TBML, bribery and tax evasion red flags revealed in Afreximbank deal
An investigation into a US$30 million loan to South Sudanese oil marketing company, Trinity Energy, claims to have revealed red flags concerning trade-based money laundering (TBML), bribery and tax evasion. The loan from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) was backed by senior government officials and…
Second major waste and recycled metal trade fraud of 2021 revealed
Italian police have broken up a complex money laundering operation and an illegal metal recycling business that had enabled criminals to transfer huge amounts of illicit cash between Italy and China according to the Reuters news agency. The report follows news that in 15 people…
Two arrested in US$225 million fake software TBML scam
India’s Enforcement Directorate has arrested two more people allegedly involved in a US$225 million trade-based money-laundering (TBML) operation based on importing what purported to be customised software. Investigators however discovered that the software was fake but provided the accused with the opportunity to transfer funds…
Elite network uses a mix of typologies to launder their own and other criminals’ money
British Columbia’s Cullen Commission into money laundering has heard details of an elite criminal network that employs a variety of typologies to launder criminal proceeds. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) chief superintendent, Rob Gilchrist, told the commission of an “elite network operating out of the…
Californian almonds under-invoiced to fund terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir
Californian almonds are being used in trade-based money laundering (TBML) operations centred on trading across the Line of Control (LoC) between the Indian and Pakistani controlled parts of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. The high quality almonds are being used in cross-LoC trade…
Indian tax officials unearth US$194 million of fake iron and steel invoices
Tax officials overseeing India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) have unearthed fake invoices worth around US$194 million that were used to perpetrate an alleged tax fraud worth the equivalent of around US$37 million. The fake invoices were raised by a group of eight companies trading…
Pakistan uncovers suspected US$7 billion trade-based money laundering operation
The Intelligence and Investigation Directorate of Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) says it has detected money laundering of over US$7 million by a Pakistani company that imports medical products for poultry. The directorate says it has found that the company laundered US$2.1 million from…
India probes massive trade-based money laundering scheme at Bank of Baroda
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have now arrested several people in what is emerging as a massive trade-based money laundering scheme. State-run Bank of Baroda appears to be at the centre of the scheme in which illegal remittances amounting to…
Hong Kong – China trade based money laundering diminishing but still substantial
Recent trade data from Hong Kong reveals that China’s efforts to stop investors from siphoning cash into the country disguised as export earnings has had a significant impact but the practice remains substantial. The extent of this type of trade-based money laundering is revealed in…
Tax officials in Karachi accused of trade based money laundering
Reports from Pakistan suggest that tax officials, far from cracking down on trade-based money laundering, are in reality indulging in practices such as under-invoicing and using fake invoices according to an official report. The officials, who are also accused of failing to collect taxes, are…
