Three years after a financial crisis that left its banking system in disarray, Cyprus has been rapidly revoking corporate charters in an effort to satisfy intergovernmental bailout demands.
The Bank of England reportedly exerts "strong pressure" on Russia's second largest bank, an arrested Zetas leader's sons tweet incriminating photographs, and more, in this week's news roundup.
Last year, I told you not to believe any of that "best of years, worst of years" stuff à la Charles Dickens with regard to 2012. But if 2013 was less eventful than the prior year, every indication is that 2014 will be "challenging" for financial institutions and regulators.
Cyprus has missed deadlines to improve its anti-money laundering regime under terms brokered last spring to receive a €10 billion euro bailout, according to a review by the European Commission.
Federal officials will weigh whether financial institutions can bank medical marijuana shops, New York's financial regulators asks two financial consultancies for data and more, in this week's news roundup.
Germany's BaFin is reportedly investigating potential AML violations by Deutsche Bank, a U.K. court could order the British government to pay millions to compensate a blacklisted Iranian bank, and more, in this midweek roundup.
U.S. lawmakers threaten to impose sanctions on Russia for harboring Edward Snowden, Switzerland transfers $962 million for backdated taxes, and more, in this week's news roundup.
As the compliance expectations of European regulators grow, banks should proactively move to adopt future changes outlined in proposals for the EU's Fourth Money Laundering Directive, according to the former global head of compliance at ABN Amro.
Some jurisdictions will likely struggle to comply with a call by the world's top anti-money laundering watchdog to assess their own vulnerabilities to financial crime, say industry experts.
A group of investigative journalists reveal the identities of thousands of suspected tax evaders, U.S. prosecutors increasingly turn to a civil fraud statute to prosecute money launderers, and more, in this week's news roundup.
As Cyprus continues its troubled efforts to fund its government, several international banks are looking at something all together different: a quiet exit from its ties to the island nation.
The Reserve Bank of India confirmed that it is investigating three banks for potential money laundering violations, a forthcoming industry survey points to rising compliance salaries, and more, in this midweek news roundup.
The U.S. Treasury Department is nearing completion of a plan to use predictive analytics software to analyze regulatory data and identify possible financial crimes, an official said Tuesday.
An opinion by New York State's highest court could reanimate lawsuits against foreign banks alleged to have maintained accounts for blacklisted terrorist groups, even when the institutions have no physical U.S. presence.
The U.S. Justice Department is planning to appeal a judge's ruling that it does not have the jurisdiction to sue two European banks it believes helped launder nearly $300 million tied to a massive securities fraud.
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc. has agreed to pay the United States $350 million to settle charges that it hid wire transfers with blacklisted companies, the largest sanctions-related penalty to date.
The bank, which is based in London, expects to reach a "resolution" with the U.S. Justice Department, U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and New York District Attorneys office, Lloyd's said in a statement Friday.
Lloyds and the Bank of Cyprus are subject to U.S. jurisdiction because Title 18 USC 1956 (b) grants such extraterritorial reach to U.S. courts and because both signed "Consent of Jurisdiction" letters in order to do business in the U.S., according to the Justice Department.
The fallout from the securities fraud and anti-money laundering case involving the two institutions may continue, suggest compliance consultants, who say financial institutions involved in correspondent transactions with the defendants may face pressure from regulators and law enforcement.
Prosecutors are seeking nearly $300 million in penalties, charging that the two foreign-based banks helped to launder the proceeds of a massive securities fraud involving shares of software maker AremisSoft.