US state department names major money laundering countries for 2018
The US state department has published its 2019 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR). It contains a full volume on money laundering activity worldwide that includes an extensive commentary on the growing number of jurisdictions in which trade-based financial crime is becoming an increasing menace….
Russian oligarch’s money laundering links to one of the world’s largest coal traders
A scandal implicating Sweden’s oldest bank has widened dramatically with the revelation that the suspicious flows that the institution handled amounted to US$10.2 billion, and not US$5.8 billion, according to Sweden’s main television broadcaster, SVT, which cited a 2018 internal review by the bank. A…
Investigation blows the lid on TBML in the Troika Laundromat
Recent allegations that European banks have handled large volumes of suspicious transactions, often involving parties from the former Soviet Union, draws attention to hard-to-detect trade-based money laundering (TBML) according to a recently published report. The report’s authors – investigative journalists at the Organised Crime and…
Iran approves anti-money laundering bill to maintain international trade
An Iranian arbitration body has amended and given its approval to an anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) bill that Iran’s parliament wanted to introduce last year to support the country’s efforts to meet the demands of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)…
Deutsch Bank raided in money laundering investigation
German police and investigators raided Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt offices on 29 November in pursuit of their enquiries into money laundering at Germany’s flagship lender. Two bank officials are suspected of helping clients set up offshore businesses to launder illicitly obtained money. Bank raid Some 170…
Europe introduces tighter controls on the continent’s banks
The European Commission (EC) has recommended changes to banking supervision in response to a string of money laundering cases involving some of Europe’s largest banks. Overseeing European banks will no longer be left entirely to national watchdogs, and the European Banking Authority (EBA) will gain…
Expert warns of state-sponsored trade-based money laundering
An analyst who specialises in the means through which some states under authoritarian rule, terrorists, and criminals use free markets to restrict freedom has warned of the dangers of state-sponsored trade-based money laundering. In a piece for The Hill news website, Clay Fuller argues that…
New front opening up in trade-based financial crime
With beneficial ownership laws tightening up across the world, those intent on illicitly moving funds are finding new ways to hide their names from the businesses they operate and their financial operations. ‘Fake owners’ for Scottish shell firms are now being openly sold online for…
Amsterdam Trade Bank raided in money-laundering investigation
Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB), which specialises in providing international trade finance to commodity dealers and financial institutions, has been raided in the course of a money laundering investigation. The bank is suspected of failing to report unusual transactions and carry out sufficient customer due diligence….
Agricultural Bank of China fined US$215m for falsifying transaction documents
Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) has agreed to pay a US$215 million penalty for falsifying transaction documents involving China and Russia and trying to cover up US dollar trades with sanctioned Middle Eastern countries, New York State’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) has said. The…
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Trade Based Financial Crime
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