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Organized Crime, Terrorists Turning to Counterfeit Goods to Raise, Launder Money, Say Consultants
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Federal regulators and law enforcement agencies are using Bank Secrecy Act data to identify financial transactions tied to Islamic State, the Sunni terrorist group operating in Syria and Iraq.
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Three recently adopted international treaties drafted to foster trade between the Americas and Europe will also make it easier for financial criminals to launder money, say attorneys and former investigators.
Faced with raised compliance expectations, many large financial institutions are expanding the types of corporate clients they ask to implement anti-money laundering controls to include import-export businesses, payroll companies and payday lending firms.
Criminals are exploiting inadequate safeguards in free trade zones to launder money, evade taxes and illegally ship material used to build weapons of mass destruction, according to an intergovernmental group.
The U.S. Treasury Department's financial intelligence unit issued guidance Thursday on how to spot and report transactions tied to trade-based money laundering, a type of crime on the rise.
The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday unanimously passed a bill designed to collect billions of dollars in lost state tax revenue and block terror financiers from profiting from black market cigarettes.
Though mobile banking and stored value cards have created new opportunities for financial crimes, many terrorist organizations still rely on petty fraud to raise money, at times through financial institutions, according to a former U.K. terror investigator.
Financial institutions providing credit in international transactions should check for suspicious activity pointing to trade-based money laundering, a banking consortium said Thursday.
Financial intelligence units should better share data on counterfeiting with their counterparts in countries known to export a large number of fake goods, according to an intergovernmental report issued Tuesday.
FATF's new president talks to reporter Larissa Bernardes about the organization's plans to revisit its 40 + 9 recommendations and address emerging money laundering threats.
Though headlines are focused on the subprime mortgage crisis and recessionary fears, criminals are still finding ways to launder funds, including through trade-based finance , says Elaine Carey, Senior Vice President and National Director of Control Risks, an independent risk consultancy office.
A federal judge's ruling that online auctioneer eBay is not responsible for determining whether items sold on its website are counterfeit is likely to increase online vulnerabilities to money launderers, say analysts.
Countries need to establish training programs to help bank regulators and law enforcement agents detect the growing problem of trade-based money laundering, FATF said in guidance issued Tuesday.
The United Kingdom may turn over trade data to U.S. officials in exchange for access to a U.S. computer system designed to detect trade-based money laundering, according to the British customs service.
The growth of the online auction industry, which is not subject to anti-money laundering requirements, has translated into opportunity for criminals to launder ill-gotten cash because there are few checks on the legitimacy of online transactions, say AML compliance professionals.
Evidence that high-profile terrorist groups are increasingly seeking to move money for their operations under the guise of legitimate trade has spurred financial experts to push for greater regulation, compliance professionals say.
The Financial Action Task Force, the global anti-money laundering watchdog, may issue a formal recommendation on standards to minimize the use of international trade to help launder money and finance terrorism, a person familiar with the organization says.
Marc Hambach, an assistant director of the Dubai Financial Services Authority and head of its AML department, spoke with reporter Brian Orsak about the process of developing regulations for one of the fast growing financial hubs in the world.
After a two-year delay, the U.S. government on Thursday released an anti-money laundering (AML) strategy focused on nine areas including money services businesses and trade-based finance. It did not include plans for combating terrorist financing, a break from previous strategies.
