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Weekly Roundup: Japan Set to Disclose Findings on Possible Citi Violations, Treasury Official Warns Chinese Banks, and More
printJapan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) is nearly complete with its investigation into possible anti-money laundering (AML) and other compliance violations by Citigroup, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Any potential sanction against the bank would follow 2004 violations that prompted Citi officials to close its private banking operation in Japan. In 2009, the FSA ordered the bank to suspend some sales activities for a month due to allegedly lax AML compliance. The regulator could disclose a new penalty by next month, the news agency said. More The Treasury Department's Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial intelligence warned a group of China's...
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Citigroup subsidiary Banamex USA will pay federal and state agencies $140 million for unresolved anti-money laundering violations ahead of the shutdown of its U.S. operations, the bank and regulators said Wednesday.
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.
Japanese companies will likely avoid U.S. sanctions violations in exchange for Japan reducing its imports of Iranian oil, the FBI's Detroit Division joined a new multi-agency task force aimed at investigating corrupt domestic officials, and more, in the weekly roundup.
Weekly Roundup: White House Blacklists Japanese Gang Leaders, FinCEN Extends FBAR Deadline, and More
The FDIC disclosed two enforcement actions for AML violations, Jamaican officials are welcoming plans to revamp the country's Proceeds of Crime Act, and more, in this week's roundup.
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.
Mexican drug cartels are turning to trade-based laundering involving common goods to transfer narcotics proceeds, while the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network told banks Tuesday that it was postponing the deadline for new currency transaction and suspicious activity reports.
China, Mexico and Russia topped the latest Global Financial Integrity list of countries with the greatest outflows of illicit fund and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network fined a former bank loss-mitigation specialist $25,000 Thursday for disclosing a SAR to the subject of the report.
Russian spies cases end in extradition, Manuel Noriega sent to prison in France, a teddy bear company is used to launder drug money, in this week's roundup.
U.S. and European relations figured prominently in the news this week. On Thursday, Swiss legislators approved an agreement allowing U.S. access to data on nearly 4000 UBS AG account holders and Tuesday, the European Commission adopted a draft agreement to exchange terror information with the U.S.
Latvia shuts down the country's smallest bank, EUROPOL arrests 32 individuals on alleged money laundering crimes, Bulgarian national extradited to U.S. to face wire fraud and money laundering charges, in this week's roundup.
A Swiss official warns that the United States plans legal action if a deal to hand over UBS account data is blocked, China announces that it has tweaked its counterterrorism laws and Ecuador says it will be off of FATF's blacklist by June, in this week's news roundup.
Former Alavi president sentenced to three months in prison, Nigerian leaders rush to pass new AML legislation and Hong Kong eyes ways to strengthen AML controls, in this week's 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.
Two U.S. companies paid a total of $200 million dollars this week for anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions violations. On Wednesday, Wells Fargo Co. agreed to pay the United States $160 million and the next day a Delaware corporation paid $40 million.
While an Office of Foreign Assets Control report revealed this week that the total assets frozen annually by the United States for alleged ties to terrorism fell five percent in 2009 from the previous year, another report pinpointed the top money laundering countries in the world.
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.
Canada's financial intelligence unit issued its largest monetary penalty to date in a week when U.S. bank regulators called on financial institutions to be more transparent in their cross-border transactions.
The prosecution of high-profile, alleged Ponzi schemes kept money laundering in the headlines this week as a federal court convicted a Minnesota businessman for bilking investors of $3.5 billion and investigators arrested a well-known Florida lawyer for allegedly stealing over $1 billion.
In other AML news this week, the New Zealand government passed an AML bill and the SEC said it has expanded its cooperation with foreign governments in securities fraud investigations.