$2,000,000,000,000 in Proceeds of Corruption Removed from China and Taken to US, Australia, Canada and Netherlands

Tweet The questions and answers I’ve been asked the most in 2016 about China: Q: How much money has been removed from China in proceeds of corruption? A: According to the Bank of China, way over US$120 Billion or CAD$160 Billion between the years 1995-2008. China appears to have quit sharing data officially after 2011 […]

FBI – “No safe haven anywhere for money launderers” – The fascinating $1B 1MDB civil asset forfeiture case

Tweet Largest civil asset recovery case in US of this kind On July 20, 2016, the US Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture case in California to recover assets of more than $1 billion in alleged proceeds of crime resulting from fraud allegedly committed by individuals associated with the Malaysian government’s 1Malaysia Development Berhad […]

US expands review of money laundering in real estate market

Tweet More scrutiny in US for real estate The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced that it is expanding its program to identify persons who may be hiding assets in residential properties in the US. The expansion adds additional cities to what are called the area for Geographic Targeting Orders (GTO). Title insurance agents in GTO […]

A banker’s update on terrorist financing and money laundering from the US Committee on Homeland Security

Tweet Summary of the Updates The US House Committee on Homeland Security released a number of updates and received testimony on the status of terrorist financing, terrorism and money laundering in the last few weeks with some interesting developments relevant to banks in terms of changes in terrorist financing typologies that should be added to […]

Developer sued for taking proceeds of crime from foreign nationals

Tweet New York real estate developer being sued for $18 billion for accepting alleged proceeds of corruption from foreigners who were known PEPs According to an article yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, real estate developers in New York are being sued for accepting proceeds of corruption from politically exposed persons (PEP). The plaintiffs are […]

UN Chief charged in money laundering bribery scheme for allegedly accepting millions in cash from Chinese casino billionaire

Tweet Former UN President Charged The former United Nations (“UN”) President of the UN General Assembly, John Ashe, the UN Deputy Ambassador, Francis Lorenzo, a Chinese foreign national billionaire, Ng Lap Seng (also known as David Ng) and two of his associates were charged in New York with various offenses over an alleged bribery scheme. Two […]

Structuring – How Moving Funds from China to Vancouver Often Mirrors How Columbian Drug Lords Move their Money

Tweet How is Some Money Moved from China? Often with Smurfs and Structuring. I am often asked how Chinese foreign nationals who have immigrated to the US, China, or EU, or are attempting to, move millions of dollars in funds to other countries unimpeded when there are Chinese banking regulations (commonly called currency controls) that […]

Nigeria says US$150 billion stolen from state coffers in 10 years by politically exposed persons

Tweet Whopping $150 Billion Stolen from Nigeria in 10 Years Nigeria’s new President, Muhammadu Buhari, today said that the government believes that its officials have stolen approximately US$150 billion from the state in the past ten years.  In anti-money laundering law, high ranking government officials with access to state property and assets are politically exposed persons […]

The FIFA scandal and why banks may be facing regulatory issues over KYC failures

Tweet FIFA Indictment against PEPs The 47-count Indictment against 14 persons employed or engaged by FIFA by the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York (“EDNY“), and their arrest may do more than shake up international soccer – it also has the potential to result in significant fines against many global banks who […]

Mother of the Girlfriend of Mayor of Vancouver held on corruption charges in China

Tweet In the latest twist in the continuous coverage of high-ranking Chinese foreign nationals who immigrated to Vancouver, the mother of the girlfriend of the Mayor of Vancouver has been incarcerated over corruption charges in China. Here is the story as reported in South China Morning Post. The Mayor, Gregor Robertson, has a girlfriend who […]