FedEx Corp. has been indicted over allegations of money laundering in connection with five shipments it made of alleged illegal prescription drugs from online pharmacies in which several persons are alleged to have died. According to ABC News, FedEx faces a $1.6 billion fine if found guilty. According to the indictment, online pharmacies sent controlled […]
International tax lawyer and former fund manager from Quebec indicted after IRS sting The arrest of two Canadians from Quebec, Eric St-Cyr, an investment fund manager, and Patrick Poulin, a lawyer, in the US over money laundering charges hit the news today when their cases were transferred to Florida for prosecution. St-Cyr and Poulin were […]
The EU investigation into the use of wind farms to launder proceeds of crime widened today with several police raids in Austria and Germany, including a raid on the offices of the state-owned bank, HSH Nordbank. The Nordbank financed several wind farms, including one in Calabria, Italy, alleged to have been erected and operated as a […]
HSBC Cancels Bank Accounts of Consulates HSBC has given notice to several consulates and the Vatican that it is closing their accounts within 60 days. No reason has been officially cited for the cancellation of the client bank agreements but it is likely as a result of the exposure such accounts hold for financial institutions […]
Junkets branching out According to this article by Reuters, traditional junket operators (also known as VIP gaming promoters) in Macau are branching out to diversify their businesses and improve their reputation. The largest junket operator, Suncity Group, is planning to open its own casino and has expanded into mining and iron ore operations in Indonesia. […]
Another foreign bank doing business in the US has agreed to settle with the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS“) over allegations that it violated federal economic sanctions. Â The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., Japan’s largest bank, has agreed to pay US$250 million to the NYDFS to settle allegations that it provided US$100 […]
The Basel Institute on Governance has published an interesting compilation of its view of how countries rank as money laundering and terrorist financing jurisdictions of risk. To the extent the ranking may be accurate, it may be obviously helpful to businesses engaged in international trade and commerce and to agencies that are required to report […]
The shares of Beijing-based Soho China, a premier commercial development company, fell 11% this week after allegations surfaced in China that the company may be involved in money laundering associated with the sale of 41 Soho China properties to Shanxi banking official Gong Aiai for approximately HK$1 billion. Ms. Gong was arrested in China for […]
The New York Court of Appeals ruled this week that the use of a New York bank account by a listed entity (an entity identified as a terrorist one) is sufficient to establish jurisdiction for American victims of the listed entity’s terrorist activities to claim compensation. The bank in question is a Beirut bank with […]
HSBC investigation The U.S. Permanent Senate Subcommittee on Investigations has found that HSBC Holdings PLC allowed drug traffickers, terrorists and rogue states to launder billions of dollars in the U.S. as a result of poor anti-money laundering (“AML“) and counter terrorist financing (“CTF“) controls. The Subcommittee found that HSBCÂ serviced high-risk clients in drug-trafficking countries with […]