U.S. and EU officials are considering asset freezes and travel bans on the leaders of rebel groups in Libya, India's Reserve Bank issued simplified due diligence rules for low-risk customers, and more, in the midweek roundup.
Standard Chartered Bank will pay New York $300 million for anti-money laundering violations, a sum nearly 90 percent of a separate fine paid by the institution to the state in 2012 for related sanctions troubles.
Despite tightened controls on interbank messaging, some bankers looking to hide the role of their blacklisted clients in international wires need only type a single key on their keyboard, according to experts.
Deloitte Financial Advisory Services must pay New York $10 million and refrain from consulting additional state-regulated banks for one year after improperly sharing client data with Standard Chartered.
For many anti-money laundering and sanctions professionals, 2012 will be remembered as a year of record fines. Banks paid billions to settle AML and sanctions compliance violations, with one penalty alone reaching almost $2 billion.
Expected criminal and civil settlements over anti-money laundering lapses will likely cost HSBC Bank USA $1.5 billion or "significantly" more, the financial institution said in a regulatory filing Monday.
New York's $340 million sanctions settlement with Standard Chartered Plc will likely serve as a model for similar compliance-related agreements, even as it deters some banks from obtaining state licenses.
A New York agency's threat to revoke Standard Chartered Bank's state license for alleged sanctions violations is based on a flawed understanding of U.S. Treasury regulations, say former U.S. officials.
U.S. investigators looking into potential sanctions violations by Standard Chartered Bank will likely expedite their case following allegations by New York officials that the bank's executives permitted compliance violations, say sources.
Most news accounts of Tuesday's U.S. Senate inquiry into HSBC Holding Plc's compliance failings led with the bank's anti-money laundering compliance chief's announced resignation before lawmakers. But what he meant, it turns out, is that he is only taking another job inside the bank.
HSBC Holdings Plc's compliance chief will step down from his current role, following allegations that the bank failed to better police the anti-money laundering programs of its subsidiaries and affiliates.
HSBC Holdings Plc will close all of its U.S. accounts in the Cayman Islands after a congressional investigation found that the Caribbean branch functioned solely as a dollar-clearing shell bank.
Poor anti-money laundering controls on affiliates and problematic oversight allowed a global bank to process tens of trillions of dollars with little to no compliance checks, according to a U.S. Senate subcommittee.
Even prior to the disclosure last month by HSBC Holdings Plc that it would "likely" be the subject of a formal enforcement action related to anti-money laundering (AML) and other violations, things did not look good for the bank, according to Saskia Rietbroek, a partner with nomoneylaundering.com.
HSBC Holdings Plc could pay as much as $1 billion for Bank Secrecy Act and U.S. sanctions violations, an amount that would overshadow previous fines for similar infractions, say sources.
A London bank in talks with the United States for potential violations over its economic sanctions compliance program spent $150 million in 2010 on related transaction reviews and upgrades.
A UBS spokesman acknowledged Thursday that the Indian regulator scotched the deal because of concerns about UBS's compliance program.