News
Compliance Rifts Over Traveler’s Checks, Corporate Accounts Preceded Wachovia Fine: Whistleblower
printInternal clashes at Wachovia Bank over whether a corporate client or its customers were likely laundering money preceded the tip-off that contributed to the United States' decision to levy the largest-ever anti-money laundering compliance fine, according to Martin Woods, a former money laundering reporting officer in the bank's London office. Woods, who previously worked as a money laundering investigator with the U.K. National Crime Squad, alerted U.K. authorities to potential crimes through Wachovia accounts on three separate occasions, but said the disclosures ultimately cost him his job. The bank, now part of Wells Fargo & Co., paid $160 million to...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Subscribe
Learn More
Related News
Large banks need to clearly delineate which senior executives are responsible for Bank Secrecy Act compliance violations, the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency said in a speech Monday.
An influential Senate subcommittee will hear testimony on tax evasion through offshore banks, Switzerland agrees to follow automatic data exchange standards and more, in this week's news roundup.
Last year, I told you not to believe any of that "best of years, worst of years" stuff à la Charles Dickens with regard to 2012. But if 2013 was less eventful than the prior year, every indication is that 2014 will be "challenging" for financial institutions and regulators.
The U.S. Justice Department seizes digital funds tied to an Internet black market, Republicans line up behind effort to fight FATCA and more, in this week's news roundup.
Ahead of expected anti-money laundering regulations for investment advisers, some private equity firms may find themselves subject to such oversight for a reason few would have guessed: their fee structures.
Lawmakers should expand financial safe harbor protections to allow banks to better share their suspicions about money laundering and its predicate crimes, a top U.S. regulatory official said Sunday.
Amid all of the political rhetoric and bombast that accompanied television coverage of the 16-day government shutdown last month, one question never seemed to get any airtime: what did it all mean for the financial compliance industry?
JPMorgan Chase launches AML SWAT team as the bank's legal costs mount, Turkey blacklists over 350 entities in an effort to comply with United Nations sanctions, and more, in this week's news roundup.
The United States has done little to address gaps identified in 2006 by an international anti-money laundering watchdog, despite a follow-up national review expected within the next two years, say consultants.
U.S. lawmakers threaten to impose sanctions on Russia for harboring Edward Snowden, Switzerland transfers $962 million for backdated taxes, and more, in this week's news roundup.
As the compliance expectations of European regulators grow, banks should proactively move to adopt future changes outlined in proposals for the EU's Fourth Money Laundering Directive, according to the former global head of compliance at ABN Amro.
Canada's primary financial regulator is looking into whether Bank of Montreal violated anti-money laundering rules following the issuance of two enforcement actions Friday by federal U.S. agencies, a spokesperson confirmed.
The median salaries of compliance officers tasked with identifying money laundering and other financial crimes rose nearly six percent from 2011 to 2012, according to an industry survey released Thursday.
U.S. tax authorities and a Senate investigatory team are looking into reports that the Cayman Islands branch of Bank Julius Baer helped American accountholders hide taxable revenue, according to the former chief of the bank's Caribbean operations.
A provision in the Senate's proposed financial overhaul bill could incentivize more anti-money laundering compliance officers to blow the whistle on any illegal activities of their employers in exchange for large payouts.
The U.S. Treasury Department is reportedly investigating the role of Wachovia Bank compliance staff in the financial institution's failure to sufficiently scrutinize more than $420 billion in transactions tied to Mexican currency exchange businesses.
Federal bank examiners failed for at least four years to identify widespread signs of money laundering at Wachovia Bank, frustrating officials who helped levy a $160 million penalty against the institution last week.
Wells Fargo & Co., the parent company of Wachovia Bank, will pay $160 million to settle anti-money laundering compliance problems tied to accounts with Mexican currency exchange companies, the company said Wednesday.
An expected settlement between the U.S. Justice Department and Wachovia Bank over lax anti-money laundering policies is highlighting the compliance risks of doing business with Mexican currency exchange companies.
Former Bank COO Rudolph Elmer, who has been sued by Julius Baer for allegedly leaking hundreds of the bank's documents suggesting a systemic laxity toward tax evasion and money laundering, said the Swiss laws allow institutions to hide their criminal support for white collar criminals.