Vancouver capital markets: amended SEC complaint reveals shady underground capital markets money laundering ecosystem

Tweet The biggest money laundering case in Canadian history, only it isn’t taking place in Canada The US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a proposed amended complaint on February 3, 2022, in the US District Court of Massachusetts in case of SEC v. Frederick Sharp, Avtar Dhillon, Zhiying Chen, Courtney Kelln, Michael Veldhuis, Paul Sexton, Jackson […]

SEC locates pump & dump alleged mastermind in Ibiza who used a Vancouver lawyer for the alleged scheme

Tweet Biozoom boy found in Ibiza The alleged mastermind behind the alleged pump and dump securities fraud case involving Biozoom, Francisco Abellan Villena, has been located in Ibiza, the playground for billionaires. Villena is currently incarcerated in Ibiza, perhaps on an extradition warrant from the US. He was located by an investigator in Spain hired […]

US considering two anti-money laundering bills to force disclosure of shareholders of private companies

Tweet In what will be the most significant change to anti-money laundering law in the US since the Bank Secrecy Act, the US is considering two separate bills that, if passed, would require disclosure of the shareholders of private companies – the ILLICIT CASH Act and the Corporate Transparency Act, H.R. 2513. ILLICIT Cash Act […]

Over 20% of lawyers in UK not complying with anti-money laundering law

Tweet According to this article in the Financial Times, 20% of lawyers in the UK are not complying with federal anti-money laundering laws. Unlike the US and Canada, in the UK, lawyers are reporting entities and must conduct bank-level AML to onboard and report suspicious and other threshold financial transactions externally. The findings come amid […]

8 questions you may have had about the movie “The Laundromat” and yes, there are British Columbia connections

Tweet Part 1 – Background Skip this Part 1 if you know about Mossack Fonseca and shell and shelf companies. The movie The Laundromat is about lawyers and big law firms and the system that fuels offshore money movements, often involving the proceeds of crime. The movie is about a big law firm called Mossack Fonseca that […]

Law firms flipping shelf and shell companies

Tweet Shell games US law enforcement agencies recently signalled that they were stepping up enforcement, inter alia, in two ways: (a) as against professional money launderers; and (b) as against shell and shelf companies that law firms flip to clients. Professional money launderers under scrutiny, the FBI explained recently, are accountants, hawalas, lawyers and individuals, […]

American ICO lawyer and chairman of Vancouver Blockchain pubco, arrested for extortion

Tweet The FBI arrested Steven Nerayoff, a US lawyer known for his work on advising ICOs (allegedly including the first ICO issued by Toronto’s Ethereum and Ethereum’s second ICO, The DAO), and charged him with extortion. According to the complaint, Nerayoff was retained by the Seattle company to assist it to launch an ICO for […]

Four indicted in US cannabis tech pump & dump scheme that allegedly scammed investors and used Canadian promoters

Tweet Four people connected with a company called BioCube Inc., with connections to Canada were indicted on Friday for securities fraud and two for money laundering. They are alleged to have defrauded the public securities market by making untrue statements, omitting to make material statements and intentionally deceiving investors  – in essence, for engaging in […]

Bail denied for “little known lawyer” charged with money laundering who had $19 million in cash parked at his firm and home because he poses a serious threat to the financial health of India

Tweet Rohit Tandon, the Delhi lawyer charged with money laundering just before Christmas after approximately $19.9 million was found in cash at his law firm office and home, was denied bail on Saturday and remains incarcerated. In denying bail, the Court said that the money laundering offenses “pose a serious threat to the financial health of […]

Trial of PEP from Equatorial Guinea for money laundering in France

Tweet Equatorial Guinea trial Teodorin Obiang, the son of the President of Equatorial Guinea, is being prosecuted in France for allegedly laundering the proceeds of corruption in France. Mr. Obiang is also the Vice-President of Equatorial Guinea and is a politically exposed person. His trial is scheduled for June 2017. He is accused of bringing […]