A proposed Uruguayan law that would permit and regulate recreational marijuana use poses serious legal and regulatory questions for American banks doing business in the region, according to compliance officers and former U.S. attorneys.
Countries should require their political officials to publicly and verifiably disclose their assets and income in order to better combat bribery and embezzlement, the United Nations and World Bank said Wednesday.
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.
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.
A French money laundering and arms trafficking trial involving more than 40 politically-connected individuals and their wealthy associates may turn up damaging information about the private banking clients of major banks, say 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.