News
Weekly Roundup: Assad’s Assets Remain Elusive, FATF Dings Mexico for CFT Deficiencies, and More
printEfforts to freeze Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's assets have been hindered by lawsuits, Russian and Chinese opposition and poor intelligence and his use of offshore shell companies, Reuters reported Friday. Once believed to have over $120 billion, Assad is now thought to have $1 billion hidden from the Western governments that have blacklisted his government. More Despite improvements to its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing regime, Mexico has yet to adopt measures that sufficiently clamp down on terror financiers, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said Wednesday. More Critics discussed the problem with ACAMS MoneyLaundering.com in October. More Law enforcement...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
The EU designated 15 individuals and 18 entities deemed responsible for compromising the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Nicaragua and Taiwan signed a MOU to cooperate in the fight against money laundering, and more, in this week's roundup.
U.K. leaders intend to review whether facilitation should be legal again, CFATF warns countries about the risks of Belize, Guyana and Dominica, and more, in this week's news roundup.
A group of investigative journalists reveal the identities of thousands of suspected tax evaders, U.S. prosecutors increasingly turn to a civil fraud statute to prosecute money launderers, and more, in this week's news roundup.
Austria and Liechtenstein agreed to exchange tax-related information, Casino group Las Vegas Sands Corp. has ceased executing international money transfers for wealthy gamblers, and more, in this week's roundup.
OFAC finalized amendments to the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, the daughter of Ukraine's former premier Yulia Tymoshenko called for international sanctions on officials responsible for her mother's imprisonment, and more, in the weekly roundup.
The brother of convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 10 years in prison for falsifying investment records and fraud, Twenty-six individuals were arrested for their alleged involvement in a $70 million drug and money laundering ring, and more, in the weekly roundup.
The U.S. Justice Department seized nearly $7 million believed to be the laundered proceeds of an Internet gambling operation, an ex-Wells Fargo investment banker and two others raked in $11 million in an insider trading scheme, and more, in the weekly roundup.
Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC Holdings Plc are expected to pay more than $2 billion to settle U.S. money laundering and sanctions violations, Switzerland and the U.S. near a deal on FATCA compliance, while Isle of Man agrees to share tax data with the U.K., and more
India's Parliament approved amendments to strengthen the nation's anti-money laundering legislation, the European Union extended sanctions against President Bashar Assad's regime for three months, and more, in this week's roundup.
A former Illinois official pleaded guilty to a $53.7 million wire fraud and money laundering scheme, the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted a senior Taliban leader as a specially designated narcotics trafficker, and more, in the weekly roundup.
The UK Revenue and Customs is investigating British residents who hold Jersey-based accounts with HSBC Holdings Plc., while the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) blacklisted Iran's communications minister and others Thursday.
The FDIC issued three consent orders citing Bank Secrecy Act violations, China lost $3.79 trillion to illicit outflows between 2000 and 2011, and more, in the weekly roundup.
The Democratic Republic of Congo asked the United Nations to implement sanctions against certain Rwandan and Ugandan officials, suspicious transaction reporting in Italy rose by a third in 2011 over the previous year, and more, in this week's roundup.
Used car importers in Pakistan are allegedly violating AML rules, French and Swiss law enforcement officials arrested 20 individuals believed to be part of an international drug trafficking and money laundering organization, and more, in the weekly roundup.
Roma Bank has initiated corrective measures in response to an unpublished enforcement action by the OCC, a former leading member of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime was sentenced to seven years in prison for money laundering, and more, in this week's roundup.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain urged the European Union to step-up sanctions against Iran, Nigerian officials are pushing to beef-up AML laws before an Oct. 15 FATF meeting, and more, in this week's roundup.
The Bank of Israel fined Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank 3.8 million shekels for violating AML laws, French investigators searched the Paris offices of UBS AG as part of a tax evasion probe, and more, in this week's roundup.
The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted three top members of Hezbollah, the State Bank of Pakistan introduced new regulations aimed at strengthening the nations anti-money laundering framework, and more, in this week's roundup.
The Obama White House will reportedly blacklist the Haqqani network, the organization responsible for attacks against American troops in Afghanistan; the U.S. State Department removed the Communist Party of Nepal from its sanctions lists; and, more.
The U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office is investigating payments between Barclays PLC and Qatar Holding LLC, the U.S. Treasury Department's top sanctions official will be in Switzerland and Turkey next week to discuss sanctions against Iran and Syria, and more, in the weekly roundup.