Tweet The US federal government has filed an indictment against a foreign national, Kenneth Zong, who resided in the US for allegedly laundering over $1 billion from Iran through Canada, the US and a number of other countries in violation of international sanctions law that prohibit providing financial services to Iranian foreign nationals in Iran […]
Tweet The requested deportation of Mahmoud Reza Khavari, a former Iranian foreign national, and a Canadian citizen living in Toronto, seems to be at the centre of the arrest of a Canadian professor from Montreal, Homa Hoodfar, also an Iranian foreign national and equally a Canadian citizen, who was visiting Iran. Professor Hoodfar was arrested […]
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 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 Listed terrorist group takes over energy infrastructure The Security Council of the United Nations today called on its members not to engage in financial or commercial transactions with listed terrorist groups, in particular involving the sale of oil from Syria or Iraq that would involve the financing of terrorism. Anti-terrorism and sanctions laws In […]
Tweet Although Canadian economic sanctions have been in place for years, until now Canada has never prosecuted any company for sanctions violations. That changed earlier this month when Lee Specialities Ltd., a Calgary based company, was charged with violating Canadian (and UN) economic sanctions by exporting goods to Iran that could be used for nuclear devices. […]
Tweet US Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism on Bitcoin, Banks, AML and Regulation The US Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, David S. Cohen, discussed the risks of digital currencies and Bitcoin in a Bloomberg talk in New York City today. Mr. Cohen said the regulation of Bitcoin coming down the pipe may require financial […]
Tweet Summary of OFAC sanctions Until FACTA comes in force, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC“) remains the singularly most important agency in the U.S. in respect of financial crime for multinational and foreign companies and yet surprisingly, the OFAC regime appears to be relatively ignored from a compliance perspective. OFAC yields enormous power […]
Tweet 2013 Annual Report In its 2013 Annual Report, a U.S. Congressional Executive Commission has urged Macau to develop law enforcement mechanisms to combat money laundering at its casinos. The Congressional members found that the gambling industry in Macau was reportedly tied to widespread corruption and the laundering of large amounts of money out of […]