Tweet The Charming Kitten hacking group from Iran (see original report here) has launched a new phishing attack to collect information from public officials connected with the imposition or enforcement of sanctions against Iran. The phishing program relies on untrained security experts at organizations who use 2 factor authentication (2FA) of GMail accounts by SMS, […]
Tweet Executive Order President Trump issued an Executive Order imposing economic sanction on the initial coin offering (“ICO“) by the Government of Venezuela, called the Petro coin (the “Petro ICO“). The Executive Order makes it illegal to engage in transactions, dealings or financings in connection with the Petro ICO, which would include buying, selling, trading, […]
Tweet The high end jewellery chain, Cartier, was fined US$384,000 for violating US sanctions on four occasions for selling expensive jewellery to Shuen Wai Holding Limited, a Hong Kong company. But surprisingly, the purchases took place in California and Nevada. Shuen Wai Holding Limited is on the OFAC List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons and […]
Tweet WMD Last week, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against a bank in China for allegedly providing financial services to North Korean companies and said it was rolling out more sanctions in the weeks to come. The bank, the Bank of Dandong, is alleged to have facilitated money laundering by allowing its bank to […]
Tweet A “Terrorist Risk” Following the terrorist attack in San Bernadino on December 2, 2015, an 11-month-old relatively dormant bill to amend an American law to impose visa restrictions on select foreign nationals entering the US gained traction when it was rapidly enacted in the US. US Bill H.R. 158, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement […]
Tweet Economic sanctions ordered Today, the US announced it is imposing economic sanctions against certain individuals  and entities in North Korea over the Sony cyberhack. The so-called Sony sanctions appears to represent the first time in history that sanctions have been imposed (a) solely in response for, or over a, private sector dispute / issue; […]
Tweet Anti-Terrorism Act filing against global banks Yesterday, symbolically the day before Remembrance Day, several plaintiffs filed suit against a number of global foreign banks based in the United States under the Anti-Terrorism Act (the “ATA“), including HSBC Holdings Plc, Barclays, Standard Chartered Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland. The plaintiffs are seeking damages that could […]
Tweet The New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS“) has announced that it has entered into a settlement with the advisory firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers Regulatory Advisory Services (“PwC“) over anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance advice it provided to the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi (“Bank of Tokyo“). PwC is suspended for two years from accepting consulting […]
Tweet Sanctions likely to seriously impede Canadian-Russian financial transactions and therefore significant trade By Christine Duhaime, B.A., J.D., Financial Crime and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist Follow @cduhaime The Canadian government has announced the imposition of sanctions against the Bank of Moscow, the Russian National Commercial Bank and other Russian and Ukrainian-controlled businesses and financial institutions, as […]
Tweet According to this article in the New York Times, governments of the European Union have paid at least $125 million to terrorist organizations, mostly Al Qaeda, since 2008 and $66 million of that was paid last year. The US Treasury Department estimates the figure is closer to $165 million and believes that ransom payments […]