Four months after the enactment of the EU's latest anti-money laundering directive, British officials are considering how to navigate new standards for political accounts in light of complaints from lawmakers.
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?
A European Parliamentary committee Thursday approved far-reaching changes to the EU's rules combating money laundering and terrorist financing, including an amendment that would require nations to publicize corporate owners.
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.
British asset management firms are failing to adequately address their vulnerabilities to money laundering, bribery and corruption, the United Kingdom's chief financial regulator said Thursday.
Calls for a survey of how U.S. banks monitor high-risk accounts are likely to be ignored even if such a review would expose anti-money laundering compliance gaps, say industry 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.
A Miami-based bank is expected to agree to pay between $10 million and $15 million to the U.S. government in the next month for Bank Secrecy Act violations, according to individuals familiar with the matter.
An ousted Tunisian leader's transfer of suspect funds into Western bank accounts highlights the pitfalls financial institutions face when they maintain relationships for foreign political leaders, say analysts.
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.
Foreign government officials with U.S. accounts are increasingly banking at smaller financial institutions that are vulnerable to financial abuse because of scant compliance resources, say analysts.
A New York grand jury Wednesday indicted alleged Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout for using shell companies and New York banks to buy planes in violation of U.S. sanctions.
The Central Bank of Uruguay has issued an official list of politically-connected individuals in a wide variety of government or quasi-government positions to aid banks and law enforcement in due diligence and criminal investigations.
International efforts to combat corruption associated with the political elite are only now beginning to bear fruit, buoyed by maturing anti-money laundering programs, say compliance consultants.
Whether political figures like Augusto Pinochet require extra scrutiny from financial institutions that serve them long after they leave office may change in European Union nations under a 2004 AML directive expected to be implemented union-wide this year, according to analysts.
The federal government should issue a list of politically exposed persons to help banks identify them, according to former Financial Crimes Enforcement Network director William Fox.