Noriega extradited to France to face money laundering charges

Tweet Former Panamanian President Manuel Noriega was extradited to France from the U.S. on an extradition warrant to face charges that he laundered US$3.15 million in drug profits through transactions that included buying luxurious apartments in Paris. Noriega was in jail serving a sentence for multiple charges, including drug trafficking in the U.S. from 1990 […]

India’s billionaire Lalit Modi is subject of government inquiry

Tweet According to a news report in the Economic Times of India, Indian billionaire Lalit Modi, the commissioner of the Indian Premier League, is the subject of a government report prepared by the Income Tax Department of India that alleges he may be connected to money laundering and the fixing of cricket games. The report apparently […]

Minnesota man sentenced to 50 years for money laundering

Tweet Thomas Petters, a Missouri businessman, was sentenced to 50 years in jail today for carrying out a Ponzi scheme that netted about US$3.7 billion over a 16-year period. In December 2009, Petters was convicted of several charges including conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Petters’ company, Petters Worldwide Group, once owned Polaroid. […]

New Jersey bank fined US$5 million for anti-money laundering failures

Tweet Pamrapo Savings Bank, a subsidiary of Pamrapo Bancorp Inc., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Trenton, New Jersey, to conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to file currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports, and willfully failing to maintain adequate anti-money laundering programs. The failures to file reports were in […]

Four men in Alberta charged in $60 million Ponzi scheme

Tweet The RCMP have charged four people from Alberta with fraud and money laundering in connection with a $60 million Ponzi scheme in which about 1,000 investors from Canada and the U.S. were allegedly defrauded. Garth Bailey, Murray Stark and Robert Fly were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. A fourth person, […]

3 arrested in US$9 million real estate fraud in San Francisco

Tweet Three men were arrested and charged in connection with real estate fraud and money laundering in San Francisco for allegedly forging real estate deeds to three luxury condominium at One Rincon Hill worth about US$7.5 million to gain legal control of the condominiums to borrow US$2.2 million against the properties. Melvin Emerich, Kaushal Niroula and Jay […]

Money laundering trial opens in Spain

Tweet Spain’s largest money laundering trial, dubbed the “ballena blanca” (white whale) case, started in Malaga, Spain today. Fernando del Valle, a Chilean-born lawyer, and 18 others are on trial charged with money laundering, forgery, false testimony and crimes against the Spanish Treasury for laundering over 12 million euros from drug trafficking, prostitution, and tax […]

Wachovia Corp. agrees to pay US$160 million in penalties

Tweet Wachovia Corp. has agreed to pay a US$160 million settlement with the Department of Justice in the U.S. over allegations that it failed to implement anti-money laundering controls that enabled drug traffickers to launder money by transferring funds from Mexican currency exchange houses, known as casas de cambio, to Wachovia. Prosecutors said the bank […]

Senate report says dirty money still entering U.S. – and there’s a Canadian connection

Tweet Dirty money entering the U.S. from foreign nationals The Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs released a special money laundering report today that describes four case studies of foreign politically exposed persons (“PEP“) who laundered money in the U.S. without detection. Two of the case histories have a Canadian connection. The 330-page report, […]

Florida lawyer pleads guilty to running US$1.2 billion Ponzi scheme

Tweet Scott Rothstein, a Florida lawyer who co-founded the now-defunct firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, pleaded guilty to running a US$1.2 billion Ponzi scheme and five counts of RICO conspiracy, fraud and money laundering in the biggest investment fraud case in South Florida history. Rothstein, 47, is expected to receive a 30 to 50 year sentence […]