At its highest levels, Russian corruption over the past 20 years has been disguised by networks of shell companies and facilitated by foreign banks willing to turn a blind eye to state embezzlement, according to Karen Dawisha, a political science professor at Ohio-based Miami University.
Follow the headlines and you'll find an all too common story: the political winds shift, a leader is deposed and a fortune in dirty money is uncovered in a warren of offshore accounts. But why did no one stop the plundering sooner?
Ukraine's widespread protests and weakened political stability are likely to prompt nervous investors and corrupt officials alike to move their money abroad, say economic analysts.
A Berlin-based advocacy group said Tuesday that Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia remained the least trusted nations in the world for the second year in a row.
A House panel Thursday advanced sanctions legislation that would blacklist individuals deemed responsible for the detention and death of a Moscow attorney who uncovered an alleged tax fraud scheme.
U.S. banks should consider increasing their scrutiny over transactions originating from Russia as widespread allegations of election fraud is expected to fan political instability and capital flight, say analysts.
Three intergovernmental groups are questioning the effectiveness of anti-money laundering controls meant to curb abuses of corrupt political figures who steal from their countries.
The Federal Reserve issues a cease-and-desist order against Royal Bank of Scotland for AML violations, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. hands out three AML-related enforcement actions, and more, in this week's roundup.
Despite public rhetoric about freezing the assets of corrupt dictators, less than three percent of the funds stolen by kleptocrats are ever returned to looted countries, according to Steffen Binder, co-founder of My Private Banking, a research and networking Web site for clients of private banks.
A Russian law that prohibits corporate bribes and raises the ceiling on punitive fines isn't likely to impede businesses from offering illegal incentives to win lucrative contracts, say political observers.
More sensitive diplomatic communiqués leaked by Wikileaks.org, prosecutions against former UBS AG account holders for tax evasion continue, and more, in this week's roundup.
Russia's compliance with international anti-money laundering standards is likely to remain tenuous, according to Ethan S. Burger, a senior lecturer for the Faculty of Law and Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention at the University of Wollongong in Australia.
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. Justice Department continues to seized more than $3.2 million in nearly 400 accounts tied to narcotics dealers, Transparency International published its annual corruption report and more, in this weeks roundup.
Global corruption is antithetical to economic growth, according to Transparency International, an organization known for its yearly publication of the Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks 180 countries by their levels of corruption.
The United Nations and World Bank estimate that $45 billion a year is lost to corruption, which contributes to poverty, disease and environmental destruction, according to Jack Smith of the Caux Roundtable, a group that will try to recover pilfered assets when it launches in January.
The Russian Federation is set to approve a European-based proposal that would bolster the country's ability to seize the assets of suspected money launderers and terrorists, according to a Russian news report.
A Moscow court Thursday sentenced the financier accused of ordering the assassination of a top Russian banking official to 19 years in prison, according to a Reuters report.
Financial institutions should elevate their risk ratings on transactions with entities in Russia as tensions between it and the U.S. and Europe intensify, according to risk management analysts.
Viktor Zubkov, the head of Russia's financial intelligence unit, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, was nominated to replace Mikhail Fradkov, who announced his resignation hours before the nomination.