Banks in China, Southeast Asia and Europe will soon see their compliance duties get tougher under new U.N. sanctions measures aimed at stifling North Korea's nuclear arms program, say analysts.
A U.S. official's threat last month of economic sanctions against four Chinese banks is likely to be toothless given economic and enforcement hurdles, say sanctions analysts.
The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions arm blacklisted Korea Daesong Bank Thursday for its alleged ties to a branch of the North Korean communist government.
An intergovernmental group Friday added seven countries to its lists of jurisdictions that have failed to follow through on plans to clamp down on money laundering.
It was an announcement sure to raise some eyebrows among sanctions compliance officers: on Aug. 29, the international trade group Economic Cooperation Organization said it would not enforce sanctions against Iran, according to news reports.
The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions arm Tuesday blacklisted a Hamburg, Germany-based bank for its alleged ties to four blacklisted Iranian banks.
The United States expanded economic sanctions measures against North Korea Monday, blacklisting 12 entities and individuals and issuing an executive order under which new prohibitions can be enacted.
The U.S. Treasury Department Tuesday blacklisted seven individuals and 22 organizations, including two banks in Belarus and one in Iran over their alleged ties to Iran's nuclear program.
Governments should ramp up their efforts to investigate and prosecute money launderers, including by providing additional powers and resources to local law enforcement, an international watchdog group said.
A Web site that purports to list the foreign correspondent relationships of many of Iran's financial institutions could cause U.S. institutions to rethink their ties to well-known international banks.
Up to 67 percent of the estimated $859 billion in illicit funds moved out of developing countries between 2002 and 2006 ended up in banks in developed nations, according to a report released Thursday.
The U.S. Treasury Department's financial intelligence unit withdrew a March 2008 advisory Monday warning banks of Uzbekistan's decision to suspend its anti-money laundering law.
Bank of America has cut its ties to North Korea after the nation topped an intergovernmental blacklist of countries with poor anti-money laundering regimes, according to a bank compliance official.
The U.S. Treasury Department doesn't expect financial institutions to treat the 28 countries blacklisted by an intergovernmental group last month for weak anti-money laundering controls as non-cooperating nations under U.S. Patriot Act rules.
Omissions in an intergovernmental group's lists of countries with lax anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing controls may undermine the organization's effectiveness in fighting the crimes, say compliance consultants.
Iran seeks help with its terrorist financing laws on the heels of its inclusion in an international blacklist and investigators in the UAE say they are looking at U.S. credit card companies as part of investigation into the assassination of a Hamas leader, in this week's roundup.
A blacklist expected to be published next week by an intergovernmental watchdog group has compliance officers wondering which jurisdictions will be named and what sort of changes it will bring.
The Financial Action Task Force reiterated its call Monday for anti-money laundering controls by life insurance companies in a report outlining how the industry can apply risk-based checks.
An intergovernmental anti-money laundering watchdog should restore a blacklist of countries that don't comply with its international standards by February, Group of 20 members said Friday.
The Financial Action Task Force should take a more aggressive stance against non-cooperative governments, according to a report released by the United Kingdom's Home Office.