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Massive Whistleblower Leak Required Reading for Banks
By Brian Monroe
printThe release of hundreds of U.S. State Department cables as part of a massive leak of sensitive diplomatic communiqu?©s is likely to prompt bank compliance departments to tweak risk rankings. The over 200 documents published Sunday by whistleblower Web site Wikileaks.org detail U.S. diplomatic negotiations, including Iran sanctions, foreign corruption and the implementation of anti-money laundering (AML) laws. Wikileaks, which received the data from an Army intelligence analyst, plans to eventually publish 250,000 cables. Among the disclosures are December 2009 cables naming Saudi Arabian donors as the biggest monetary contributors to terrorism and criticizing Qatari authorities for failing to publicize...
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I've always found it offensive when tabloids use terms like "rat" or "squealer" to describe the actions of those who report or testify about criminal behavior. It's no less offensive when one of the terms is used in defense of attorney-client privilege.
The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday unanimously passed a bill aimed at foreign banks that provide financial services to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Shiite militant group.
A transactional data handover mandated under a $102 million settlement disclosed Tuesday between the U.S. Justice Department and a defunct Beirut bank will likely lead to new financial crime investigations.
As U.S. officials work to shield American prepaid cards from abuse by financial crooks, foreign-issued stored value products remain a relatively easy avenue to move money into the United States anonymously.
A decision by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirming sanctions against Jordan's largest bank for not turning over data on suspicious accounts could leave some financial institutions with an unwanted choice, say attorneys.
The U.S. Treasury Department Friday fined a Sioux Falls, SD bank branch $10 million for not properly reporting instances of suspected structuring and terrorist financing.
Increases in the rates that U.S. states tax cigarette purchasers has led to a rise in tobacco smuggling by organized crime groups and terrorist financiers, say governmental officials.
U.S. officials have launched a criminal investigation after linking data seized at Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan to a Bank Secrecy Act report, counterterrorism investigators said Monday.
The U.S. Justice Department seized $150 million held for a Lebanese financial institution at accounts at five U.S. banks, as part of a crackdown on a purported terrorist financing network.
The promised release of over 2 million Syrian government emails and diplomatic communiqués will create a major challenge for banks and securities firms, say compliance professionals.
A U.S. lawmaker is questioning an IRS decision not to reward whistleblowers who disclose potential violations of Bank Secrecy Act reporting requirements tied to accounts held at foreign financial institutions.
Publicity over the expected disclosure of private banking data on 2,000 prominent clients of Bank Julius Baer and at least two other financial institutions could spur tax authorities to act more quickly on information they already have.
U.S. and Canadian banks are among the over 260 companies asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to reconsider a new federal whistleblower program they say will undermine internal reporting controls.
The disclosure that Saudi Arabia has become one of the world's largest sources of terrorist financing has raised questions about the willingness of intergovernmental groups to clamp down on nations with strong international alliances.
Financial institutions are likely to review their relationships with two Austrian banks after the leak of a U.S. State Department diplomatic cable outlining concerns over the institutions' compliance programs.
A Saudi Arabian bank is challenging the United States' right to subpoena a Saudi national's financial records after the bank's regulator said that compliance with the order would violate privacy laws.
Saudi terrorist financiers are increasingly relying on cash couriers to circumvent the country's anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing laws, according to a report by a U.S. governmental watchdog.
The Qatari government has failed to comply with nearly a third of the international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulatory controls recommended by an intergovernmental watchdog.
Former Bank COO Rudolph Elmer, who has been sued by Julius Baer for allegedly leaking hundreds of the bank's documents suggesting a systemic laxity toward tax evasion and money laundering, said the Swiss laws allow institutions to hide their criminal support for white collar criminals.
Bank Julius Baers sued Wikileaks.org, claiming the organizations violated bank privacy laws by publishing hundreds of documents online that detail the private accounts of bank clients. The documents purportedly show evidence of money laundering and fraud through an offshore branch of the bank.