While the European single currency’s existential crisis drags on in Athens, it turns out Luxembourg likes its euros — a lot — as foreigners with accounts in the Grand Duchy try to stay one step ahead of the taxman. Luxembourg’s central bank issued 15 percent more euro notes in 2013,… – Continue reading
The six individual defendants indicted in the Lukoil tax evasion and money laundering case remain under court supervision, as the Prahova Court rejected on Tuesday the defendants’ requests to have the court restriction lifted; the court ordered instead the confinement for 60 days running from August 4 to October 2…. – Continue reading
A Romanian court has rejected an appeal by the general manager and six executives of a subsidiary of Russian oil company Lukoil who have been indicted on tax evasion and money laundering charges. The Court of Appeal in Ploiesti dismissed the appeal made by general manager Andrey Bogdanov, a Russian… – Continue reading
Introduction The Cayman Islands have an extremely open, accountable and transparent government and regulatory system. Despite the dated stereotype, the Cayman Islands have promoted transparency regulations and initiatives for many years. In May 2000, the Cayman Islands made commitments to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the “OECD“) to… – Continue reading
Introduction Following the implementation of the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive (2011/61/EC) and associated legislation, Cyprus now lays claim to being a growth jurisdiction within the European Union for the establishment and servicing of boutique and low cost alternative investment funds based locally or offshore. The choice of… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: HSBC has been asking all “politically exposed persons” (PEP) having accounts with the bank to disclose their source of fund and income. The bank is also refraining from opening accounts of US-based non-resident Indians and persons of India origin in the wake of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act… – Continue reading
Romanian prosecutors have completed its investigations into the alleged fraud committed at a local Lukoil refinery and on August 4 indicted the Russian-owned Petrotel refinery, its Russian director-general and five other officials. Prosecutors estimate the losses to the state at RON 7.6bn (€1.76bn), and have seized shares and bank accounts… – Continue reading
Vancouver International Airport is the major port of entry for millions in hidden cash being smuggled into North America by mostly Chinese citizens, a federal document investigation by The Province reveals. And according to money laundering investigators, the amounts identified in Canada Border Service Agency cash seizure data, obtained by… – Continue reading
HSBC has reported its half-year profits are up 10 per cent to £8.7bn as it sets aside £731m to deal with a raft of ongoing regulatory investigations. The bank posted a pre-tax profit of £7.9bn at the same time last year. Its interim results, published today, reveal HSBC has made… – Continue reading
CAPITAL flight to offshore tax havens, estimated at between US$21 trillion to US$32 trillion, poses a major challenge especially in tackling income inequality, poverty and debt issues. In total, 10 million individuals around the world hold assets offshore, with almost half of the minimum estimate of US$21 trillion to US$9.8… – Continue reading
Labour’s housing spokesperson on the London Assembly wants estate agents and mayor Boris Johnson to take money laundering in property more seriously. Tom Copley says recent studies by global pressure group Transparency International suggests over 36,000 London properties are held by companies operating in offshore tax havens. “Owing to the… – Continue reading
THOUSANDS of pieces of land across Scotland have been snapped up by huge offshore companies – many of which are based in the world’s biggest tax havens. The revelation has prompted fears that firms owning Scottish land are dodging taxes, or even acting as fronts for laundering money. In total… – Continue reading
A millionaire businessman charged over an alleged $63 million tax-evasion and money-laundering scheme can’t afford to pay his legal bills after blowing millions of dollars on luxury cars, boats and an extravagant lifestyle, a court has heard. The taxpayer will now bear at least $624,000 in legal fees incurred by… – Continue reading
Training and planning have helped insurance brokers meet new tax reporting regulations for 2015, and compliance is moving into the “another part of doing business” phase. Initial reporting under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, meant to help combat international money laundering, began Jan. 1. “The go-live in January was… – Continue reading
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority ordered a local unit of India’s largest bank to pay a HK$7.5 million ($960,000) penalty for failing to carry out proper checks to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing. In its first action since gaining new anti-money laundering powers in 2012, the HKMA said the… – Continue reading
The international press, especially the Italian one, has been filled these past days with stories of ‘Ndrangheta criminals who have been arrested in Italy and who seem to have links with online gaming companies in Malta which they may have been using for money laundering. This is bad news for… – Continue reading
Requiring the Land Registry to publish information about foreign companies that own property in England and Wales could ultimately speed up the recovery of money from fraudsters who have “hidden” victims’ money in a variety of corporate structures, an expert has said. UK prime minister David Cameron announced new measures… – Continue reading
The Prime Minister took small bites as he tucked into the Indonesian street food alongside a local celebrity, singer and actress Maudy Ayunda. “London is not a place to stash your dodgy cash”. Transparency worldwide says shell companies are a common way for moving corrupt money around the world. Some… – Continue reading
A U.S. Senate investigative subcommittee, which has used its power for more than a decade to scrutinize corporations and financial institutions for wrongdoing, is shifting its focus to keeping tabs on the government. The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is slated to hold its first hearing under new leadership… – Continue reading
Foreigners must not be able to buy UK homes with “plundered or laundered cash” as part a global effort to defeat corruption, David Cameron has said. Speaking in Singapore, the prime minister vowed to expose the use of “anonymous shell companies” to buy luxury UK properties – often in London…. – Continue reading
White-collar criminals who launder billions by buying luxury UK properties must be tackled, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday. Experts warn these fraudsters are distorting the UK property market and pushing up house prices in the process. Cameron’s criticism of money laundering formed part of a broader speech on… – Continue reading
Former Attorney-General Mark Pettingill describes the suggestion he had someone seeking payment of a bribe on his behalf as “ridiculous” A developer’s allegations of Government corruption over the development of the Hamilton waterfront are “farcical” and based on “hearsay, innuendo and lies”, according to Mark Pettingill, the One Bermuda Alliance… – Continue reading
Singapore’s fight to stem illicit fund inflows has shoved private bankers into a new quandary – finding enough qualified compliance specialists to ensure the money passing through their accounts is clean. Like other wealth management centres around the world, Singapore is forcing banks to make more stringent checks on their… – Continue reading
Citigroup’s headache over inquires into its Mexican subsidiaries Banamex and Banamex USA’s alleged lax compliance with U.S. federal anti-money-laundering rules just got worse. Last week, the Department of Justice expanded its money-laundering probe of Banamex, Bloomberg reported on Friday. In January, the Department of Justice issued a subpoena to Banamex,… – Continue reading
According to a recent report from National Crime Agency’s Economic Crimes Unit showed a recent spike in the receipts from a tax on homes purchased by companies, trusts or investment funds. In a report from theguardian.co.uk, this may be a clear indication that foreign criminals are using the London housing… – Continue reading
Six people, one a financial adviser, have been arrested as part of an investigation into a suspected £4 million tax evasion and money laundering fraud. Officers from HM Revenue and Customs searched six premises in Telford and Wolverhampton last week and arrested the four men and two women. During the… – Continue reading
A new report says house prices in the United Kingdom have been on the rise over foreign criminals’ purchasing of British property. According to the Times report, foreign crime lords are pushing up house prices in Britain by laundering billions of pounds through the purchase of expensive properties. The report… – Continue reading
The Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team on black money has called for clamping down on betting in cricket and stringent checks to prevent rampant use of unaccounted funds in educational institutions by way of donations and capitation fee. The panel has also called for a cash holding limit of Rs… – Continue reading
Corporations, usually based in offshore tax havens, are sometimes used by buyers keen to hide ownership of assets, says National Crime Agency spokesman Foreign criminals are using the London housing market to launder billions of pounds, pushing up house prices for domestic buyers, a senior police officer has warned. Donald… – Continue reading
A pressure group is calling for estate agents to conduct additional checks to ensure the legal provenance of buyers’ funds, and wants all on- and off-shore companies owning UK property to be obliged to tell the Land Registry the identify of their beneficial owners. Global Witness – a group campaigning… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Suspecting tax evasion of at least Rs 5,000-6,000 crore, regulator Sebi has clamped down on a large number of organised syndicates who had set up ‘shops’ to convert black money into legitimate-looking funds through the stock market platform. While more than 900 entities have been banned from capital markets… – Continue reading
Banamex USA, a Century City unit of Citigroup Inc. that served customers doing business in Mexico and the U.S., has agreed to shut down and pay $140 million in penalties to settle state and federal money-laundering probes. Citigroup said in a news release Wednesday that it would “wind down” Banamex… – Continue reading
As part of its framework of measures on anti-money laundering and the counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), Hong Kong’s Security Bureau has launched a three-month public consultation on the establishment of a reporting system on the physical cross-boundary transportation of large quantities of currency and bearer negotiable instruments (CBNIs). A spokesman… – Continue reading
A report published today by Global Witness, alleging that an individual with ties to a former Kazakh public official owns large swathes of London, follows much recent interest in the issue of public officials owning property in the UK via secretive corporate structures that conceal their interest. Earlier this month,… – Continue reading
In a published report, anti-corruption organisation highlights complex structures through which swaths of UK property are owned Global Witness has called for greater transparency around the ownership of UK properties after reviewing alleged links between a former Kazakh secret police chief accused of money laundering and a London property portfolio… – Continue reading
SAO PAULO (AP) ” Three top officials of Brazil’s Camargo Correa construction company have become the first business executives to be convicted in the corruption-kickback scandal engulfing state-run oil company Petrobras. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office says Judge Sergio Moro on Monday sentenced the three on charges of money laundering, corruption… – Continue reading
Categorizing it as a “large scale, continuing, complex commercial crime,” a judge has sentenced two Calgary businessmen to prison for five years for defrauding the federal government of millions in taxes that should have been paid on registered retirement savings plans. Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Peter McIntyre said Steven… – Continue reading
Post Finance, the banking arm of the Swiss post office, has informed clients living abroad that their credit cards will be cancelled at the end of October. The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) has criticised the decision that has been motivated by tightening money laundering and tax evasion regulations…. – Continue reading
Swiss national Xavier Andre Justo will remain under Thai police custody for another 60 days, after investigators uncovered money laundering besides international corporate espionage-cum-extortion. Thai police have assured prosecutors Justo will be charged before his 85th day of detention, but sought further extension for his detention as more details are… – Continue reading
A bitcoin scam in Spain has managed to convince 22,000 investors to fork over a total of 50 million EUR to the unete, a digital currency that can allow people to buy or sell things online. This bitcoin scam was started by José Manuel Ramírez Marco in 2013 and, just… – Continue reading
India and Mauritius are set to limit the benefits of their double tax avoidance agreement (DTAA) to only genuine businesses bringing foreign direct investment to India by inserting a new clause in the treaty straight from New Delhi’s yet to be implemented General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR). The revised treaty, however,… – Continue reading
1MDB scandal prompts regulator to outline S’pore’s anti-money laundering regime The financial regulator has outlined Singapore’s anti-money laundering regime after an unfolding scandal at 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) put the private banking industry here in the spotlight. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said yesterday in a statement: “Singapore is… – Continue reading
The tax department has launched an investigation against 90 companies for possible evasion, money laundering and for converting black money into “white” through a series of transactions in little-known shares, commonly called penny stocks. Sources said this is a massive scam which the department is probing and is the latest… – Continue reading
Washington, DC – An indictment was unsealed today charging nine defendants with offenses based on their roles in complex, international stock manipulation and money laundering schemes generating approximately $6.5 million in illicit proceeds. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente… – Continue reading
One of five estate agents identified in a TV documentary has denied any wrong-doing and has specifically denied any involvement in money laundering offences. The agents named in the Channel 4 programme, From Russia With Cash, were Winkworth, Marsh & Parsons, Domus Nova, Chard and Bective Leslie Marsh. The show… – Continue reading
US authorities are investigating German banking giant Deutsche Bank over alleged money laundering in Russia, people familiar with the matter said Monday. The investigation centers on billions of dollars’ worth of transactions carried out by Deutsche Bank in Russia that New York state regulators believe may have been used to… – Continue reading
A draft amendment to the Income Tax Ordinance and the Prohibition on Money Laundering Law regarding Israel joining international tax information-sharing agreements. The Israel Tax Authority (ITA) has just circulated a draft amendment to the Income Tax Ordinance and the Prohibition on Money Laundering Law regarding Israel joining international tax… – Continue reading
Lord Green has admitted more should have been done to uncover “industrial” tax avoidance practices at a Swiss arm of his former bank HSBC. The peer – who served as David Cameron’s trade minister for three years after stepping down as HSBC chairman in 2010 – said he did not… – Continue reading
According to a local newspaper report, the Cayman Islands, the Caribbean territory often called an offshore financial haven, could be the site of a future diamond bourse. The proposed exchange is the brainchild of local jeweler Dennis Smith, who sees it as a way for overseas companies to service the… – Continue reading
In the midst of turmoil in the Chinese stock markets, one serious problem that may appear is increased currency outflows created by current and potential investors who would rather move their assets to foreign countries viewed as safer havens. Money laundering should be under close surveillance. Chinese involvement in money… – Continue reading
