Tweet Do foreign digital currency exchanges that take US customers online have to be AML registered in the US? Not unsurprisingly, the answer is yes. Under US law, digital currency ​exchangers​ qualify as money transmitters and are subject to the obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act. Key concepts to know are that: An exchanger is a person […]
Tweet The US has indicted 12 Russian foreign nationals for hacking, conspiracy and money laundering for allegedly interfering with the 2016 US presidential election. According to the indictment, Russia operated an intelligence agency called GRU which obtained confidential documents from the Clinton campaign systems by hacking and systematically released them to sway public opinion. According […]
Tweet US President Trump signed new sanctions legislation into law on August 3, 2017, against Iran, Russia and North Korea, and at the same time, adopted a new national strategy to combat terrorist financing and money laundering. The legislation, “HR3364 – Countering America’s Adversaries Though Sanctions Act” is more than about sanctions. In large part, […]
Tweet In a not-often cited decision from 2011, the Federal Court of Canada upheld a decision of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada denying a foreign national refugee protection in Canada for serious criminality based on money laundering charges even though the foreign national was never convicted of money laundering. The facts of the […]
Tweet More scrutiny in US for real estate The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced that it is expanding its program to identify persons who may be hiding assets in residential properties in the US. The expansion adds additional cities to what are called the area for Geographic Targeting Orders (GTO). Title insurance agents in GTO […]
Tweet Former UN President Charged The former United Nations (“UNâ€) President of the UN General Assembly, John Ashe, the UN Deputy Ambassador, Francis Lorenzo, a Chinese foreign national billionaire, Ng Lap Seng (also known as David Ng) and two of his associates were charged in New York with various offenses over an alleged bribery scheme. Two […]
Tweet Anti-Terrorism Act filing against global banks Yesterday, symbolically the day before Remembrance Day, several plaintiffs filed suit against a number of global foreign banks based in the United States under the Anti-Terrorism Act (the “ATA“), including HSBC Holdings Plc, Barclays, Standard Chartered Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland. The plaintiffs are seeking damages that could […]
Tweet The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA“) announced today that it filed a  Complaint against Wedbush Securities Inc. for alleged egregious and systemic anti-money laundering compliance infractions. According to the Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal, FINRA has made enforcement of securities anti-money laundering a priority. According to securities firms in Toronto, so have […]
Tweet FedEx Corp. has been indicted over allegations of money laundering in connection with five shipments it made of alleged illegal prescription drugs from online pharmacies in which several persons are alleged to have died. According to ABC News, FedEx faces a $1.6 billion fine if found guilty. According to the indictment, online pharmacies sent […]
Tweet In another first for bitcoin, the Miami Beach Police today arrested two men for alleged money laundering involving bitcoin. And one of them is Canadian. According to police, undercover officers and special agents from the Miami Electronic Crimes Task Force posed as bitcoins buyers and contacted various bitcoin sellers on the website “localbitcoins.com” specifically […]