Romanian Prime Minister Vctor Ponta exits the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, June 5, 2015. Ponta told media that he was suspected of making false statements, money laundering and being an accomplice to tax evasion while working as a lawyer from 2007 to 2008 when he was also… – Continue reading
The government scheme dubbed “stability savings account”, which lets people repatriate offshore money, should be scrapped because it is making Hungary into a “gangsters’ paradise”, the green LMP party said. It also undermines tax morale and the credibility of the tax system, László Heltai, the party’s economic spokesman, said in… – Continue reading
A businessman caught in a money-laundering sting helped the U.S. prosecute a foreign business — and now he’s seeking $22.2 million from the government as a reward. The U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday in favor of the informant, allowing his claim to proceed after the Internal Revenue Service earlier denied… – Continue reading
Afip has blamed Julio Grondona for authorising a $10-million payment that prosecutors have characterised as a bribe to vote for SA for World Cup 2010. Julio Grondona, a former Fifa vice-president and head of finance who ran Argentina’s soccer federation from 1979 until his death last year at 82, will… – Continue reading
MR RAYMOND Koh Bock Swi raised some important issues related to Singapore’s anti-money laundering regime in his letter (“Are we well equipped to fight money laundering?”;May 28). In a subsequent letter (“Money laundering: Banks not a big worry, but watch other sectors”; yesterday), Mr Tan Sin Liang highlighted the tough… – Continue reading
By 2013, Banque Cramer knew it had a problem. With just SFr2bn of client money, the 300-year-old Swiss private bank was too small to weather the radical changes sweeping through its industry, reports Financial Times. Extra regulatory and compliance demands were driving up costs. Big advantages that traditionally helped Swiss… – Continue reading
Chief prosecutor for canton’s decision to investigate despite inaction by other Swiss regulators shows power struggle within establishment The £28m HSBC will pay in “compensation” to the Swiss authorities following a money laundering investigation may be no more than a drop in the lake for Europe’s biggest bank, but it… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc will learn the results of a Geneva probe into allegations of money laundering at its Swiss private banking unit when prosecutors hold a press conference. Representatives for prosecutors and HSBC declined to immediately comment on what will be disclosed at the press conference, which will… – Continue reading
The chairman, Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters, Aloysius Etok, yesterday, revealed that Nigeria has lost over N2 trillion as a result of tax evasion by capable companies and cybercrimes perpetrated by some Nigerians. Etok made this disclosure during his address at the valedictory session of the National… – Continue reading
KARACHI: A district and sessions court remanded on Wednesday four more suspects in Axact-gate scandal for one day. The four – Muhammad Rizwan, Atif Hussain, Imran Ahmed Khan and Adnan Saboor – who were recently taken into custody after some leads given by the detained suspects were presented by the… – Continue reading
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has assessed a $75 million fine against the Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino for “willful egregious anti-money laundering violations.” Financial transactions worth $10,000 or more are supposed to be recorded and reported to federal authorities, but weren’t reported at the… – Continue reading
Controversial recent changes to UK and EU law combined with parallel G8, G20 and OECD measures risk the beneficial owners of certain companies being subjected to unwanted public scrutiny. However, help is at hand for affected individuals. The political background Reacting to concerns about tax evasion, money laundering and the… – Continue reading
Some of the first banks that streamed into Crimea after Russia wrested control of the region from Ukraine in 2014 were better known for laundering money than banking. Five of the banks have questionable histories, including ties to the US$ 20 billion money laundering scandal known as the Russian Laundromat… – Continue reading
As Cayman finds itself at the heart of what may be the world’s biggest ever corruption scandal, following the arrest of local football boss, Jeffrey Webb, the premier has defended the jurisdiction in a statement from his office about the FIFA probe. Alden McLaughlin said that local law enforcement agencies… – Continue reading
In its report issued in May 2015, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned against the exceptional risks and challenges facing Lebanon as a result of several political and security factors both at the domestic and foreign levels. These challenges also result from worrying economic factors in terms of growth, the… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: CBDT has issued fresh instructions to the taxman to ensure that information on individuals holding black money abroad is strictly kept secret as it stressed that any “careless” act could give an excuse to the data supplying country for not helping India in the future. “In many countries,… – Continue reading
In December 2014, the Swiss parliament—giving in to international pressure—passed new laws to tighten its anti-money-laundering regulations, most prominently the freezing of assets in Swiss bank accounts. It also increases watch over politicians and officials such as those arrested in the FIFA scandal, by defining them as PEP—Politically Exposed Persons… – Continue reading
Developments in Asia over the last year have been continuous with the biggest generic development relating to the exchange of information. Asian countries have put their FATCA reporting systems in place (even though not all have yet signed an inter-governmental agreement with the US IRS), and most have now committed… – Continue reading
HSBC, the giant UK bank, is so slow it’s dangerous. The bank, hammered in 2012 for its lax anti-money-laundering safeguards, is still “under serious money-laundering and sanctions risk” because it hasn’t tightened up parts of its operation, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Monday. Without top-flight safeguards, HSBC could still be… – Continue reading
State Street Corp. was ordered by regulators to revamp its compliance programs after deficiencies were found related to internal controls, customer due-diligence procedures and transaction monitoring. The Boston-based bank had warned last month that it would likely face a public enforcement action from the Federal Reserve and Massachusetts Division of… – Continue reading
RODRIGO RATO, a former IMF chief and veteran Popular Party (PP) official, is under scrutiny for tax fraud, as well as other crimes. In 2013, it is reported that he transferred company shares to his children, worth €2.5 million, in an attempt to avoid paying civil liability bonds in an… – Continue reading
Barclays has launched an internal review into whether its accounts were used for corrupt payments by FIFA officials, a banking source told AFP on Sunday. Standard Chartered has also said it was investigating payments cited in the US indictment. UK-headquartered Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC were among more than a… – Continue reading
British Virgin Islands, Caymans and Turks & Caicos feature heavily in justice department indictment of senior football officials British overseas tax havens play a key role in what US authorities have called “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted” corruption in the world of football, analysis by the Observer reveals. The 164-page US… – Continue reading
Even 30 years would not suffice for the existing mechanisms to complete their investigation of all seven lists of suspected tax dodgers and money launderers that financial prosecutors have in their hands, accounting for billions of euros. The sum of the tax ID numbers (AFM) included on the lists –… – Continue reading
The leadership of Costa Rican football has circled the wagons around their embattled president, Eduardo Li, after Li was arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering. Jorge Hidalgo, acting president of the Costa Rican Football Federation, FEDEFÚTBOL, told the website Amelia Rueda that… – Continue reading
A South Florida man who ran a $15 million pill mill operation that sold hundreds of thousands of addictive painkillers to drug dealers and addicts was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in federal prison. Joel Shumrak, 67, of Boca Raton, has been locked up since June when federal agents raided… – Continue reading
UNDER fire spreadbetter Plus500 was forced to defend itself against angry shareholders yesterday as it admitted all UK customers were frozen out of their accounts. The Israeli business, which has plummeted in value since the financial watchdog clamped down on its controversial customer recruitment practices, admitted in its annual meeting… – Continue reading
CHARGES laid out by the United States Department of Justice on 14 high-ranking FIFA officials may never have come to a head had it not been for the behind the scenes workings of former FIFA executive Chuck Blazer. In 2011, after being confronted by the Internal Revenue Service in regards… – Continue reading
The European Parliament endorsed the anti-laundering directive under which the ultimate owners of the companies will have to be listed in central registers in EU countries. The registries will be open to authorities, financial intelligence units, and individuals having a “legitimate interest” (for example investigative journalists). The “legitimate interest” in… – Continue reading
IT’S A SECRET According to the IMF, “Money laundering is a process by which the illicit source of assets obtained or generated by criminal activity is concealed to obscure the link between the funds and the original criminal activity. Terrorist financing involves the raising and processing of assets to supply… – Continue reading
The U.S. is examining banks’ conduct as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe of international soccer that has led to charges against 14 people, including officials with the sport’s organizing body. Money involved in the two-decade-old bribery scheme passed through U.S. banks including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.,… – Continue reading
Former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, who is currently Armenia’s ambassador to the United States, has filed a lawsuit against former businessman Paylak Hayrapetyan with a demand that he refute the “libelous information” spread about him and pay 1 million AMD (about $2,100) in compensation for moral damages. Sargsyan demands Hayrapetyan,… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: An investment exhibition, inviting the crème de la crème of society to put their money in real estate opportunities in the Middle East, does not sound like the kind of place the government may want to raid. But the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) – which has been worried… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: On a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out, albeit indirectly, at the Congress for looting the country for 60 years, Swiss authorities named five Indians among several foreign nationals with Swiss bank accounts. Their names have been made public by Switzerland in its federal gazette. The… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD / KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday threw out a protective bail plea filed by Axact Chairman and CEO Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh in view of the ongoing investigation into the software company’s fake degrees mill. Arguing before a divisional bench of the SHC – headed by Justice… – Continue reading
Caribbean IFCs continue to face the growing challenges as global standards struggle to manage certain risks across borders. Some of these challenges (such as cross border tax information sharing) have maintained their original format but intensified and we have seen several new initiatives (for example a push for beneficial ownership… – Continue reading
The long term weather forecast for the international finance centre of the Isle of Man is looking bright at the end of a year of legislative and regulatory change designed to ensure that the Island remains commercially friendly with a governmental and business infrastructure geared up to allow new and… – Continue reading
Uzbekistan has developed a draft law on amendments and additions to the Tax Code regarding the companies established by the country’s residents in offshore zones. This remark was made by Uzbekistan’s Prosecutor-General Ikhtiyor Abdullayev, who was addressing the plenary session of the Eurasian Group on combating Money laundering and financing… – Continue reading
A bill offering legal amnesty to Russians who willingly declare their foreign assets sailed through Russia’s lower house of parliament on Friday, forcing companies and individuals to face a crucial question: to declare or not to declare? Under the legislation, known as the “capital amnesty bill,” businesses and citizens who… – Continue reading
A special European Parliament committee meant to examine tax breaks for multinationals is being stonewalled at every turn, prompting some MEPs to consider taking the legal route to get real powers, reports the EU Observer. Parliament president Martin Schulz is being blamed for the committee’s weak mandate. Fabio de Masi,… – Continue reading
The owner of the horse vying to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 asks that a federal judge dismiss a lawsuit that claims he owes $1.65 million in gambling debts. Ahmed Zayat’s horse, American Pharoah has already won the first two legs of the Triple Crown—the Kentucky Derby… – Continue reading
On 15 May 2015, Singapore has implemented a new enhanced regulatory framework for Singapore Corporate Services Providers. The strengthened regime for Singapore Corporate Services Providers is expected to help further boost the reputation of Singapore as a trusted international financial and business centre with robust regulatory frameworks against money laundering… – Continue reading
Bern, 29.04.2015 – At its meeting today, the Federal Council decided to put into effect in two stages the Federal Law of 12 December 2014 on the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force recommendations, revised in 2012. On 12 December 2014 the Federal Assembly approved the Federal Law on… – Continue reading
The Compliance Commission (the Commission) has revised its Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Examination Forms which were last revised in 2010. The examination forms were revised to clarify: The requirement for a written Risk-based AML/CFT policies and procedures document; Examination of financial institutions with a branch or branches;… – Continue reading
Experts say Panama’s new reforms will help fight money laundering. Panama’s Congress on April 22 unanimously approved anti-money laundering legislation that will bolster supervision of non-financial sectors through which proceeds from drug trafficking and other illicit activities have been laundered in recent years. To what extent will the reforms, a… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS, May 20 (KUNA) ¬¬ The European Parliament Wednesday endorsed the new anti¬money laundering legislation to step up the fight against tax crimes and terrorist financing. The anti¬money laundering law will for the first time oblige EU member states to keep central registers of information on the ultimate “beneficial” owners… – Continue reading
The Lower House and Senate Committee investigating the existence of secret HSBC bank accounts in Switzerland met today with the presence of the bank’s internal auditor Diego Esquenazi, and external auditor Mabel Casillas. During his presentation, Esquenazi asserted that “As chief of the bank’s internal auditing, I deny all the… – Continue reading
As money laundering is estimated to cost over €1 trillion a year, MEPs are set to vote on measures to set up an EU register of beneficial company owners. One of the hot topics at this week’s plenary session is parliament’s proposed measures against money laundering and terrorist financing, which… – Continue reading
Kuwait working to ban remittances to 12 countries, including Arab states, claiming the locations are being used to funnel funds to terrorists, Arabic daily Al Anbaa has reported, citing a ministerial source. The blacklisted countries include islands known to host offshore accounts of companies that run illegal money laundering businesses,… – Continue reading
Compliance costs for banks in the Middle East are soaring, as a global crackdown on money laundering and higher international capital requirements squeezes their resources, a new report from Thomson Reuters said, reports Gulf News. Four out of five financial services companies in the Middle East polled by Reuters said… – Continue reading
