Tweet Surprising criminal conviction of two Hong Kong tycoons In a surprising decision, the Macau Court of First Instance has convicted two high-profile Hong Kong businessmen of money laundering. Joseph Lau Luen-hung, and Stephen Lo Kit-sing, each received a sentence of five years and three months in prison and were sentenced in absentia. Mr. Lau […]
Tweet Two executives of PetroTiger, Ltd., a British Virgin Islands oil and gas company (“PetroTiger“), were charged with money laundering, wire fraud and bribery under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA“) for allegedly bribing foreign public officials to obtain a $39 million contract from Ecopetrol S.A., a state-owned petroleum company in Columbia (“Ecopetrol“), Latin […]
Tweet 2013 Corruption Index According to Transparency International‘s newly published 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index, the new top ten corrupt nations are Somalia, North Korea, Afghanistan, Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Syria. The ten least corrupt are Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Luxembourg. The results are based […]
Tweet Crackdown on foreign nationals with unverified funds The G20 leaders have endorsed a sweeping plan proposed by its Anti-Corruption Working Group (“ACWG“) in 2012 to tackle the illicit movement of proceeds of crime internationally by corrupt foreign nationals to other countries (usually done as part of an immigration process). The change is part of […]
Tweet Tracfin report highlights money laundering In its annual money laundering report, France’s Traitement du Renseignement et Action Contre les Circuits Financiers Clandestins (“Tracfin“) expressed concern over money laundering risks associated with the sale of France’s most renowned wineries to investors from China, Hong Kong and Russia. The concern stems from the increase in suspicious […]
Tweet The shares of Beijing-based Soho China, a premier commercial development company, fell 11% this week after allegations surfaced in China that the company may be involved in money laundering associated with the sale of 41 Soho China properties to Gong Aiai, for approximately HK$1 billion. Gong was arrested in China for allegedly using national […]
Tweet According to a report published in China by the Central Bank (that has since been removed from the Bank of China’s website) and reported by the BBC, close to 20,000 public officials in China have collectively removed about US$120 billion from China and transferred it to just 4 countries –> Canada, the US, Australia […]
Tweet Government official had assets worth 57 times his salary The Collegial Bench of the Court of First Instance of Macau today sentenced a whole family for money laundering in connection with bribes over a government infrastructure project. The family members are related to Macau’s former Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Ao Man Long. […]