Anti Money Laundering Blog

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The company is claimed to receive a payment of 45 million kroons in late 2007 to its Nordea Bank account. This payment was made by Stern Treid LLC. Stern Treid LLC is a company that is partially owned by Yuri Kasjanov, a Russian citizen who is the subject of a major money laundering probe in Bulgaria. This company had signed a contract with Tavid under which the company was to transfer more than 200 million kroons to Tavid.

It is believed that the money has originated in Russia and has bee laundered through a series of fake sales agreements in Bulgaria to be transfered back to Russia through the Estonia company.

Former President of Guatemala Alfonso Portillo faces money laundering charges in the US.

Portillo is charged with embezzling tens of millions of USD in public funds. These money was allegedly laundered through bank accounts located in the United States and Europe as well as in other places. According to prosecutors, the money laundering took place allegedly through at least 2006.

It should be noted that Portillo was the president of Guatemala from 2000 to 2004. He came into power promising to erase corruption, however his own government mired in the same accusations as his predecessors.

Guatemalan authorities started searching for the ex-president after the US requested his extradition.

According to Kuwait’s economic expert Dr Jamal Abdulrahim. Kuwait has been suffering due to the prevalence of money laundering and human trafficking that are harmful to the nation.

In a seminar on the moral and financial crimes in Kuwait, Abdulrahim said that “the law is rarely enforced in the country” and added that people either disregard the law or just lack information on the existing legislation. He stressed the importance of developing the judicial system as this is crucial in following up money laundering cases, especially since the local courts lack the required skills regarding money laundering.

He recommended that harsher punishments should be applied to those involved in human trafficking and money laundering. Also, both crimes should be merged to impose a 7-year jail sentence.

A review mechanism will be set up by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) in order to help the banking system and private sector to identify indicators, trends and threats of both money laundering and terrorist financing.

On January 10, when speaking at a workshop in Doha, Sheikh Ahmed bin Eid al-Thani, chairman of Qatar Finance Intelligence Unit, said that the event aimed to share experiences of the participants so that a mechanism could be finalized.

Many suspected cases that have not reached the level of money laundering have been received by the Qatar Finance Intelligence Unit in Qatar. However, he noted that the final decision will be for the prosecution and the courts.

Adek al-Kulaish, executive secretary of MENAFATF, said that the risk of money laundering and financing terrorism exists and threatens all countries. He noted that it was difficult to estimate the volume of money laundering and terrorism financing as precise figures are absent. He stated, “There are no figures on the global-level, with the exception of a study by the International Monetary Fund in 2003, but that has not been updated”.

On March 15-17, 2010, MoneyLaundering.com will hold a conference hat will provide access to news, analysis and essential compliance and training information in the volatile money laundering and U.S. Bank Secrecy Act fields.

The MoneyLaundering.com 15th Annual International Anti-Money Laundering Conference is the premier annual symposium for anti-money laundering specialists who are interested in being at the forefront of developments in this field.

It is believed that crime gangs are laundering millions of dollars in casinos by means of using pensioners and the unemployed.

In accordance with the Herald Sun, Centrelink has alerted the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) that 15 of its clients are believed to be involved in money laundering.

ACC chief John Lawler has suggested that organised crime groups are engaged in high-level gambling activity in legal casinos.

According to the estimations made by the ACC, the cost of organised crime is 10-15 billion a year.

Director of Kuwait’s Money Laundering Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Nemir Fahad Al-Sabah said that the economy of Kuwait is secured against money laundering and has all the necessary tools to this crime.

When addressing a ceremony in honor of working committees of the Anti-Money Laundering on December 21, Al-Sabah said that the economy is open to money laundering and terrorism fighting instruments.

The country’s legislations aimed at combating money laundering are clear and capable to face the challenges of this phenomenon. According to Al-Sabah, the department is adopting a plan that should enhance national economy.

Israeli banks will no longer accept deposit checks drawn on Palestinian banks if the details of account holder are not printed on the checks using Latin characters.

This is a move that the Bank of Israel makes towards tightening its anti-money laundering regulations and bank customers identification procedures. It should be noted that the Bank for the first time is setting binding rules for financial activity with banks in the Palestinian Authority.

Supervisor of Banks Rony Hizkiyahu sent to a letter to the banks’ CEOs. He wrote that “there is a gap between international standards and Israel’s current guidelines concerning the prevention of money laundering”. He suggested that proper “know your customer” (KYC) policies and guidelines for regular monitoring of their activities are essential for the stability of the banking system.

A team from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is currently in India with a view to assess its legal and enforcement framework.

The assessment that will be made by the FATF team will set the ball rolling for New Delhi’s membership of the elite body.

The assessment ends on Friday, while the results will be published later.

CNP Assurances, the leading provider of personal insurance in France and listed on the SBF 120 index, has chosen Norkom for its software suite that is aimed to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

Implementing this software suite provides integration of developments related to the recent transposition into French law of the 3rd European anti-money laundering directive, as applicable to the insurance industry in Europe. As a result, Norkom has become the leading supplier of anti-money laundering solutions in the European insurance sector. Its integrated solutions – “Anti-Money Laundering” (AML), “Sanctions and PEP Screening” and “Customer Due Diligence/Know Your Customer” (CDD/KYC) – are to be implemented at all the insurance companies in the CNP Assurances group.

It should be noted that the transposition of the 3rd European anti-money laundering directive into French law in January 2009 has been controversial. It tightens the regulations that is applicable to financial institutions offering IARD insurance products, life insurance and annuities, which means that these will have to reinforce controls.