News
Weekly Roundup: FinCEN Issues Warning on Syrian PEPs, Russia Publishes First Sanctions List, And More
printThe Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) warned financial institutions on Friday about the risks of doing business with Syrian senior political figures. In three pages of guidance, FinCEN described the Office of Foreign Assets Control's sanctioning of President Bashar Assad's regime and those close to him, including his cousin Rami Makhluf, who is believed to be taking steps to protect his money, properties and assets. FinCEN also reminded financial institutions of their obligation to file suspicious activity reports on senior foreign political figures whose transactions are suspected to be tied to illegal activity. More Russia issued its first ever sanctions...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
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.
JPMorgan Chase drops a Milan account for the Holy See, Beijing police freeze nearly $800 million tied to at least six "underground" banks, and more.
Japanese companies will likely avoid U.S. sanctions violations in exchange for Japan reducing its imports of Iranian oil, the FBI's Detroit Division joined a new multi-agency task force aimed at investigating corrupt domestic officials, and more, in the weekly roundup.
As international pressure against Syria's crackdown on protesters mounts, efforts by financial institutions to identify transactions related to Syrian arms deals will likely prove fruitless, say analysts.
The Indian government announced that it's looking into creating a "gaming regulator" to oversee casinos for AML compliance, a Miami woman was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for laundering money connected to $200 million Medicare fraud scheme, and more, in this week's roundup.
Iran's central bank prepares to sue to win back $2 billion in frozen assets, the U.S. Treasury Department blacklists the heads of a money laundering ring based in Panama and Colombia, and more, in this week's news roundup.
The National Futures Association fined NCMFX, Inc. $12,500 for anti-money laundering deficiencies, Turkey's parliament began deliberations on a bill aimed at curbing terrorist financing, and more, in this week's roundup.
The Justice Department launches investigations into three Israeli banks and continues its probe into the financial network of R. Allen Stanford, in this week's news roundup.
Two banks were dinged in consent orders Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations, the European Union imposed sanctions against Syria, Libya's rebel government began the search for assets allegedly purloined by the Gaddafi family, and more.
With the $536 million penalty for sanctions violations still fresh in the minds of compliance officers, Credit Suisse faces new problems. On Sunday, Reuters reported that Germany is currently investigating 1,100 Credit Suisse clients for suspected tax evasion violations.
Two U.S. companies paid a total of $200 million dollars this week for anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions violations. On Wednesday, Wells Fargo Co. agreed to pay the United States $160 million and the next day a Delaware corporation paid $40 million.
While an Office of Foreign Assets Control report revealed this week that the total assets frozen annually by the United States for alleged ties to terrorism fell five percent in 2009 from the previous year, another report pinpointed the top money laundering countries in the world.
A Milwaukee-based company sues American Express for failing to block illegal transactions and Royal Bank of Scotland discloses that the U.K. Financial Services Authority is investigating it, in this week's news roundup.
A New York City councilman is charged with laundering money stolen from public funds, a prominent car dealership owner is accused of bilking cash from Chrysler and the UAE sees a 48 percent jump in suspicious transaction reports, in this week's news roundup.
The U.S. Supreme Court okays the extradition of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, and a prominent Florida lawyer pleads guilty to bilking investors out of $1.2 billion in a massive Ponzi scheme, in this week's news roundup.
The Credit Suisse saga isn't over yet, at least not for Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. His office announced Wednesday that the bank handed over $268 million to his office. Half of the sum will be turned over to the city of New York and the rest to New York State.
Canada's financial intelligence unit issued its largest monetary penalty to date in a week when U.S. bank regulators called on financial institutions to be more transparent in their cross-border transactions.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said sanctions against Iran were likely as the Manhattan District Attorney's Office prepares to issue a large deferred prosecution agreement penalty against a foreign bank over its ties to the Persian country.
The U.S. Justice Department continues to seized more than $3.2 million in nearly 400 accounts tied to narcotics dealers, Transparency International published its annual corruption report and more, in this weeks roundup.
In other AML news this week, New Jersey prosecutors won guilty pleas in two high-profile cases, and AUSTRAC issued its annual report detailing the number of suspicious transaction reports for the year.