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A London-based charity founded by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has closed its doors almost seven months after it was linked to allegations of money laundering, ACAMS moneylaundering.com has learned.
The U.S. Treasury Department is in the final stages of levying banking sanctions against members of the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, a U.S. counterterrorist financing official said Tuesday.
As international pressure against Syria's crackdown on protesters mounts, efforts by financial institutions to identify transactions related to Syrian arms deals will likely prove fruitless, say analysts.
Financial intelligence units sometimes fail to set out concrete goals and metrics to measure performance, including tracking the number of money launderers convicted, terrorist attacks thwarted and amount of assets seized, according to author Jayesh D'Souza.
Nigeria has topped a regional anti-money laundering watchdog group's list of African countries with poor compliance controls, according to a news report published Wednesday.
Members of an intergovernmental group that shares information on money laundering and fraud are working to improve the financial intelligence units in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the organization's annual report.
Nine jurisdictions, including Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Macau, have joined the Toronto-based international consortium of financial intelligence units known as the Egmont Group. Several of the new members have been the object of critical Financial Action Task Force evaluations in recent years.
Banks are revamping their financial intelligence units to tackle not only money laundering but other crimes, including fraud, as part of an effort to rein in expenses, say compliance professionals.
The U.S. State Department imposed economic sanctions on companies in China, Russia and Venezuela for allegedly selling components that could help Iran, North Korea and Syria develop weapons of mass destruction.
Nigeria should prohibit banks from maintaining anonymous accounts, lower reporting requirements on wire transfers and enact counter-terrorism financing laws, according to a report by an African anti-money laundering watchdog.
The Egmont Group, during an April 2006 meeting, gave Bolivia one year to adopt laws or regulations identifying terrorist financing as a crime.
U.S. Representative William Jefferson pleaded not guilty today to federal charges that he solicited more than $400,000 in bribes to advance business dealings between U.S. companies and Nigerian officials.
The charges against Lagos, Nigeria based United Bank for Africa PLC stem from incidents involving two of the bank's New York branch customer accounts, including one controlled by the bank's former chairman.
Although financial intelligence units (FIUs) have become all the rage, James Richards has long advocated their use by banks in anti-money laundering programs. Richards spoke recently about FIUs and how they are changing the way banks approach AML compliance.
