by Ismat Sabir
The State Bank of Pakistan has frozen almost 90 to 100 accounts of the directors of Khanani and Kalia and closed relatives of owners. Another report shows that details of about 18,000 accounts were also found in the 20 computers seized from the offices and franchises of the company. Presently, the top brass of Khanani and Kalia are under the remand of FIA on illegally remitting the money outside the Pakistan.
But the notable point is that the actual culprits, i.e., the persons who have given the money to the money changers to transfer it abroad are yet to be identified. While the seized computers have complete addresses and whereabouts of the clients who used services of the company, so it would not be difficult to find out the actual responsible personalities.
Officials say Javed Kalia has named influential people whose money has been sent abroad but the problem is that these people are very influential, therefore, advisor to PM, Rehman Malik, had to state in the Senate that no lists was prepared that included names of certain politicians, businessmen or bureaucrats involved in the scandal neither any name had been put on the exit control list.
Instead of appreciating government's efforts, several opposition senators asked under which law, action was taken by FIA against the accused and why were they manhandled. A joint meeting of Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP) and Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) criticised the FIA's Lahore Circle for presenting some of the KKI directors handcuffed in Lahore Sessions Court.
Director FIA Crime Circle also had to assure that in future FIA would take the exchange companies' association into confidence before taking action against any exchange company and would be raided in the presence of SBP officials. Earlier the advisor stated that those indulged in this criminal activity are too powerful and influential, however, a green signal was given and action proceeded against them. He said the investigation was being carried out against seven money changing firms, but yet no action has taken against any other company.
The advisor also explained that the action was taken under Foreign Exchange Regulations Act 1947, as the accused had committed criminal acts and they could seek bail. It is to be noted that earlier certain powers transferred to the NAB, had been again given to FIA a week back, which was given a signal to its cyber crime wing to go after certain elements who were indulging the illegal activity.
According to the details, Lahore FIA officials prepared a special report about the flight of dollars from the country in April 2008, fearing that a forex crisis would hit the country in the near future. The report also recommended strong and instant action against persons involved in the Hundi and Havala business.
Lahore, Gujranwala, Karachi and Peshawar are the main cities where a majority of money changers were running the Hundi and Havala business and anyone could send any amounts any where in the world without any check.
A special team of the FIA's Crime Circle was constituted to take action. The agency has been ordered to collect more intelligence and that the crackdown against the Hundi and Havala business. This malpractice in foreign exchange dealing was going on for the last 5 to 6 years. The Government blamed that the money changers have developed a parallel internet banking system. Actually money changers never transferred the dollars or other currencies expatriate Pakistanis deposited with them.
Officials of the SBP and the government were expressing apprehension for quite some time about involvement of some money changers in the smuggling of dollars. It was estimated that money exchangers have transferred around $10 billion during the last five years from the country. On an average, they were transferring about $10 million every day through the Havala and Hundi system.
The accused also accepted that this smuggling had caused the slump in the shares business at local bourses. Since April 2008, the Karachi Stock Exchange has witnessed a 41 percent fall in its 100-Index. Moreover, the value of rupee against dollar was continuously going down, due to dollarization and open smuggling of dollars.
The money was being smuggled in big quantity, for instance, a Rs10 million bag was being sold for Rs1.10 million in Afghanistan in October. A probe was launched, which led to interception of $32 million at Lahore Airport. Such detections were also carried out in Peshawar and Karachi too.
The main currency market of Peshawar is at Chowk Yadgar where hundreds of Afghan refugees have also joined the activity with the locals. Any person, having cash amount of even Rs5, 000 to Rs 10,000 were also purchasing dollar to earn a little amount.
Currency dealers having agents in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, fixed price of the currency. Millions of dollars were being smuggled to Afghanistan daily, as there is no check on the movement of the currency from and into Pakistan. Rupee against dollar was sold at Rs90 in Peshawar on 28th October 2008.
The Afghan refugees traveling across the border at Torkham are the main source of currency smuggling that was not checked by any official agency. Neither the government took timely action for arresting depreciation of rupee.
On May 9, 2008, the SBP issued a warning to cancel exchange companies' licenses that fail to bring remittances into the country and also will disallow the export of currency notes. They totally ignored all these warnings and rupee further weakened from Rs66.88 to Rs67.50/67.70 to a dollar on the same day. For a long time SBP kept the PKR-dollar parity stable at $1 to PKR 60 to 62 and the cash transactions were normally within 30 to 40 paisas band.
On the other hand, the market players said the government is responsible for the slide down. They feel that SBP/government, after the April meeting with the IMF, in Washington, might agreed to weaken the rupee in order to control the widening trade and current account deficit by at least equal to the inflation differential. Therefore, the SBP allowed the rupee to slide by 30 to 40 paisa on a daily basis. This has encouraged the trend of polarization. The investors have shifted their focus from equities to the currency trade. Even the small savers and housewives jumped on this bandwagon.
The money changers made Rs4 billion annually through this illegal trade while the forex reserves are depleting rapidly. Authorities have identified a cartel whose illegal transaction of foreign currencies is aggravating the devaluation of the rupee against dollar. At one time, one US dollar reached Rs84 in the open market while bank rate was Rs81. Later, dollar was sold for Rs88 in the open market while bank rate was Rs84. There were also rumours that the government and the State Bank have agreed with the foreign agencies to drop the value of rupee to the level of Rs100 per dollar.
The unstable rupee has also causing problems for importers as their imported goods were lying at ports and banks were not releasing them dollars, therefore, they have to purchase it from the open market where dollar price rates was increasing every day.
In November 2004, when SBP was trying not to let the forex reserves go down below $10 billion on orders of then Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz, similar threats and various administrative measures such as exporting currency only through NBP exchange company to plug leakages taken by the SBP did not work. In spite of several warnings exchange companies bring in less than one billion dollars in home remittances while the currency export was over $4 to $5 billion a year.
The SBP told money changers that unlike the exchange companies need a minimum paid-up capital of Rs100 million they can start operating as mini exchange companies with a minimum capital of Rs25 million only. The Bank also said if less than 80 percent of them do not opt for establishing 'B' category exchange it would cancel the very scheme that gives them this option.
Representatives of exchange companies were not happy at these instructions they said they will have to undergo a loss since the rupee has weakened more than the agreed rate with SBP.
There are 378 licensed money changers across Pakistan 109 of them operating in Karachi. The SBP had set June 30, 2004 deadline for them to stop operating as money changers, they were given the option to transform their business into new exchange companies or get franchise from the existing ones. But money changers were a bit averse to this idea and wanted to keep their own identity.
So the central bank finally allowed them to form mini exchange companies instead of becoming a part of the existing exchange companies or establishing new ones.
It also told them that at least five money changers should join hands to form one mini exchange company. Central bank said that the purpose of this requirement was to ensure that the majority of licensed money changers transform their businesses into exchange companies.
(To be continued) The writer is a senior journalist and researcher
Source: The Post
Showing posts with label Bank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bank. Show all posts
By Lydia Chen
Bank of China today dismissed allegations that it helped terrorist groups by transferring millions of dollars and said the accusations are "sheer nonsense" and are "completely unfounded."
The bank has always "strictly" adhered to regulations regarding international money laundering and terrorism financing. Its internal rules also forbid providing any services to terrorist groups, Wang Zhaowen, a spokesman for the country's third largest lender said, Xinhua news agency reported.
Kent Henderson, who represents more than 100 Israelis, has alleged in a complaint filed on August 22 in the Los Angeles Superior Court, that from 2003, Bank of China conducted dozens of wire transfers worth several million dollars to Hamas and Islamic Jihad through branches in the United States, the Associated Press reported.
The banking services "caused, enabled and facilitated the terrorist attacks in which the plaintiffs and their decedents were harmed and killed," Henderson wrote in the complaint, which seeks unspecified damages.
Wang said the bank will clarify its position through legal process and reserves the right to file lawsuits or take other legal action.
"We trust that the US court will reach a fair verdict based on the facts," Wang said.
The Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center, which is backing the suit against Bank of China, began suing banks on behalf of victims of terrorism in May. It accused the financial institutions, including UBS AG, of providing financial services that ended up helping terrorist groups. Last month, five Lebanese banks were sued in the US and Canada.
Source: Shangai Daily
Bank of China today dismissed allegations that it helped terrorist groups by transferring millions of dollars and said the accusations are "sheer nonsense" and are "completely unfounded."
The bank has always "strictly" adhered to regulations regarding international money laundering and terrorism financing. Its internal rules also forbid providing any services to terrorist groups, Wang Zhaowen, a spokesman for the country's third largest lender said, Xinhua news agency reported.
Kent Henderson, who represents more than 100 Israelis, has alleged in a complaint filed on August 22 in the Los Angeles Superior Court, that from 2003, Bank of China conducted dozens of wire transfers worth several million dollars to Hamas and Islamic Jihad through branches in the United States, the Associated Press reported.
The banking services "caused, enabled and facilitated the terrorist attacks in which the plaintiffs and their decedents were harmed and killed," Henderson wrote in the complaint, which seeks unspecified damages.
Wang said the bank will clarify its position through legal process and reserves the right to file lawsuits or take other legal action.
"We trust that the US court will reach a fair verdict based on the facts," Wang said.
The Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center, which is backing the suit against Bank of China, began suing banks on behalf of victims of terrorism in May. It accused the financial institutions, including UBS AG, of providing financial services that ended up helping terrorist groups. Last month, five Lebanese banks were sued in the US and Canada.
Source: Shangai Daily
on Tuesday, May 29, 2012
By Tobi Soniyi and Everest Amaefule, Abuja
The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri, on Tuesday, accused banks of facilitating money laundering.
Speaking while receiving a delegation of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria led by its President, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, in her office in Abuja, Waziri was quoted by EFCC’s spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi, as expressing regret that money laundering was sometimes being facilitated by banks.
This is coming just as Waziri said it had become imperative for the EFCC to collaborate with the Federal Inland Revenue Services to rid the country of money laundering and tax evasion.
She said there was the need for both organisations to share information and work together at the International Tax Conference in Abuja on Tuesday, noting that both crimes were depriving the government of funds necessary for development.
Represented at the event by Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye, the EFCC boss said both crimes were global phenomena that manifested in various forms and derived from loopholes, errors and ambiguities in a country’s relevant laws.
While hosting the CIBN team, Waziri also accused banks of giving incomplete information, while complying with the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit.
She therefore urged banks to cooperate with the commission to tackle the problem.
She said, “We should partner with you because each time there is an occurrence of money laundering, there is always insider connection.”
She said that though banks were complying with the NFIU directives to report all financial transactions, the reports in most cases were incomplete, adding that “the banks give you what they want rather than what you want.”
She urged the banks to put their houses in order and avoid being used as tools in the hands of those who were determined to ruin the country through money laundering.
Waziri challenged Nigerian banks to live up to their responsibility by giving the anti-graft agency genuine information on money laundering activities going on in the sector.
She said it was in the interest of the banks to cooperate with the EFCC because the “commission is now poised to beam its searchlight on the banking sector to safeguard the nation’s economy.”
According to her, the visit was timely as the banking sector was crucial to the country’s economy and the realisation of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s seven-point agenda and the Vision2020.
In his response, Akingbola promised to give all necessary assistance to the commission in the fight against financial crimes, noting that the banking institution could only get better if the war against money laundering and other financial crimes were to be successful.
“We are committed to enthroning good ethics in the banking sector and we are determined to get rid of bad eggs in our midst,” he assured.
The CIBN boss revealed that in line with the institute’s policy of zero tolerance for corruption, it had set up a disciplinary committee, which would help the commission in its quest to end financial crimes.
Source: Punch
The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri, on Tuesday, accused banks of facilitating money laundering.
Speaking while receiving a delegation of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria led by its President, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, in her office in Abuja, Waziri was quoted by EFCC’s spokesman, Mr. Femi Babafemi, as expressing regret that money laundering was sometimes being facilitated by banks.
This is coming just as Waziri said it had become imperative for the EFCC to collaborate with the Federal Inland Revenue Services to rid the country of money laundering and tax evasion.
She said there was the need for both organisations to share information and work together at the International Tax Conference in Abuja on Tuesday, noting that both crimes were depriving the government of funds necessary for development.
Represented at the event by Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye, the EFCC boss said both crimes were global phenomena that manifested in various forms and derived from loopholes, errors and ambiguities in a country’s relevant laws.
While hosting the CIBN team, Waziri also accused banks of giving incomplete information, while complying with the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit.
She therefore urged banks to cooperate with the commission to tackle the problem.
She said, “We should partner with you because each time there is an occurrence of money laundering, there is always insider connection.”
She said that though banks were complying with the NFIU directives to report all financial transactions, the reports in most cases were incomplete, adding that “the banks give you what they want rather than what you want.”
She urged the banks to put their houses in order and avoid being used as tools in the hands of those who were determined to ruin the country through money laundering.
Waziri challenged Nigerian banks to live up to their responsibility by giving the anti-graft agency genuine information on money laundering activities going on in the sector.
She said it was in the interest of the banks to cooperate with the EFCC because the “commission is now poised to beam its searchlight on the banking sector to safeguard the nation’s economy.”
According to her, the visit was timely as the banking sector was crucial to the country’s economy and the realisation of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s seven-point agenda and the Vision2020.
In his response, Akingbola promised to give all necessary assistance to the commission in the fight against financial crimes, noting that the banking institution could only get better if the war against money laundering and other financial crimes were to be successful.
“We are committed to enthroning good ethics in the banking sector and we are determined to get rid of bad eggs in our midst,” he assured.
The CIBN boss revealed that in line with the institute’s policy of zero tolerance for corruption, it had set up a disciplinary committee, which would help the commission in its quest to end financial crimes.
Source: Punch
on Monday, May 28, 2012
by Gregor McClenaghan and Suleman Din
A traditional system of transferring funds linked with money laundering and the financing of terrorism is flourishing in the hands of illegal traders despite official attempts at regulation.
Hawala is a trust-based system used to transfer funds across countries and continents. It is used legitimately by millions of people worldwide but has been identified by the US State Department and law enforcement agencies as a potential way for criminals to launder money and is illegal in some countries.
In the UAE, the money handlers, or hawaladars, are required to register with the Central Bank, keep records of the identities of their customers and alert authorities to any suspicious transactions.
However, many continue to trade without registering. There are currently no specific penalties for running an unregistered hawala business and the traders who spoke on condition of anonymity said there was little incentive to register. “We are not registered, nobody is registered here,” said one shop owner in the centre of the city. “Every textile shop is doing hawala. It is how people make most of their money.”
Tens of thousands of dirhams change hands every day, traders say. Their customers are mostly taxi drivers and labourers and the average hawala user sends home between Dh1,500 (US$409) and Dh1,800 every month. Many customers also use the hawaladars as banks, making regular deposits and letting them know how much to send home at the end of the month.
“It is the quickest, best way to send money home,” said one labourer, who sends the bulk of his earnings to his family in Pakistan. “Up to Dh5,000 you can send home and they only charge Dh10, maximum.”
The system can also be used to bypass official foreign exchanges and banks. Earlier this month, the Central Bank further tightened rules on money transfers by ordering financial institutions to register the details of anyone wiring or changing as little as Dh2,000.
Abdulrahim Mohamed al Awadi, the head of the anti-money laundering and suspicious cases unit at the Central Bank, said the country was leading international efforts to regulate hawala. He said the registration system was preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, but still allowed workers to send money home cheaply.
Since 2002, when the UAE organised the first international conference on hawala, more than 260 traders have registered, and more than 100 applications are pending.
“We are applying one of the basic criteria of due diligence in international finance – know your customer and know your business,” Mr Awadi said. “The hawaladars go through an interview with the Central Bank and, once registered, they have to disclose the names of their customer, the purpose of the remittance, the name of the receiver on the other end and other details. They also have to disclose any suspicious transactions.”
In a report on money laundering released in March, the US State Department said that there had not been any reports of suspicious transactions by hawaladars in the UAE since the registration scheme started in 2002.
Mr Awadi said the UAE did not want to outlaw hawala completely, as Saudi Arabia and Qatar had done, as that would penalise the workers who relied on it. “Hawala business has existed in the world for years,” he said. “It is designed for blue-collar workers, low-income people, especially those coming from remote areas where they don’t have a banking infrastructure.”
He confirmed, however, that there was no information available on how many hawaladars were trading without a licence. “I wish I knew,” he said. “If they are not registered they are in violation. They have to fulfil the requirements. At this point in time, if someone persisted, that’s a judicial matter.”
Hawaladars said it was relatively easy to continue their business under the radar. “It is easy to avoid scrutiny,” one textile shop owner said when asked what happened to the large amounts of cash he collected through hawala. “The banks don’t ask questions about deposits under Dh40,000. Over that amount, and they will ask where the money came from. You put the money in the account you have for your business and take it out when your customers ask for it.”
Hawaladars said that inflation was cutting deep into their profits. “We’re not making any money here,” one hawaladar said. “Because the cost of everything is going up so much, nobody has any money left over to send back home.”
Source: The National
A traditional system of transferring funds linked with money laundering and the financing of terrorism is flourishing in the hands of illegal traders despite official attempts at regulation.
Hawala is a trust-based system used to transfer funds across countries and continents. It is used legitimately by millions of people worldwide but has been identified by the US State Department and law enforcement agencies as a potential way for criminals to launder money and is illegal in some countries.
In the UAE, the money handlers, or hawaladars, are required to register with the Central Bank, keep records of the identities of their customers and alert authorities to any suspicious transactions.
However, many continue to trade without registering. There are currently no specific penalties for running an unregistered hawala business and the traders who spoke on condition of anonymity said there was little incentive to register. “We are not registered, nobody is registered here,” said one shop owner in the centre of the city. “Every textile shop is doing hawala. It is how people make most of their money.”
Tens of thousands of dirhams change hands every day, traders say. Their customers are mostly taxi drivers and labourers and the average hawala user sends home between Dh1,500 (US$409) and Dh1,800 every month. Many customers also use the hawaladars as banks, making regular deposits and letting them know how much to send home at the end of the month.
“It is the quickest, best way to send money home,” said one labourer, who sends the bulk of his earnings to his family in Pakistan. “Up to Dh5,000 you can send home and they only charge Dh10, maximum.”
The system can also be used to bypass official foreign exchanges and banks. Earlier this month, the Central Bank further tightened rules on money transfers by ordering financial institutions to register the details of anyone wiring or changing as little as Dh2,000.
Abdulrahim Mohamed al Awadi, the head of the anti-money laundering and suspicious cases unit at the Central Bank, said the country was leading international efforts to regulate hawala. He said the registration system was preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, but still allowed workers to send money home cheaply.
Since 2002, when the UAE organised the first international conference on hawala, more than 260 traders have registered, and more than 100 applications are pending.
“We are applying one of the basic criteria of due diligence in international finance – know your customer and know your business,” Mr Awadi said. “The hawaladars go through an interview with the Central Bank and, once registered, they have to disclose the names of their customer, the purpose of the remittance, the name of the receiver on the other end and other details. They also have to disclose any suspicious transactions.”
In a report on money laundering released in March, the US State Department said that there had not been any reports of suspicious transactions by hawaladars in the UAE since the registration scheme started in 2002.
Mr Awadi said the UAE did not want to outlaw hawala completely, as Saudi Arabia and Qatar had done, as that would penalise the workers who relied on it. “Hawala business has existed in the world for years,” he said. “It is designed for blue-collar workers, low-income people, especially those coming from remote areas where they don’t have a banking infrastructure.”
He confirmed, however, that there was no information available on how many hawaladars were trading without a licence. “I wish I knew,” he said. “If they are not registered they are in violation. They have to fulfil the requirements. At this point in time, if someone persisted, that’s a judicial matter.”
Hawaladars said it was relatively easy to continue their business under the radar. “It is easy to avoid scrutiny,” one textile shop owner said when asked what happened to the large amounts of cash he collected through hawala. “The banks don’t ask questions about deposits under Dh40,000. Over that amount, and they will ask where the money came from. You put the money in the account you have for your business and take it out when your customers ask for it.”
Hawaladars said that inflation was cutting deep into their profits. “We’re not making any money here,” one hawaladar said. “Because the cost of everything is going up so much, nobody has any money left over to send back home.”
Source: The National
Staff Reporter
Internet banking, international credit card and mobile phone recharge cards emerged as new windows of money laundering with the expansion of technology-based transactions in the country.
A meeting of the Anti-Money Laundering Task Force at Bangladesh Bank yesterday advised the commercial banks to remain alert to prevent money laundering through the new windows, meeting sources said.
Bangladesh Bank executive director Abul Quashem chaired the task force meeting which was attended by representatives from the Task Force member-bodies including ministries of Finance, Home and Commerce, National Board of Revenue (NBR), commercial banks, intelligence agencies and police were present.
As for money laundering through international credit cards, holders are supposed to deposit the same amount of foreign currencies to their local bank accounts against what they had spent abroad.
But some of them were depositing the amount through purchasing the foreign currencies from the kerb market, according to allegations raised at the meeting.
Meeting sources said the meeting also decided to introduce a uniform (know-your-customer) KYC form to make account opening and operating easy for the bank clients.
Commercial banks alleged at the meeting that their clients were facing difficulties to comply with the KYC due to different types of forms being used by different banks. The central bank will send a draft of uniform KYC form to the commercial banks for their opinion in this regard.
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2007/10/29/news0605.htm
Internet banking, international credit card and mobile phone recharge cards emerged as new windows of money laundering with the expansion of technology-based transactions in the country.
A meeting of the Anti-Money Laundering Task Force at Bangladesh Bank yesterday advised the commercial banks to remain alert to prevent money laundering through the new windows, meeting sources said.
Bangladesh Bank executive director Abul Quashem chaired the task force meeting which was attended by representatives from the Task Force member-bodies including ministries of Finance, Home and Commerce, National Board of Revenue (NBR), commercial banks, intelligence agencies and police were present.
As for money laundering through international credit cards, holders are supposed to deposit the same amount of foreign currencies to their local bank accounts against what they had spent abroad.
But some of them were depositing the amount through purchasing the foreign currencies from the kerb market, according to allegations raised at the meeting.
Meeting sources said the meeting also decided to introduce a uniform (know-your-customer) KYC form to make account opening and operating easy for the bank clients.
Commercial banks alleged at the meeting that their clients were facing difficulties to comply with the KYC due to different types of forms being used by different banks. The central bank will send a draft of uniform KYC form to the commercial banks for their opinion in this regard.
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2007/10/29/news0605.htm
A CONVICTED conman with a track record for stealing from the elderly had £91,000 in bank accounts opened with fake names.
Robert Barker, 58, has been jailed for two-years-and-six-months after admitting money laundering.
After the case, police said they suspected the cash had been amassed by preying on the vulnerable and elderly.
Barker, who describes himself as a "self-employed builder, tarmac-er and pony trader", had insisted that the money was undisclosed earnings from work.
Burnley Crown Court was told that police uncovered the crimes of Barker, of Manchester Road, Nelson, after a handbag belonging to a vulnerable 86-year-old woman from Burnley was found in a Hapton lodge last May.
In it was a Marsden Building Society book showing regular cash withdrawals.
The bag was returned to its owner who had considerable short-term memory loss.
Police were concerned and decided to monitor her account.
Officers also kept watch on her address and on May 14 Barker went up to her on Rossendale Avenue and took a white envelope. Police approached and he claimed he had found the envelope on the street.
But his mobile phone was examined and it was discovered he had repeatedly telephoned the pensioner.
A neighbour later identified the defendant as having visited the woman's home on a number of occasions.
Maurice Green, prosecuting, said the defendant was questioned the day after and gave a prepared statement claiming the pensioner had been paying him for work.
Her property was later examined and no work had been done on it for two years.
Mr Green said money had been regularly deposited in fake accounts and withdrawn quickly afterwards, which was indicative of money-laundering.
Barker was arrested and police discovered £91,000 in bank accounts with false names as well 14 further accounts in his own name with a total balance of £141,000.
Between 2004 and 2006 he had declared a profit of only just over £10,000 to the Revenue and Customs. Mr Greene, prosecuting, said: "This was a well planned, fairly sophisticated money laundering."
The prosecutor said Barker had previous convictions mainly for dishonesty, going back to the 1970s and had served five-and-a-half years for conspiracy to steal from the elderly.
Barker admitted fraud, possessing an article for use in fraud and six money laundering allegations, between 2003 and 2007.
Martin Hackett, defending, told the court the money in the accounts was from undeclared earnings.
http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.1997542.0.conman_jailed_over_91k_money_laundering.php
After the case, police said they suspected the cash had been amassed by preying on the vulnerable and elderly.
Barker, who describes himself as a "self-employed builder, tarmac-er and pony trader", had insisted that the money was undisclosed earnings from work.
Burnley Crown Court was told that police uncovered the crimes of Barker, of Manchester Road, Nelson, after a handbag belonging to a vulnerable 86-year-old woman from Burnley was found in a Hapton lodge last May.
In it was a Marsden Building Society book showing regular cash withdrawals.
The bag was returned to its owner who had considerable short-term memory loss.
Police were concerned and decided to monitor her account.
Officers also kept watch on her address and on May 14 Barker went up to her on Rossendale Avenue and took a white envelope. Police approached and he claimed he had found the envelope on the street.
But his mobile phone was examined and it was discovered he had repeatedly telephoned the pensioner.
A neighbour later identified the defendant as having visited the woman's home on a number of occasions.
Maurice Green, prosecuting, said the defendant was questioned the day after and gave a prepared statement claiming the pensioner had been paying him for work.
Her property was later examined and no work had been done on it for two years.
Mr Green said money had been regularly deposited in fake accounts and withdrawn quickly afterwards, which was indicative of money-laundering.
Barker was arrested and police discovered £91,000 in bank accounts with false names as well 14 further accounts in his own name with a total balance of £141,000.
Between 2004 and 2006 he had declared a profit of only just over £10,000 to the Revenue and Customs. Mr Greene, prosecuting, said: "This was a well planned, fairly sophisticated money laundering."
The prosecutor said Barker had previous convictions mainly for dishonesty, going back to the 1970s and had served five-and-a-half years for conspiracy to steal from the elderly.
Barker admitted fraud, possessing an article for use in fraud and six money laundering allegations, between 2003 and 2007.
Martin Hackett, defending, told the court the money in the accounts was from undeclared earnings.
http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.1997542.0.conman_jailed_over_91k_money_laundering.php
MOSCOW, October 26 (RIA Novosti) - The Central Bank of Russia has withdrawn licenses from three banks, the CBR press department said Friday.
It said the International Social Bank, the Commercial Bank, and the Universal Commercial Bank Era lost their licenses to conduct banking operations over failures to comply with federal banking laws and CBR regulations.
In particular, the three banks violated money laundering laws and disclosure procedures, overstated their financial reserves, and were found guilty of other financial irregularities.
The CBR placed the banks under external management pending a court ruling on bankruptcy or putting them into receivership.
http://en.rian.ru/business/20071026/85562699.html
It said the International Social Bank, the Commercial Bank, and the Universal Commercial Bank Era lost their licenses to conduct banking operations over failures to comply with federal banking laws and CBR regulations.
In particular, the three banks violated money laundering laws and disclosure procedures, overstated their financial reserves, and were found guilty of other financial irregularities.
The CBR placed the banks under external management pending a court ruling on bankruptcy or putting them into receivership.
http://en.rian.ru/business/20071026/85562699.html
on Sunday, May 27, 2012
The People's Bank of China punished 12 financial institutions involved in money laundering in the first half of this year with fines totaling 2.25 million yuan ($328,654), the central bank revealed late Friday.
"We have checked a total of 1,084 financial organizations, which include 907 banking institutions, 71 securities and futures institutions and 106 insurance institutions," said head of the bank's anti-money laundering bureau, Tang Xu.
Tang would not name any of these organizations but did say he has seen more money flowing in and out of underground private banks through questionable dealings in recent years.
Those banks make illegal transactions by collecting idle capital and then promising high interest rates. They then lend money at even higher interest rates to reap profits.
"This illegal foreign currency dealing, money laundering, money lending at high interest and illegal fund raising has disturbed the country's economic stability," Tang said.
The central bank branches and foreign exchange regulators have helped police crack 42 money laundering cases involving about 84.4 billion yuan since last September.
China initiated anti-money laundering checks in the banking sector. The country set up an anti-money-laundering bureau in the central bank in 2003 and passed its first anti-money-laundering law in 2006.
Financial institutions violating the law could be fined as much as five million yuan. Co-conspirators face fines of up to 500,000 yuan.
Tang said China will strengthen anti-money-laundering checks in securities and insurance sectors as criminals began to shift their focus.
Source: China Daily
"We have checked a total of 1,084 financial organizations, which include 907 banking institutions, 71 securities and futures institutions and 106 insurance institutions," said head of the bank's anti-money laundering bureau, Tang Xu.
Tang would not name any of these organizations but did say he has seen more money flowing in and out of underground private banks through questionable dealings in recent years.
Those banks make illegal transactions by collecting idle capital and then promising high interest rates. They then lend money at even higher interest rates to reap profits.
"This illegal foreign currency dealing, money laundering, money lending at high interest and illegal fund raising has disturbed the country's economic stability," Tang said.
The central bank branches and foreign exchange regulators have helped police crack 42 money laundering cases involving about 84.4 billion yuan since last September.
China initiated anti-money laundering checks in the banking sector. The country set up an anti-money-laundering bureau in the central bank in 2003 and passed its first anti-money-laundering law in 2006.
Financial institutions violating the law could be fined as much as five million yuan. Co-conspirators face fines of up to 500,000 yuan.
Tang said China will strengthen anti-money-laundering checks in securities and insurance sectors as criminals began to shift their focus.
Source: China Daily
Russia's central bank said on Thursday it has withdrawn the operating licences of bank Integro and Kurganprombank, citing the first bank's lack of capital and the latter's inability to meet creditors' demands.
The central bank has withdrawn over 10 banking licences since the end of August as mistrust and liquidity crisis hit the banking sector. Before the crisis, Russian banks lost licences mainly due to accusations of money laundering.
Authorities have repeatedly said they would welcome a consolidation in Russia's banking sector, consisting of over 1,000 banks.
Depositors of Integro and Kurganprombank will have to apply to the Deposit Insurance Agency to get their money back.
Authorities last month raised the amount of money guaranteed by the state to 700,000 roubles ($25,610), around 40 times higher than the average monthly wage. The state previously guaranteed 400,000 roubles. (Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev; Editing by Chris Wickham)
Source: The Guardian
The central bank has withdrawn over 10 banking licences since the end of August as mistrust and liquidity crisis hit the banking sector. Before the crisis, Russian banks lost licences mainly due to accusations of money laundering.
Authorities have repeatedly said they would welcome a consolidation in Russia's banking sector, consisting of over 1,000 banks.
Depositors of Integro and Kurganprombank will have to apply to the Deposit Insurance Agency to get their money back.
Authorities last month raised the amount of money guaranteed by the state to 700,000 roubles ($25,610), around 40 times higher than the average monthly wage. The state previously guaranteed 400,000 roubles. (Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev; Editing by Chris Wickham)
Source: The Guardian
on Friday, May 25, 2012
A Korean citizen claims that an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) official has stopped proceedings of filing a case regarding laundering of about $7.5 million although National Coordination Committee (NCC) to combat serious crime and corruption has evidence.
Ok-Kyung Oh in a press conference at Jatiya Press Club yesterday said a taskforce team this year found evidence of laundering the amount to South Korea by her former husband Bo- Sun Park, chairman of TaeHung Packaging (BD) Ltd, and forwarded the matter to ACC for further action.
She alleged ACC did not make any probe into the matter for mysterious reasons except changing the enquiry officer three times.
Ok-Kyung Oh, who claims to have been removed from the post of managing director of the same company illegally in 2004, alleges that ACC Commissioner Abul Hasan Manzur Mannan is holding back the file regarding filing of the case.
"If an ACC commissioner is holding back a file like this, then who's going to fight against corruption?" Ok-Kyung Oh asks.
"If ACC cannot file this case even after having such documents, the commission cannot file any case regarding corruption," she adds.
Contacted, Mannan told The Daily Star, "The allegation is not true. May be she has misunderstood me. She might have said that Customs Bond Commissionerate did not scrutinise her allegations earlier."
On delay in ACC action regarding the matter, he said, "The officer entrusted with enquiry earlier collected all the information but did not take those into cognisance, especially those technically important for this case."
"I don't know why the officer did that," he said, adding, "As we have understood all aspects of the matter by now, it would be disposed of soon."
Mentioning the recent taskforce report regarding the matter, Ok-Kyung Oh told journalists $7.5 million amounts to Tk 52.35 crore was laundered from 2000 till 2007 through over invoice.
She also complains that two former committees formed by the Bangladesh Bank and Customs Bond Commissionerate could not conduct impartial investigation and were influenced by former communications minister Nazmul Huda and his wife Sigma Huda during tenure of the four-party alliance government.
Source: The Daily Star
Ok-Kyung Oh in a press conference at Jatiya Press Club yesterday said a taskforce team this year found evidence of laundering the amount to South Korea by her former husband Bo- Sun Park, chairman of TaeHung Packaging (BD) Ltd, and forwarded the matter to ACC for further action.
She alleged ACC did not make any probe into the matter for mysterious reasons except changing the enquiry officer three times.
Ok-Kyung Oh, who claims to have been removed from the post of managing director of the same company illegally in 2004, alleges that ACC Commissioner Abul Hasan Manzur Mannan is holding back the file regarding filing of the case.
"If an ACC commissioner is holding back a file like this, then who's going to fight against corruption?" Ok-Kyung Oh asks.
"If ACC cannot file this case even after having such documents, the commission cannot file any case regarding corruption," she adds.
Contacted, Mannan told The Daily Star, "The allegation is not true. May be she has misunderstood me. She might have said that Customs Bond Commissionerate did not scrutinise her allegations earlier."
On delay in ACC action regarding the matter, he said, "The officer entrusted with enquiry earlier collected all the information but did not take those into cognisance, especially those technically important for this case."
"I don't know why the officer did that," he said, adding, "As we have understood all aspects of the matter by now, it would be disposed of soon."
Mentioning the recent taskforce report regarding the matter, Ok-Kyung Oh told journalists $7.5 million amounts to Tk 52.35 crore was laundered from 2000 till 2007 through over invoice.
She also complains that two former committees formed by the Bangladesh Bank and Customs Bond Commissionerate could not conduct impartial investigation and were influenced by former communications minister Nazmul Huda and his wife Sigma Huda during tenure of the four-party alliance government.
Source: The Daily Star
Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has renewed efforts to tackle the menace of terrorism finance in India.
Though there are no figures available so far on how many transactions have been made through the country’s banks, IBA has taken it up seriously. IBA held an interaction with a high-level delegation from the US on September 11 to know how the country was tackling the issue. IBA is already working on Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd (CIBIL)’s pilot data sharing project.
IBA’s interaction was held with Patrick O’ Brien, who is the assistant secretary, office of terrorism and financial intelligence (TFI), US treasury department. Experts feel it was post ‘9/11’ that interest rates on home loans were slashed by banks in the US resulting in a phenomenal increase in the loanbook. This resulted in the present financial turmoil in the country.During a presentation, Brien had depicted the international approaches to combat illicit finance. The idea was to exchange information and gain a better understanding of the implementation of India’s framework for anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
Some of the Indian bankers, who interacted with the US delegation, told FE that bankers in the US were impressed with the banking system in India. IBA CEO K Ramakrishnan said that the American banking community was impressed after knowing that we in India have a well-regulated and strong banking sector. Still, the need was felt on ways to take our banking system to the next level. This would help avoid any terrorist group do any transaction through our banking system.
Terrorists need money to execute the sabotage activities. But their efforts can be thwarted through measures like know your customers and by strengthening the reporting system, feel experts. “More than terrorist finance, we also discussed how to strengthen ourselves on the security and compliance front,” said MV Nair, CMD, Union Bank of India, who was also present during the interaction. “We also discussed the coordinated approaches being made by the regulatory authorities in our countries, added Nair.
Source: Indian Express Newspapers
Though there are no figures available so far on how many transactions have been made through the country’s banks, IBA has taken it up seriously. IBA held an interaction with a high-level delegation from the US on September 11 to know how the country was tackling the issue. IBA is already working on Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd (CIBIL)’s pilot data sharing project.
IBA’s interaction was held with Patrick O’ Brien, who is the assistant secretary, office of terrorism and financial intelligence (TFI), US treasury department. Experts feel it was post ‘9/11’ that interest rates on home loans were slashed by banks in the US resulting in a phenomenal increase in the loanbook. This resulted in the present financial turmoil in the country.During a presentation, Brien had depicted the international approaches to combat illicit finance. The idea was to exchange information and gain a better understanding of the implementation of India’s framework for anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
Some of the Indian bankers, who interacted with the US delegation, told FE that bankers in the US were impressed with the banking system in India. IBA CEO K Ramakrishnan said that the American banking community was impressed after knowing that we in India have a well-regulated and strong banking sector. Still, the need was felt on ways to take our banking system to the next level. This would help avoid any terrorist group do any transaction through our banking system.
Terrorists need money to execute the sabotage activities. But their efforts can be thwarted through measures like know your customers and by strengthening the reporting system, feel experts. “More than terrorist finance, we also discussed how to strengthen ourselves on the security and compliance front,” said MV Nair, CMD, Union Bank of India, who was also present during the interaction. “We also discussed the coordinated approaches being made by the regulatory authorities in our countries, added Nair.
Source: Indian Express Newspapers
Swiss authorities on Monday closed a long-running probe into alleged money laundering against Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani prime minister who was assassinated in December and her husband, Swiss news agency ATS reported.
Bhutto and her husband, businessman Asif Ali Zardari, were suspected of using Swiss bank accounts to launder about 12 million dollars (8.4 million euros) in alleged bribes paid by companies seeking customs inspection contracts in Pakistan in the 1990s.
The couple were formally sentenced by decree on the charges in Geneva in 2003 after a first investigation, but the ruling was overturned on appeal.
Source: The Times of India
Bhutto and her husband, businessman Asif Ali Zardari, were suspected of using Swiss bank accounts to launder about 12 million dollars (8.4 million euros) in alleged bribes paid by companies seeking customs inspection contracts in Pakistan in the 1990s.
The couple were formally sentenced by decree on the charges in Geneva in 2003 after a first investigation, but the ruling was overturned on appeal.
Source: The Times of India
The son and daughter-in-law of Taiwan's ex-president Chen Shui-bian Monday returned to the island to face a probe into alleged money laundering implicating the former leader. The couple, listed as defendants along with the ex-leader and his wife Wu Shu-chen over their alleged roles in the scandal, insisted they knew nothing about a 20 million US dollar fund kept at their bank accounts set up by a Swiss bank in Cayman Islands.
"I have no idea about the funds because my mother has long been the one handling the family's money," said the son Chen Chih-chung at the airport.
He stressed he did not know about the source and how the fund was wired abroad.
His wife, Huang Jui-ching, also said her mother-in-law, Wu Shu-chen, asked her to sign some documents, which she did as she was told without asking why.
They insisted that their return to Taiwan is a solid proof that they want to cooperate with the judicial authorities in clearing themselves and their family. Taiwan prosecutors have issued summons for the couple, who left Taiwan on August 9, just days before the scandal came to light earlier in August.
Taiwan's prosecution authorities have listed the former president Chen and four of his family members as defendants over their alleged roles in a high-profile money laundering scandal.
The scandal came to light on August 11 after Swiss judicial authorities notified Taiwan after finding unusual fund transfers through the son and daughter-in-law accounts set up by a Swiss bank.
The Supreme Prosecutor's Office launched the probe after Chen admitted at a news conference on August 14 that his wife had remitted 20 million US dollars worth of previous campaign donations abroad without telling him. He said his wife told him this was done in preparation for their retirement after he stepped down as president in May.
On August 16, prosecutors barred the ex-leader and his wife from going abroad, after searching Chen's home and office and Wu's home earlier in the day.
Investigators claimed to have found details of four secret bank accounts opened in 2000, the year Chen won the presidential election.
Chen said the money was from campaign funds that he had failed to declare. But prosecutors are trying to determine if the couple was attempting to launder illegally-obtained money through their son and daughter-in-law as well as other relatives.
The money laundering scandal has dealt a crushing blow to Chen's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which lost its eight-year grip on power to the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT) party in the March 22 election.
Chen, who served two four-year terms as president between 2000 and 2008, resigned from the DPP on August 15 as the party was preparing to expel him.
Source: The Earth Times
"I have no idea about the funds because my mother has long been the one handling the family's money," said the son Chen Chih-chung at the airport.
He stressed he did not know about the source and how the fund was wired abroad.
His wife, Huang Jui-ching, also said her mother-in-law, Wu Shu-chen, asked her to sign some documents, which she did as she was told without asking why.
They insisted that their return to Taiwan is a solid proof that they want to cooperate with the judicial authorities in clearing themselves and their family. Taiwan prosecutors have issued summons for the couple, who left Taiwan on August 9, just days before the scandal came to light earlier in August.
Taiwan's prosecution authorities have listed the former president Chen and four of his family members as defendants over their alleged roles in a high-profile money laundering scandal.
The scandal came to light on August 11 after Swiss judicial authorities notified Taiwan after finding unusual fund transfers through the son and daughter-in-law accounts set up by a Swiss bank.
The Supreme Prosecutor's Office launched the probe after Chen admitted at a news conference on August 14 that his wife had remitted 20 million US dollars worth of previous campaign donations abroad without telling him. He said his wife told him this was done in preparation for their retirement after he stepped down as president in May.
On August 16, prosecutors barred the ex-leader and his wife from going abroad, after searching Chen's home and office and Wu's home earlier in the day.
Investigators claimed to have found details of four secret bank accounts opened in 2000, the year Chen won the presidential election.
Chen said the money was from campaign funds that he had failed to declare. But prosecutors are trying to determine if the couple was attempting to launder illegally-obtained money through their son and daughter-in-law as well as other relatives.
The money laundering scandal has dealt a crushing blow to Chen's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which lost its eight-year grip on power to the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT) party in the March 22 election.
Chen, who served two four-year terms as president between 2000 and 2008, resigned from the DPP on August 15 as the party was preparing to expel him.
Source: The Earth Times
Nigerian banks have been indicted over non-compliance with the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, making them to serve as conduits for looting state resources.
A report by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Sunday said some banks flouted the Money Laundering Act but did not give the names of the banks involved in the offence.
The report titled ‘Banking Supervision Annual Report 2007’ said, “Some lapses were noted in banks’ compliance with the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.
“These included non-observance of the know-your-customer principle, failure to fully report international transfer of funds of $10,000 and above, lack of full awareness of controls among employees and failure to include money laundering audit in the audit programme.”
The CBN in the report, however, said it continued to collaborate with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit on the assessment of banks’ anti-money laundering control.
In the last eight years of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, powerful politicians siphoned states funds in connivance with the banks. But local banks, however, claimed innocence.
Meanwhile, the report said total assets of the banking sector increased, by 55.37 per cent or N3.73tn, from N6.74tn in 2006 to N10.47tn in 2007.
“As in 2006, banks’ funds were held in cash and due from other banks, while advances/leases, which constituted the largest component of total assets, grew from N2.081tn in 2006 to N3.802tn (36.32 percent) in 2007.
The report said the major components of liabilities also witnessed increases.
It further said total deposits, other liabilities, and paid-up capital and reserves rose by 55.81 per cent, 86.33 per cent and 64.36 percent, respectively.
It noted that in 2007, the aggregate deposits in the banking sector continued to grow.
“It grew from N1.4tn in 2003 to N1.8tn in 2004, N2.5tn in 2005, N3.4tn in 2006 and N5.4tn in 2007.
“The observed trend reflected a growth rate of 10.4 percent in 2003, 27.5 percent in 2004, 41.7 percent in 2005, 35.2 percent in 2006 and 55.8 percent in 2007,” it added.
Source: Punch
A report by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Sunday said some banks flouted the Money Laundering Act but did not give the names of the banks involved in the offence.
The report titled ‘Banking Supervision Annual Report 2007’ said, “Some lapses were noted in banks’ compliance with the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.
“These included non-observance of the know-your-customer principle, failure to fully report international transfer of funds of $10,000 and above, lack of full awareness of controls among employees and failure to include money laundering audit in the audit programme.”
The CBN in the report, however, said it continued to collaborate with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit on the assessment of banks’ anti-money laundering control.
In the last eight years of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, powerful politicians siphoned states funds in connivance with the banks. But local banks, however, claimed innocence.
Meanwhile, the report said total assets of the banking sector increased, by 55.37 per cent or N3.73tn, from N6.74tn in 2006 to N10.47tn in 2007.
“As in 2006, banks’ funds were held in cash and due from other banks, while advances/leases, which constituted the largest component of total assets, grew from N2.081tn in 2006 to N3.802tn (36.32 percent) in 2007.
The report said the major components of liabilities also witnessed increases.
It further said total deposits, other liabilities, and paid-up capital and reserves rose by 55.81 per cent, 86.33 per cent and 64.36 percent, respectively.
It noted that in 2007, the aggregate deposits in the banking sector continued to grow.
“It grew from N1.4tn in 2003 to N1.8tn in 2004, N2.5tn in 2005, N3.4tn in 2006 and N5.4tn in 2007.
“The observed trend reflected a growth rate of 10.4 percent in 2003, 27.5 percent in 2004, 41.7 percent in 2005, 35.2 percent in 2006 and 55.8 percent in 2007,” it added.
Source: Punch
on Thursday, May 24, 2012
Police in Rio on Wednesday arrested a Credit Suisse employee for allegedly helping wealthy Brazilian clients launder money and send it abroad without paying taxes, officials said.
The suspect was seized after a search of his hotel room turned up incriminating documents, a spokesman for the state prosecutor's office in Sao Paulo told Agence France-Presse.
He is to be added to a list of suspects compiled as part of a long-running investigation into alleged tax evasion by rich Brazilians, the spokesman, Marcelo Oliveira, said.
Weiss was suspected of arranging for Brazilian clients to use money-changers to send money abroad, evading Brazilian taxes.
Credit Suisse's public relations agency in Brazil declined to confirm the information.
It said the bank's representative office in Sao Paulo and the Swiss-based Credit Suisse investment bank 'are independent and have no relationship with each other.'
The bank's Brazilian operations, it said 'always act under the most rigorous legal and ethical principles,' it added.
The suspect was seized after a search of his hotel room turned up incriminating documents, a spokesman for the state prosecutor's office in Sao Paulo told Agence France-Presse.
He is to be added to a list of suspects compiled as part of a long-running investigation into alleged tax evasion by rich Brazilians, the spokesman, Marcelo Oliveira, said.
Weiss was suspected of arranging for Brazilian clients to use money-changers to send money abroad, evading Brazilian taxes.
Credit Suisse's public relations agency in Brazil declined to confirm the information.
It said the bank's representative office in Sao Paulo and the Swiss-based Credit Suisse investment bank 'are independent and have no relationship with each other.'
The bank's Brazilian operations, it said 'always act under the most rigorous legal and ethical principles,' it added.
Posted: 24/06/2008 - 01:31 PM
Author: Adele Ramos
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has yet to move against a second bank, the First Caribbean International Bank, under investigation for charges under the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act, but indications are that Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL) – the company that reportedly deposited the money into the banks - also forms a part of the investigations.
The FIU is in court prosecuting the Belize Bank for 79 charges of failure to report suspicious transactions, after receiving USD deposits in excess of US$2 million from BTL in 2004 and 2005.
FIU director, Geraldine Davis-Young, told Amandala that nothing has yet concluded with respect to First Caribbean. Davis would not discuss the details of the investigations with us, noting that the FIU has to maintain confidentiality.
She did explain that the investigation is three-pronged, involving the two commercial banks as well as the company which deposited the funds into the banks in question.
Reports to our newspaper were that most of the foreign currency transactions took place between 2003 and 2005, and total several million dollars.
BTL’s former CEO, Gaspar Aguilar, had told Amandala in September 2005 – when the exchanges became public and over $7 million of BTL’s money was allegedly heisted by money changers - that the street exchange of large sums of money dated way back to 2001. BTL’s board was forced to go outside the regular banking system, said Aguilar, to find US currency to pay for equipment and other foreign expenses.
So if the transactions date back to seven years ago, why are charges being levied only from 2004 and onward? When we asked Davis to explain, she told our newspaper that the FIU limited itself to the 2004-2005 time period because the law places a statute of limitation on prosecutions.
We checked the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act, and found that in Section 28, it states that all prosecutions, actions, suits, and other proceedings brought for any offence, or for the recovery of any fines, penalty or forfeitures, under this Act or the Regulations made there-under, shall be brought within five years next after the date the offence was committed or the cause of action accrued.
We interpret that to mean that prosecutions commenced now, in 2008, can only go back as far as 2003, at the earliest.
It is interesting to note that the currency exchange and banking transactions that resulted in the charges against the Belize Bank date back as far as 2001, and continued both under the headship of the Ashcroft companies and Jeffrey Prosser’s Innovative Communication Corporation.
Of note is that Keith Arnold, who had also served as BTL chairman when news of the transactions were carried in the media three years ago, was the man in charge of the FIU before Davis’ time. Arnold never labeled the BTL foreign currency transactions illegal. Instead, he called the transactions “imprudent practices.”
Even though there had been a change in the FIU’s directorship, formal charges were only levied against the Belize Bank after a change of government took place in February of this year. The FIU has hired B.Q. Pitts, former law partner of Attorney General Wilfred Elrington, as special prosecutor.
After the Belize Bank entered its not guilty plea in the courtroom of Magistrate Sharon Frazer last Wednesday, July 18, their attorney, Eamon Courtenay told journalists that the FIU had failed to disclose evidence.
Davis told our newspaper today that while Courtenay wanted the FIU to give disclosure before the bank entered a plea, that would not have been prudent for the FIU to do. She indicated that now that a plea has been taken, Pitts is prepared to disclose the evidence.
As Amandala had first reported on May 29, 2008, Prime Minister Dean Barrow told our newspaper earlier this month that authorities are trying to get First Caribbean to enter a guilty plea. (Barrow did not then disclose the name of the bank, citing ongoing negotiations.)
Ashcroft sold BTL to Prosser through a Government-mediated deal in April, 2004. The Belize Bank, another Ashcroft company, has been charged in connection with deposits from BTL occurring between January 2004 and August 2005 – three months before Keith Arnold resigned his FIU post.
The Said Musa-led government ousted Prosser from BTL’s board in February 2005, and soon after, Ashcroft began resuming control of BTL through a network of Belizean and offshore Caribbean companies.
Source. Amandala Online
Author: Adele Ramos
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has yet to move against a second bank, the First Caribbean International Bank, under investigation for charges under the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act, but indications are that Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL) – the company that reportedly deposited the money into the banks - also forms a part of the investigations.
The FIU is in court prosecuting the Belize Bank for 79 charges of failure to report suspicious transactions, after receiving USD deposits in excess of US$2 million from BTL in 2004 and 2005.
FIU director, Geraldine Davis-Young, told Amandala that nothing has yet concluded with respect to First Caribbean. Davis would not discuss the details of the investigations with us, noting that the FIU has to maintain confidentiality.
She did explain that the investigation is three-pronged, involving the two commercial banks as well as the company which deposited the funds into the banks in question.
Reports to our newspaper were that most of the foreign currency transactions took place between 2003 and 2005, and total several million dollars.
BTL’s former CEO, Gaspar Aguilar, had told Amandala in September 2005 – when the exchanges became public and over $7 million of BTL’s money was allegedly heisted by money changers - that the street exchange of large sums of money dated way back to 2001. BTL’s board was forced to go outside the regular banking system, said Aguilar, to find US currency to pay for equipment and other foreign expenses.
So if the transactions date back to seven years ago, why are charges being levied only from 2004 and onward? When we asked Davis to explain, she told our newspaper that the FIU limited itself to the 2004-2005 time period because the law places a statute of limitation on prosecutions.
We checked the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act, and found that in Section 28, it states that all prosecutions, actions, suits, and other proceedings brought for any offence, or for the recovery of any fines, penalty or forfeitures, under this Act or the Regulations made there-under, shall be brought within five years next after the date the offence was committed or the cause of action accrued.
We interpret that to mean that prosecutions commenced now, in 2008, can only go back as far as 2003, at the earliest.
It is interesting to note that the currency exchange and banking transactions that resulted in the charges against the Belize Bank date back as far as 2001, and continued both under the headship of the Ashcroft companies and Jeffrey Prosser’s Innovative Communication Corporation.
Of note is that Keith Arnold, who had also served as BTL chairman when news of the transactions were carried in the media three years ago, was the man in charge of the FIU before Davis’ time. Arnold never labeled the BTL foreign currency transactions illegal. Instead, he called the transactions “imprudent practices.”
Even though there had been a change in the FIU’s directorship, formal charges were only levied against the Belize Bank after a change of government took place in February of this year. The FIU has hired B.Q. Pitts, former law partner of Attorney General Wilfred Elrington, as special prosecutor.
After the Belize Bank entered its not guilty plea in the courtroom of Magistrate Sharon Frazer last Wednesday, July 18, their attorney, Eamon Courtenay told journalists that the FIU had failed to disclose evidence.
Davis told our newspaper today that while Courtenay wanted the FIU to give disclosure before the bank entered a plea, that would not have been prudent for the FIU to do. She indicated that now that a plea has been taken, Pitts is prepared to disclose the evidence.
As Amandala had first reported on May 29, 2008, Prime Minister Dean Barrow told our newspaper earlier this month that authorities are trying to get First Caribbean to enter a guilty plea. (Barrow did not then disclose the name of the bank, citing ongoing negotiations.)
Ashcroft sold BTL to Prosser through a Government-mediated deal in April, 2004. The Belize Bank, another Ashcroft company, has been charged in connection with deposits from BTL occurring between January 2004 and August 2005 – three months before Keith Arnold resigned his FIU post.
The Said Musa-led government ousted Prosser from BTL’s board in February 2005, and soon after, Ashcroft began resuming control of BTL through a network of Belizean and offshore Caribbean companies.
Source. Amandala Online
The volume of suspicious bank transactions in Russian banks decreased 8 percent to RUB 1 trillion (approx. USD 40.6bn) in 2007 compared to a year earlier, the Bank of Russia's Deputy Chairman Viktor Melnikov told journalists today. Meanwhile, the volume of dubious deals shrank 24 percent in Moscow, Melnikov noted, adding that Russia's cash circulation had grown 34 percent, while retail trade had increased by more than 10 percent in 2007. Dubious cash conversion deals often involve the purchase of agricultural equipment or securities, the official said, adding that conversion of assets into cash was used for tax evasion both in Russia and abroad.
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20080124185819.shtml
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20080124185819.shtml
on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Danuta Pavilenene, BC, Vilnius, 20.05.2008.
The Board of the Bank of Lithuania adopted new instructions for credit institutions aimed at the prevention of money laundering and/or terrorist financing, the Bank announced.
The document regulates the prevention of not only money laundering, but also terrorist financing, implementation of the risk-based method, procedure for the simplified and stricter verification of customer’s identity. Special attention is paid to suspicious, unusual and complex monetary transactions and operations, informs LETA/ELTA.
The instructions emphasize the cases when credit institutions must take measures and identify and verify the identity of a customer or a beneficiary, including: before performing one-off or several interrelated monetary operations or concluding transactions that exceed the amount of EUR 15,000 or an equivalent amount in foreign currency, irrespective of the performance of the transaction in one or several interrelated operations; before exchanging cash, if the amount of the cash exchanged exceeds EUR 6,000 or an equivalent amount in foreign currency.
Credit institutions must classify customers to risk groups according to the respective criteria and procedures established in their internal documents. According to the instructions, the creation of a comprehensive "portrait" of a customer is one of the main elements ensuring efficient management of the risk of money laundering and/or terrorist financing.
Credit institutions are required, among other things, to verify whether their customer is not included in the consolidated list of persons, their groups and enterprises and institutions to which financial sanctions of the European Union are imposed. Credit institutions are prohibited to start and continue correspondent banking or other relationships with fictitious banks.
It is established in which cases credit institutions must suspend suspicious and unusual monetary operations and inform about it the Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of the Interior.
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/finances/&doc=1737
The Board of the Bank of Lithuania adopted new instructions for credit institutions aimed at the prevention of money laundering and/or terrorist financing, the Bank announced.
The document regulates the prevention of not only money laundering, but also terrorist financing, implementation of the risk-based method, procedure for the simplified and stricter verification of customer’s identity. Special attention is paid to suspicious, unusual and complex monetary transactions and operations, informs LETA/ELTA.
The instructions emphasize the cases when credit institutions must take measures and identify and verify the identity of a customer or a beneficiary, including: before performing one-off or several interrelated monetary operations or concluding transactions that exceed the amount of EUR 15,000 or an equivalent amount in foreign currency, irrespective of the performance of the transaction in one or several interrelated operations; before exchanging cash, if the amount of the cash exchanged exceeds EUR 6,000 or an equivalent amount in foreign currency.
Credit institutions must classify customers to risk groups according to the respective criteria and procedures established in their internal documents. According to the instructions, the creation of a comprehensive "portrait" of a customer is one of the main elements ensuring efficient management of the risk of money laundering and/or terrorist financing.
Credit institutions are required, among other things, to verify whether their customer is not included in the consolidated list of persons, their groups and enterprises and institutions to which financial sanctions of the European Union are imposed. Credit institutions are prohibited to start and continue correspondent banking or other relationships with fictitious banks.
It is established in which cases credit institutions must suspend suspicious and unusual monetary operations and inform about it the Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of the Interior.
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/finances/&doc=1737
Government prosecutors have begun marshalling evidence in the trial involving the National Commercial Bank (NCB) which is accused of breaching the Money Laundering Act.
The trial started on Monday in the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court.
Charges were laid against NCB last year that it allegedly breached the Act by failing to report the financial transactions of alleged drug kingpin Norris 'Deedo' Nembhard.
In a landmark move, the Financial Investigation Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance served summonses on NCB in February last year concerning six threshold transactions.
The FID accused the bank of failing to report to the relevant authority, information on Deedo Nembhard's accounts.
The Act requires banks to report all cash transactions above US$50,000 to the FID.
NCB confirmed that the transactions occurred on Mr. Nembhard's accounts at one of its branches over a period of eight months in 2003.
However, in its defence NCB said when the transactions, totalling $US870,000, were discovered, it took disciplinary action against the employees involved.
The bank said it also filed the requisite reports based on information available at the time.
But investigators said the bank only filed the reports after they began probing the financial accounts of "Deedo" Nembhard and his family.
Government prosecutors intend to argue that NCB failed to report on multi-million dollar transactions of the accused drug kingpin during the "period specified" as outlined under the Act.
But NCB intends to argue that there is no set time line under the Act which requires the bank to report on the transactions, therefore they cannot be held liable.
The trial continues on September 8.
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/8278/26/
The trial started on Monday in the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court.
Charges were laid against NCB last year that it allegedly breached the Act by failing to report the financial transactions of alleged drug kingpin Norris 'Deedo' Nembhard.
In a landmark move, the Financial Investigation Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance served summonses on NCB in February last year concerning six threshold transactions.
The FID accused the bank of failing to report to the relevant authority, information on Deedo Nembhard's accounts.
The Act requires banks to report all cash transactions above US$50,000 to the FID.
NCB confirmed that the transactions occurred on Mr. Nembhard's accounts at one of its branches over a period of eight months in 2003.
However, in its defence NCB said when the transactions, totalling $US870,000, were discovered, it took disciplinary action against the employees involved.
The bank said it also filed the requisite reports based on information available at the time.
But investigators said the bank only filed the reports after they began probing the financial accounts of "Deedo" Nembhard and his family.
Government prosecutors intend to argue that NCB failed to report on multi-million dollar transactions of the accused drug kingpin during the "period specified" as outlined under the Act.
But NCB intends to argue that there is no set time line under the Act which requires the bank to report on the transactions, therefore they cannot be held liable.
The trial continues on September 8.
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/8278/26/
Anti-money laundering professionals throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America now have the opportunity to earn a prestigious AML certification online from the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA) and Florida International University (FIU). The FIBA-FIU Anti-Money Laundering Certified Associate (AML/CA) certification program, which has helped many compliance officers to hone their skills and improve their resumes, is now available online.
"Right now, there are many people working in compliance with totally different levels of knowledge and experience," said Pat Roth, FIBA's Executive Director. "We have seen that there is a genuine need to create a foundation of knowledge which is standard across the industry. The AML professionals can rely upon to do their extremely important work."
The basic foundation upon which all U.S. compliance officers must build their AML knowledge is the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual. But banks outside the U.S. also need this critical knowledge in order to do business internationally. They too need a standard foundation of knowledge to do business with the U.S. and globally.
The FIBA AML Institute's top-notch trainers lay down this vital groundwork and then build on this with an array of real-world examples that ensure students see the details of AML compliance and how it all fits into the "big picture."
"This is the strength of the FIBA-FIU AML Certification," Roth said. "People recognize in the course the same situations and examples that they see in their financial institutions, and they finally see how everything fits together."
When designing the AML/CA online certification program and exam, FIBA and FIU took into account the hectic nature of compliance officers' schedules. The online program gives participants the flexibility to work at their own pace when completing the reading requirements, power point narratives, discussion questions, practice quizzes, and the examination. The only requirement is that all of the work be finished within a 12-week period. Passing the final exam to earn the prestigious FIBA-FIU AML Certified Associate designation shows that the participant has acquired the fundamentals of AML compliance in a financial institution.
AML compliance officers can now choose between classroom learning or the online "learn at your own pace."
For more information, contact FIBA at 305-579-0086 or fiba@fiba.net.
Source: BusinessWire
"Right now, there are many people working in compliance with totally different levels of knowledge and experience," said Pat Roth, FIBA's Executive Director. "We have seen that there is a genuine need to create a foundation of knowledge which is standard across the industry. The AML professionals can rely upon to do their extremely important work."
The basic foundation upon which all U.S. compliance officers must build their AML knowledge is the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual. But banks outside the U.S. also need this critical knowledge in order to do business internationally. They too need a standard foundation of knowledge to do business with the U.S. and globally.
The FIBA AML Institute's top-notch trainers lay down this vital groundwork and then build on this with an array of real-world examples that ensure students see the details of AML compliance and how it all fits into the "big picture."
"This is the strength of the FIBA-FIU AML Certification," Roth said. "People recognize in the course the same situations and examples that they see in their financial institutions, and they finally see how everything fits together."
When designing the AML/CA online certification program and exam, FIBA and FIU took into account the hectic nature of compliance officers' schedules. The online program gives participants the flexibility to work at their own pace when completing the reading requirements, power point narratives, discussion questions, practice quizzes, and the examination. The only requirement is that all of the work be finished within a 12-week period. Passing the final exam to earn the prestigious FIBA-FIU AML Certified Associate designation shows that the participant has acquired the fundamentals of AML compliance in a financial institution.
AML compliance officers can now choose between classroom learning or the online "learn at your own pace."
For more information, contact FIBA at 305-579-0086 or fiba@fiba.net.
Source: BusinessWire
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