second year in a row.
Complex offshore financial structures and shortcomings in international legal assistance agreements are jamming efforts to repatriate funds considered stolen by former North African leaders, say asset recovery experts.
Three intergovernmental groups are questioning the effectiveness of anti-money laundering controls meant to curb abuses of corrupt political figures who steal from their countries.
The Federal Reserve issues a cease-and-desist order against Royal Bank of Scotland for AML violations, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. hands out three AML-related enforcement actions, and more, in this week's roundup.
Despite public rhetoric about freezing the assets of corrupt dictators, less than three percent of the funds stolen by kleptocrats are ever returned to looted countries, according to Steffen Binder, co-founder of My Private Banking, a research and networking Web site for clients of private banks.
A Russian law that prohibits corporate bribes and raises the ceiling on punitive fines isn't likely to impede businesses from offering illegal incentives to win lucrative contracts, say political observers.
More sensitive diplomatic communiqués leaked by Wikileaks.org, prosecutions against former UBS AG account holders for tax evasion continue, and more, in this week's roundup.
Up to 67 percent of the estimated $859 billion in illicit funds moved out of developing countries between 2002 and 2006 ended up in banks in developed nations, according to a report released Thursday.
The U.S. Justice Department continues to seized more than $3.2 million in nearly 400 accounts tied to narcotics dealers, Transparency International published its annual corruption report and more, in this weeks roundup.
Global corruption is antithetical to economic growth, according to Transparency International, an organization known for its yearly publication of the Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks 180 countries by their levels of corruption.
The United Nations and World Bank estimate that $45 billion a year is lost to corruption, which contributes to poverty, disease and environmental destruction, according to Jack Smith of the Caux Roundtable, a group that will try to recover pilfered assets when it launches in January.
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.
At least four international banks with operations in the United States are in negotiations with the Chilean government to repatriate as much as $40 million tied to former dictator Augusto Pinochet, an attorney involved with the case confirmed Friday.
Macau is today not only one of the most active gambling centers in the world, but also one of the most vulnerable to money laundering, say compliance experts.
High-level corruption in Russia continues to thwart government efforts to counter money laundering and terrorist financing in the country, a European anti-money laundering watchdog said in a report made public Thursday.
Federal prosecutors say at least seven individuals, including two ex-municipal tax officials and a former Bank of America employee, helped steal more than $20 million from the Washington, D.C., government over several years by cashing fake property tax refunds and laundering the proceeds.
U.S. Army Major John Cockerham made a lot of money selling his influence as a contracting officer to guarantee contractors would win government bids, according to federal investigators. But he was tripped up by his efforts to launder $9.6 million in bribes, authorities say.
French authorities are seeking to extradite Noriega following his release in September from a U.S. prison to prosecute him for allegedly laundering more than $3.15 million.