The 2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (“INCSR“) published this month by the U.S. Department of State, particularly volume I on the drug trafficking trade, is more favourable of Canada than the last two years, primarily as a result of the enactment in Canada of the Omnibus Crime Bill C-10, know as the Safe Streets and [...]
The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN“) has issued its interpretive guidance on the applicability of virtual currencies (the most popular of which is bitcoin) to the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA“). Pursuant to the Guidance, a person or entity that: (1) exchanges; or (2) administers virtual currency or bitcoin, is a money services business (“MSB“) [...]
The European Commission formally proposed today that amendments to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws include measures to capture online gambling activities. Up until now, AML legislation has only included land-based casinos. The proposals would be implemented if approved by all 27 member states. Online gambling sites are unregulated for money laundering and terrorist financing [...]
The cyber crime problem As more consumers use the Internet to complete financial transactions, the threat of various forms of cyber crime is likewise increasing. Those forms include identity theft, bank account hijacks, ATM skimming, POS data thefts, and credit/debit card account theft. Victims of financial cyber crime are often financially wiped out and in [...]
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Rod J. Rosenstein, today announced that Bodog Entertainment Group S.A. has been indicted for money laundering conspiracy and operating an illegal gambling business that provided services to U.S. customers in the U.S. Also indicted were Calvin Ayre, James Philip, David Ferguson and Derrick Maloney, all apparently from [...]
The news on Friday that the U.S. had indicted 11 individuals associated with the operation of the Internet gambling sites PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker for violations of U.S. gambling and anti-money laundering laws and bank fraud, has raised questions about the future of the funds held by those entities on behalf of [...]
The indictment in the U.S. against eleven people associated with PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, including Canadians Isai Scheinberg, Nelson Burtnick and Ryan Lang, has been made public.
The U.S. Attorney and the FBI today unsealed an indictment today charging 3 Canadians with money laundering, bank fraud and illegal gambling in connection with the operation of Internet gambling websites that provide online gambling services to U.S. residents. Eight other individuals, mostly residents of the U.S., were also indicted. The defendants include the founders [...]
According to the most recent information available, stored value cards (or prepaid access) are often used for money laundering and terrorist financing activities. Stored value cards can be used like currency except that they have certain characteristics that make them attractive to criminals – they are: accepted worldwide; reusable and re-loadable; essentially anonymous; untraceable; instantly [...]
A Romanian man has pleaded guilty for his role in a cyberlaundering scam that took in about US$2.7 million from users of online marketplaces such as eBay, Craigslist and AutoTrader. Adrian Ghighina, 33, of Bucharest, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering in U.S. District Court for the District of Illinois. Ghighina was [...]