Cyprus has missed deadlines to improve its anti-money laundering regime under terms brokered last spring to receive a €10 billion euro bailout, according to a review by the European Commission.
With an American anti-tax evasion law set to take effect and plans for another European Union directive to fight money laundering, French banks will soon have to know their clients better, according to Carolina Ceballos, a professor at the University of Strasbourg.
Fifteen Palestinian men were arrested for allegedly running a $55 million cigarette smuggling scheme, a proposal that aims to revive Argentina's economy could attract money launders, and more, in this week's roundup.
The terms of an ongoing audit of Cyprus' financial sector and a recent exodus of funds will significantly hinder attempts to identify dirty money with ties to the island-nation, say compliance experts.
A Kenyan politician has been charged with money laundering in Tanzania, the Reserve Bank of India will take action against ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank for alleged money laundering violations, and more, in the weekly roundup.
Financial institutions can expect prosecutions, litigation and a changed regulatory regime in the wake of the economic crisis that pushed Congress to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, according to consultants.
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said Thursday that the global financial community should regard transactions involving Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Northern Cyprus and São Tomé and Príncipe as high risks for money laundering.
The bank returned its banking license on Jan. 18, three months after the U.S. Justice Department sued the Bank of Cyprus over claims that it aided a Cypriot fugitive launder proceeds from an insider trading scheme.