News
U.S. Blacklists Russian, Chinese Companies for Allegedly Aiding WMD Proliferators
By Brian Monroe
printThe 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. The department said, in an announced published in the Federal Register Thursday, that it had blacklisted13 entities in these countries because they provided components that "have the potential of making a material contribution to" weapons such as cruise and ballistic missile systems, among others. The latest U.S. sanctions focused on shipbuilding operations in China and arms and military dealers in Russia and Venezuela. On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Subscribe
Learn More
Related News
At its highest levels, Russian corruption over the past 20 years has been disguised by networks of shell companies and facilitated by foreign banks willing to turn a blind eye to state embezzlement, according to Karen Dawisha, a political science professor at Ohio-based Miami University.
A House panel Thursday advanced sanctions legislation that would blacklist individuals deemed responsible for the detention and death of a Moscow attorney who uncovered an alleged tax fraud scheme.
U.S. banks should consider increasing their scrutiny over transactions originating from Russia as widespread allegations of election fraud is expected to fan political instability and capital flight, say analysts.
Russia's compliance with international anti-money laundering standards is likely to remain tenuous, according to Ethan S. Burger, a senior lecturer for the Faculty of Law and Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention at the University of Wollongong in Australia.
New York state prosecutors charged a blacklisted Chinese metals dealer Tuesday with illegally circumventing U.S. economic sanctions through shell companies to utilize Manhattan banks.
The Russian Federation is set to approve a European-based proposal that would bolster the country's ability to seize the assets of suspected money launderers and terrorists, according to a Russian news report.
The U.S. government Wednesday blacklisted a fifth Iranian bank for allegedly helping the country build nuclear weapons, the latest move in escalating efforts to hem in Iran and convince Europe to follow suit.
The Bush Administration removed North Korea from its state sponsors of terrorism list Saturday, a decision likely to have little impact on economic sanctions against the country.
A government indictment released Wednesday charging an international network with sending electronics that can be used for weapons to Iran puts more pressure on banks to ensure their customers aren't aiding terrorism.
Weapons proliferators have successfully duped dozens of banks into processing transactions tied to WMD technologies, but the transactions are nearly impossible for the institutions involved to detect, says a global AML watchdog.
Ron King, vice president and chief anti-money laundering officer for Toronto-based Scotiabank, talks with reporter Larissa Bernardes about how banks can detect the financial transactions of weapons facilitators, the subject of an upcoming FATF report.
A decision by the Bush administration to remove North Korea from its state sponsors of terror list will have little impact on how financial institutions and other companies deal with the Asian country.
Egmont also admitted India, Armenia, Belarus and Niue during its annual plenary meeting, a spokesperson for the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network confirmed.