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 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.
Federal and state regulators Thursday ordered a Hamburg, Germany-based bank to improve its Bank Secrecy Act training, customer risk-ranking and suspicious activity reporting.
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 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.
A cease-and-desist order disclosed last month against Scotland's largest bank points to compliance troubles that are more widespread than those outlined in a 2010 settlement that cost the institution $500 million, say industry insiders.
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.
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.
The United Kingdom's chief financial regulator fined Royal Bank of Scotland nearly USD $9 million on Tuesday, the agency's largest penalty ever for anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance failures.
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 Royal Bank of Scotland will pay the United States $500 million over Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions violations committed by the now defunct ABN Amro, U.S. officials said Monday.
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.
The United Kingdom's chief financial regulator is investigating the Royal Bank of Scotland Group for potential compliance violations of U.K. anti-money laundering rules, the bank disclosed Wednesday.
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.