Standard Chartered Bank Enters Combined $1 Billion+ Settlement with U.S. and U.K. Authorities Over Iranian Financial Transactions
Latest from Money Laundering Watch
Proposed Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act Adds Whistleblower Incentives and Protections
Proposed Legislation Creates Rewards Program for Whistleblowers of Foreign Government Corruption
Third Post in a Three-Post Series
Newly proposed legislation, if passed, will authorize a whistleblower program for individuals providing law enforcement with information leading to the seizure, forfeiture, and/or repatriation of foreign stolen assets that come within the possession or control of any United States person.
In early March, the House Financial Services Committee released three proposed bills to codify many of the suggested reforms discussed…
And Here Come the Lawyers: Securities Fraud Suits Commence Private Litigation Phase of Danske Bank Scandal
More Allegations of Nordic Malfeasance Surface as Private Party Lawsuits Beset Danske Bank and SwedBank Gets Sucked into Unfolding Scandal
“Something was indeed rotten in the state of Denmark.” – Olav Haazen
In what is perhaps the least surprising development in the sprawling, continuously unfolding Danske Bank (“Danske”) money laundering scandal, investor groups have filed private securities fraud actions against the Denmark-based bank and its top executives: first in the United States District Court for…
Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 Broadens Beneficial Ownership Reporting
Proposed Legislation Would Require Beneficial Ownership Disclosure at Entity Formation
Second Post in a Three-Post Series
In early March, the House Financial Services Committee released three proposed bills to codify many of the suggested reforms discussed during ongoing conversation among financial agencies, law enforcement, financial institutions, and commentators regarding the Bank Secretary Act (“BSA”) and Anti-Money-Laundering (“AML”) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (“CFT”) laws. In this post, we summarize one of the proposed bills,…
New Directions in Anti-Kleptocracy Forum at Columbia University to Discuss Luxury Art, FCPA and Oligarchs
On April 2nd, the New Directions in Anti-Kleptocracy Forum, organized by the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, will identify emerging issue areas relating to kleptocracy. I am excited to be serving as a co-panelist on the forum’s Art Market as a Node of Kleptocracy panel, which will discuss beneficial ownership and the luxury art market. Money Laundering Watch recently addressed the relationship between art and money laundering, a topic of growing interest.
This panel…
Art and Money Laundering
The potential role of high-end art and antiquities in money laundering schemes has attracted increasing attention over the last several years, particularly as the prices for such objects steadily rise and a tightening global enforcement and regulatory net has rendered other possible avenues for money laundering increasingly less attractive. The effort to subject U.S. dealers in art and antiquities to Anti-Money-Laundering (“AML”) obligations recently has gained new life. As we blogged, the House Financial Services…
The House Financial Services Committee Releases Proposed Legislation to Codify BSA/AML Reform Initiatives
Bill Would Create BSA Whistleblower Program
First Post in a Three-Post Series
Last week, the House Financial Services Committee released three proposed bills to codify many of the reform ideas that have arisen in an ongoing conversation among financial agencies, law enforcement, financial institutions, and commentators regarding the Bank Secretary Act (“BSA”) and Anti-Money-Laundering (“AML”) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (“CFT”) laws. These reform topics include information sharing, resource sharing, and technological innovation…
FBI Establishes Anti-Corruption Team in Miami
In recognition of the significance South America has played in recent FCPA enforcement, yesterday the FBI announced that it will establish a team of agents in Miami focused on FCPA cases in Miami and South America. Leslie Backschies, the Chief of the FBI’s international corruption unit, told reporters on March 4, 2019, that the new squad will focus not only on possible payoffs to South American government officials in order to obtain or retain business…
Massive Danske Bank Money Laundering Scandal Continues to Unfold
The Danske Bank money laundering scandal continues to reveal its many permutations and confirm its status as the largest money laundering case in history. We summarize here certain events since November 2018, since we last have blogged about the case (see here, here, and here). Proving that no one is immune from the potential taint, notable events include an investigation announced by the Estonian financial regulator; an investigation into that same Estonian…
Filling Gaps: Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019 Would Expand Use of Geographic Targeting Orders
“Sanctions Bill from Hell” Targets Real Estate Deals
On February 13, 2019, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R – S.C.) introduced S.482 – the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019 (“DASKAA”), a bill intended “[t]o strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to combat international cybercrime, and to impose additional sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation and for other purposes.” DASKAA was introduced by a bipartisan coalition of Senators and is a revision to…