Canada imposes sanctions on the Bank of Moscow and bans CEO of Bank of Russia in new sanctions

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 […]

Financier Worldwide Magazine – Infrastructure funding and corruption in Canada

Tweet Our article in Financier Worldwide, linked below, discusses the approval in Canada of the last tranche of $100 billion in infrastructure funding authorized on the unusual basis that it be used for corruption-free projects. The approval comes as Canada grapples with the fallout from the largest corruption case in the world and the first […]

Construction firms execs & accountant jailed collectively for 90 years over under-the-table payments

Tweet The founders, executives and several employees of a UK construction firm have collectively been jailed for 90 years for money laundering and fraud for under-the-table construction payments made to subcontractors. The company hired contractors and paid them under-the-table, without paying the requisite payroll or sales taxes or making other employment-related contributions, totalling £8 billion. […]

News report says that $125 million paid to listed terrorist groups for ransom payments

Tweet According to this article in the New York Times, governments of the European Union have paid at least $125 million to terrorist organizations, mostly Al Qaeda, since 2008 and $66 million of that was paid last year. The US Treasury Department estimates the figure is closer to $165 million and believes that ransom payments […]

China takes steps to enforce anti-money laundering laws in Macau

Tweet According to this report, the People’s Bank of China has signed a Memorandum with the Monetary Authority of Macau to start to take steps to address money laundering in Macau’s casinos. The share price of casino companies operating in Macau fell on the news of the Memorandum. According to a recent survey of business people who operate […]

Vietnam improves its government anti-corruption and anti-money laundering supervision

Tweet Slowing Addressing Money Laundering Issues The Government of Vietnam, through its State Bank, announced late last week that it was improving its anti-money laundering and anti-corruption supervisory regime by implementing changes to the functions, responsibilities and structure of the Banking Supervision Agency (“BSA“). Effective August 1, 2014, a separate higher division of the BSA […]

2nd Annual ACAMS Conference in Toronto on Anti-Money Laundering

Tweet The ACAMS 2nd Annual AML & Financial Crime Conference Canada in Toronto on June 9-10, 2014 has an interesting and exciting list of speakers and topics. Highlights of this year’s program include: Corruption Presentation – Interpol’s Michel Girodo. Critical Guidance on Anti-Money Laundering Laws – Jamal El-Hindi, Associate Director, Policy Division, FinCEN. Anti-Bribery Update […]

Billionaire banker executed in $2.6B money laundering case and two co-defendants in Canada

Tweet Billionaire money launderer executed According to the Washington Post, billionaire banker Mahafarid Amir Khosravi was executed today in Tehran for bank fraud and money laundering. He is alleged to have forged letters of credit with the assistance of bank managers from the Melli Bank to start a private bank called Aria Bank. Iranian courts found […]

As nations use money laundering laws to tackle tax fraud, cross-border cooperation is key

Tweet Our interview on a podcast with the Association of Certified Crime Specialists regarding the criminal investigation into Brazilian soccer coach Luiz Scolari by Portuguese authorities for money laundering arising from tax fraud. “The head coach of Brazil’s national soccer team has one more thing to worry about before the World Cup held in his […]