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Weekly Roundup: Credit Suisse Discloses It’s the Target of Tax Evasion Probe, OTS Stops Regulating and More
printThe U.S. Justice Department Thursday officially disclosed its rumored investigation into whether Credit Suisse Group AG helped American clients cheat the tax man. The bank received a letter from the department Thursday informing it of the probe, which had been suspected since February, when federal prosecutors said in the indictment of four former Credit Suisse bankers that the financial institution once held $3 billion in undeclared, American assets, Bloomberg reported. The investigation into Switzerland's second largest bank follows the deferred prosecution agreement with the country's largest, UBS, which paid $780 million over similar allegations. More Friday marks the last day...
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Credit Suisse is unlikely to turn over the names of some suspected tax cheats even if the United States adopts a pending bilateral tax agreement with Switzerland, bank representatives told lawmakers Wednesday.
Despite five years of negotiations with Credit Suisse, the U.S. Justice Department has identified only one percent of the bank's American clients it suspects of dodging taxes, according to lawmakers.
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.
JPMorgan Chase drops a Milan account for the Holy See, Beijing police freeze nearly $800 million tied to at least six "underground" banks, and more.
Iran's central bank prepares to sue to win back $2 billion in frozen assets, the U.S. Treasury Department blacklists the heads of a money laundering ring based in Panama and Colombia, and more, in this week's news roundup.
The National Futures Association fined NCMFX, Inc. $12,500 for anti-money laundering deficiencies, Turkey's parliament began deliberations on a bill aimed at curbing terrorist financing, and more, in this week's roundup.
Credit Suisse AG says it will disclose U.S. client names to the IRS, Swiss authorities are conducting enforcement proceedings against two banks that willfully violated AML rules involving PEPs, and more, in this week's roundup.
A former Bank Julius Baer official is weighing turning over data on suspected tax cheats to U.S. and Indian officials after the Swiss government declined to investigate his allegations.
The Justice Department launches investigations into three Israeli banks and continues its probe into the financial network of R. Allen Stanford, in this week's news roundup.
Two banks were dinged in consent orders Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations, the European Union imposed sanctions against Syria, Libya's rebel government began the search for assets allegedly purloined by the Gaddafi family, and more.
U.S. efforts to stifle al-Qaida's finances are paying off and Swiss financial institutions filed a record number of SARs in 2009, in this week's news roundup.
With the $536 million penalty for sanctions violations still fresh in the minds of compliance officers, Credit Suisse faces new problems. On Sunday, Reuters reported that Germany is currently investigating 1,100 Credit Suisse clients for suspected tax evasion violations.
A Milwaukee-based company sues American Express for failing to block illegal transactions and Royal Bank of Scotland discloses that the U.K. Financial Services Authority is investigating it, in this week's news roundup.
A New York City councilman is charged with laundering money stolen from public funds, a prominent car dealership owner is accused of bilking cash from Chrysler and the UAE sees a 48 percent jump in suspicious transaction reports, in this week's news roundup.
A client of UBS AG pleads guilty to tax evasion as a longstanding data sharing arrangement between the United States and the European Union is poised to collapse, in this week's news roundup.
The Credit Suisse saga isn't over yet, at least not for Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. His office announced Wednesday that the bank handed over $268 million to his office. Half of the sum will be turned over to the city of New York and the rest to New York State.
Although it was a relatively quiet week in anti-money laundering news, a settlement agreement for $217 million between Lloyds Bank TSB and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) proved that the holidays didn't distract regulators from sanctions and compliance issues.
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.
A Miami judge is convicted for using a shell company to launder his profits from a public fraud scheme, the Philippines fines a bank for poor suspicious transaction reporting and more, in this week's roundup.
A $600,000 fine against St. Louis, MO-based Scottrade for failing to tailor its compliance program to the company's business model and a guilty plea by a Palos Hills, IL bank for failing to file CTRs reveals that some U.S. financial institution lack the fundamentals of a Bank Secrecy Act program.