Rewind to 2019’s most unusual financial crime case – the Ponzi schemer who paid US$720,000 for online spiritual rituals and filled freezers with beef tongues to cast voodoo spells on SEC lawyers to stop an investigation

Tweet This case wins first prize as the most unusual financial crime case of 2019. It’s about Dawn J. Bennett, a former stock broker from Maryland, who first worked with Western International Securities. In addition to selling securities, Bennett was a financial expert on a radio show where she dispensed investment advice and believed that […]

Another week; another SEC suspension of pubco shares connected to Canada promoting Covid-19 treatment

Tweet Cedar tree drugs for China The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC“) issued an order to temporarily suspend the trading of the shares of another pubco with ties to Canada – this time is was Vancouver-based Roadman Investments Corp. (“Roadman“). Roadman made statements to the investing public suggesting oil from cedar leaves may be effective […]

FATF to finalize interpretation of virtual assets, digital currency exchanges and ICOs to require they be FIU-registered and supervised for AML compliance

Tweet In furtherance of the US approach to responsible innovation, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF“)’s private sector consultation in Vienna two weeks ago, will help drive changes to FATF Recommendation 15 to bring digital currencies, ICOs, and digital currency exchanges more fully into the AML requirements in June 2019. The Vienna change will take […]

OFAC releases framework for sanctions compliance

Tweet The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published a framework for sanctions compliance yesterday which describes the sanctions compliance program standards for US legal and natural persons and for US-origin goods or services. The framework mirrors the requirements for a competence AML program and includes: commitment from the top down […]

World Check being sued over database of personal information

Tweet A number of persons and organizations are allegedly preparing to sue Thomson Reuters, the organization that runs World Check for wrongly listing them in a database as a financial crime risk. World Check created (apparently without informed consent at least under Canadian law), an online global database that purports to provide anti-money laundering, sanctions […]

US expands review of money laundering in real estate market

Tweet More scrutiny in US for real estate The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced that it is expanding its program to identify persons who may be hiding assets in residential properties in the US. The expansion adds additional cities to what are called the area for Geographic Targeting Orders (GTO). Title insurance agents in GTO […]

FinTechs are being derisked out of bank accounts over terrorist financing and money laundering risks says UK study

Tweet The Financial Conduct Authority released an interesting soft study on the incidents of derisking affecting companies in the UK and pursuant to the study, MSB, charities and FinTechs are the three business client groups whose bank accounts are most frequently closed because they are too risky for the bank (a practice known as derisking). […]

The $200 million a year refugee smuggling operation in Libya

Tweet A $200 million a year business and growing  The EU – Turkey deal to close the borders of the EU to refugees and migrants has shifted the human smuggling routes back to Libya. The focus back to Libya means ISIS’ large source of terrorist financing from this activity is flowing again, which may also […]