Spanish lawyer Fernando del Valle, whom we wrote about here, was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay €3.4 million in fines. Authorities believe del Valle laundered up to €250 million through his law firm in Spain’s exclusive Marbella region. The case was one of the largest [...]
FINTRAC, Canada's financial intelligence unit, has assessed relatively minor penalties against two money services businesses. Sutlej Foreign Exchange Inc., an Ontario-based money services business, was fined $8,450 for failing to: have a written compliance plan; undertake a risk assessment for a compliance plan; train employees on anti-money laundering; report electronic funds transfers to FINTRAC; and [...]
Pamrapo Savings Bank, a subsidiary of Pamrapo Bancorp Inc., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Trenton, New Jersey, to conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to file currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports, and willfully failing to maintain adequate anti-money laundering programs. The failures to file reports were in connection [...]
FINTRAC has fined Bharat Money Exchange Ltd., located in Surrey, British Columbia, $36,100 for numerous violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act for operating a money services business without registering with FINTRAC or filing appropriate reports. Bharat was also fined for numerous failures flowing from its unregistered status, including failure to [...]
Wachovia Corp. has agreed to pay a US$160 million settlement with the Department of Justice in the U.S. over allegations that it failed to implement anti-money laundering controls that enabled drug traffickers to launder money by transferring funds from Mexican currency exchange houses, known as casas de cambio, to Wachovia. Prosecutors said the bank processed [...]
Western Union Financial Services, a money services business in the US, has agreed to pay US$94 million in penalties as part of a state money laundering settlement. The settlement resolves all outstanding issues between Western Union and the State of Arizona over consumer-to-consumer money transfers. Western Union will also enhance its anti-money laundering program.
FINRA, the independent regulator for securities firms in the U.S., has fined Penson Financial Services, Inc. a Dallas-based securities clearing firm, US$450,000 for failing to establish and implement an adequate anti-money laundering compliance program from 2003 to 2008 as required by the Bank Secrecy Act, and Pinnacle Capital Markets, a Raleigh-based company, US$300,000 for failing to [...]