Money Laundering Watch

Insights and news on the world of financial corruption

IRS CI Highlights International Efforts to Tackle Cryptocurrency Abuse, Money Laundering and Tax Evasion

By Peter D. Hardy, Alicia M. Went & Shauna Pierson

December 9, 2019

ABA Tax Fraud Panel to Discuss IRS CI and Crypto Criminals The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) has made it clear that it is focusing on the abuse of digital currencies to further tax evasion, money laundering, and other offenses. IRS-CI also has made it clear that this is an international effort, and that it is trying to partner with law enforcement agencies across the globe in order to coordinate and share…

Money Laundering Watch

U.S. Treasury and DOJ Target “Evil Corp”

By Peter D. Hardy

December 6, 2019

treasury-department-sign-in-washington-dc-facade-picture-id519393814

Organization Excels at Niche Branding but Stumbles in Avoiding Enforcement The first paragraph of the press release sums it up: Today the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against Evil Corp, the Russia-based cybercriminal organization responsible for the development and distribution of the Dridex malware. Evil Corp has used the Dridex malware to infect computers and harvest login credentials from hundreds of banks and financial institutions in over 40 countries,…

Money Laundering Watch

Banking Regulators Ease SAR Reporting Requirements Applied to Hemp-Related Businesses

By Terence M. Grugan & Beth Moskow-Schnoll

December 5, 2019

On December 3, 2019, four federal agencies – the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) – along with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, released a statement (the “Statement”) “to provide clarity regarding the legal status of commercial growth and production of hemp and relevant requirements for banks under…

Money Laundering Watch

Westpac Banking Corporation Faces Money Laundering Scandal in the Land Down Under

By Gretchen L. Gurstelle

November 29, 2019

Bank Accused of Being Asleep at the AML-CTF Switch On November 20, 2019, AUSTRAC, Australia’s anti money-laundering (“AML”) and counter-terrorism financing (“CTF”) regulator, initiated an action in the Federal Court of Australia seeking civil penalty orders against Westpac Banking Corporation (“Westpac”), Australia’s second largest retail bank, alleging systemic failures to comply with Australia’s AML-CTF laws. Specifically, AUSTRAC alleges over 23 million breaches of those laws, including activity involving potential child exploitation. As we will discuss,…

Money Laundering Watch

International Efforts to Combat Guatemalan Money Laundering Schemes Nets High-Profile Arrest and Guilty Plea

By Mary K. Treanor

November 21, 2019

On November 12, 2019, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida announced two key money-laundering developments concerning high-profile Guatemalans: the arrest of Alvaro Estuardo Cobar Bustamante, the director of a national Guatemalan bank, and the unsealing of a case against and guilty plea of Manuel Antonio Baldizon Mendez, a former presidential candidate in Guatemala who cooperated in the FBI and DEA sting operation against Cobar. The government’s press release, coupled with its…

Money Laundering Watch

DOJ Indicts Professor and Drug Trafficking Expert for Laundering Proceeds of Venezuelan Corruption Scheme

By Henry E. Hockeimer, Jr. & Juliana B. Carter

November 20, 2019

A Textbook Case of Alleged Money Laundering? On November 18, 2019, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the arrest and unsealed the indictment of Bruce Bagley – a 73-year-old college professor whose scholarship focuses on U.S.-Latin American relations, with an emphasis on drug trafficking and security issues. He has been charged with two substantive counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to launder money. If convicted, Dr. Bagley…

Money Laundering Watch

FinCEN Issues Advisory on Foreign Jurisdictions with AML Deficiencies

By Beth Moskow-Schnoll

November 17, 2019

On November 12, 2019, FinCEN issued its latest Advisory on the Financial Action Task Force-Identified Jurisdictions with Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism Deficiencies and Relevant Actions by the United States Government. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a 39-member intergovernmental body, including the United States, that establishes international standards to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). As part of its listing and…

Money Laundering Watch

FinCEN Renews GTOs

By Priya Roy

November 11, 2019

On November 8, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) reissued its Geographic Targeting Orders (“GTOs”) requiring U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind legal entities used in purchases of residential real estate performed without a bank loan or similar form of external financing. The monetary threshold remains at $300,000, and the nine districts remain the same. The GTOs cover purchases involving virtual currency as well as “fiat” currency, wires, personal or…

Money Laundering Watch

DOJ Announces Historic Civil Forfeiture Settlement in 1MDB Case

By Brian N. Kearney

November 5, 2019

Settlement Applies to $700 Million in Luxury Assets; Law Firms Obtain a Carve-Out Last week, the Justice Department announced a massive settlement in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (“1MDB”) case, a matter implicating numerous money laundering and FCPA concerns and one about which we previously blogged here. The DOJ announced a blanket settlement of all pending civil forfeiture cases against assets acquired by fugitive Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho (“Jho Low”) and various members of…

Money Laundering Watch

FATF Issues Best Practices Guidance on Beneficial Ownership Information

By Priya Roy

November 5, 2019

Second Post in a Two-Post Series As we blogged yesterday, the issue of the beneficial ownership of entities and the potentially pernicious role of shell companies in perpetuating money laundering is the primary anti-money laundering (“AML”) concern across the globe for both enforcement officials and the financial industry. Consistent with this concern, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), an international and intergovernmental AML watchdog group, has issued a document entitled “Best Practices on Beneficial …

Money Laundering Watch

Insights and news on the world of financial corruption

Blog Authors

IRS CI Highlights International Efforts to Tackle Cryptocurrency Abuse, Money Laundering and Tax Evasion

U.S. Treasury and DOJ Target “Evil Corp”

Banking Regulators Ease SAR Reporting Requirements Applied to Hemp-Related Businesses

Westpac Banking Corporation Faces Money Laundering Scandal in the Land Down Under

International Efforts to Combat Guatemalan Money Laundering Schemes Nets High-Profile Arrest and Guilty Plea

DOJ Indicts Professor and Drug Trafficking Expert for Laundering Proceeds of Venezuelan Corruption Scheme

FinCEN Issues Advisory on Foreign Jurisdictions with AML Deficiencies

FinCEN Renews GTOs

DOJ Announces Historic Civil Forfeiture Settlement in 1MDB Case

FATF Issues Best Practices Guidance on Beneficial Ownership Information

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