Chinese Gang Laundering Money at Laundries

Spanish police say they arrested 34 Chinese citizens as they smashed a family-run crime gang suspected of importing fake goods and laundering the profits, with the help of a chain of laundries.

The raids in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Cadiz, Seville and Huelva overnight broke up the largest Chinese-linked criminal gang based in Spain, operating since the 1990s, said the Civil Guard overnight.

Police detained 34 Chinese nationals and seized assets worth 11 million euros ($15 million), it said.

The gang may have earned more than 40 million euros ($54.64 million) a year, importing four-to-six containers a month through Valencia packed with fake tobacco, clothes and other goods bound for sale in Spain, Britain, France, Italy and Portugal, they said.

The Chinese family-run gang laundered the proceeds by moving the money around with couriers, making bank transfers of less than 20,000 ($27,318) and by extending high-interest loans to compatriots based in Spain, police said.

The gang recruited Chinese people it had helped to enter Spain, often taking away their passports after they arrived or opening bank accounts in their names to launder illicit gains, they said.

According to police, the organisation had a branch in China, which controlled more than 30 companies including a chain of nearly 1,000 laundries and was used to conceal the source of the profits.

Source: Herald Sun

'Hot Money' from China Escalates House Prices in Hong Kong

Hong Kong stock and real estate markets have recently soared simultaneously. Experts believe it was caused by an influx of “hot money” from mainland China, and worry that it will lead to economic bubbles.


"Hot money" refers to funds that are controlled by investors who actively seek short-term returns. Often, hot money is laundered to “cool” it down, or make it appear legitimate.

The luxury housing market in Hong Kong has risen to as high as 712,800 Hong Kong dollars (US$91,930) per square meter. According to statistics from an intermediary organization, prices for luxury housing in Hong Kong this year have been restored to the level before the financial crisis, and have even exceeded the peak price before the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

An influx of hot money is one of the reasons causing high real estate prices, according to associate Professor Li Kui-Wai from the Department of Economics and Finance of the City University of Hong Kong.

”Many people say that the money came into Hong Kong from mainland China,” Li said. “Though China imposes control over foreign currency, many people are able to bring money [with them] when they come to Hong Kong. Some people say they basically bring money in bags. When someone buys a luxury house, they do not even need to consider a mortgage from a bank, as they would pay in full, in cash.”

Joseph Y.S. Cheng, a professor of political science at the City University of Hong Kong says a significant amount of the money comes from “disgraceful” sources.

“Hence, they want to seek a way out, and hope to transfer money out of China,” he said. “Under such circumstances, we see the wealthiest class in China sending their families to reside abroad, and then try to get a foreign passport, even multiple foreign passports. They also purchase real estate abroad as a way of retreat, and a kind of insurance.”

Cheng also described it as money laundering; “transferring money to somewhere where the Chinese regime does not have jurisdiction.”

“So we have indeed seen such people come to buy luxury housing in Hong Kong,” he said. “Their way of purchase is mostly paying by cash, or paying in one lump sum, unlike ordinary residents, who would buy through a long-term, ten- or twenty-year mortgage.”

The latest data shows that since the beginning of the financial crisis, the total amount of money flowing into Hong Kong has reached 532.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$68.69 billion), and is mostly traced to mainland China.

Sung Lap-kung, a program coordinator of the School of Continuing and Professional Education at the City University of Hong Kong, said that much of this hot money has entered Hong Kong from the Pearl River Delta area.

“Much of the hot money is from the 4,000 billion yuan (US$ 585.82 billion) stimulus fund, handed out from the Chinese government, at the end of last year and the beginning of this year,” Sung said. “Much of it has been released from the banks.”

Financial expert Lew Mon-hung said that mainland China’s total credit provided this year is close to 10 trillion yuan (US$1.46 trillion)—more than double the target set by the authorities.

“Some large state-owned enterprises are not short of money,” Lew said. “However, in order to fulfill their credit quota, the banks give many large state-owned corporations excessive amounts of money. They then invest them into the real estate market and the stock market; hence the inflow of hot money.”

Lew suggested that this sudden influx of hot money into Hong Kong is mainly due to distrust of the communist dictatorship.

“Though they used many capitalist ways to develop the economy, it is still under the banner of Marxism,” Lew said. “So people have concerns about this. Mainland China has a market economy that is distorted by power, particularly from the perspective of rule of law. Its law and rule of law do not match international standards.”

Lew said corruption was also a big problem. “Many links provide opportunities for these corrupt officials,” Lew said. “That is, they are eager for high credit quota, the higher the better for them. So as far as the politics is concerned: the GDP has increased; as far as individuals are concerned: they have more opportunities to seek money.”

“Of course there will be money laundering, which is a method of covering up one’s own economic crime,” Lew added.

Many financial experts and scholars are concerned whether such soaring prices in the real estate market will cause an economic bubble.

Once a large-scale outflow of capital occurs, it will impact Hong Kong's dollar interest rate and exchange rate, and the real estate price will drop accordingly. It is estimated that the pressure for lowering the real estate price will be greater and greater after December.

Source: The Epoch Times

Corrupt Chinese officials transfer their assets overseas

Corrupt officials and company executives in China transfer their assets overseas through at least eight channels, according to a report released on Monday by the Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring and Analysis Center set up by the People's Bank of China.

Often a combination of legal and illegal channels is used to make cross-border transfers of ill-gotten gains, the report said.

The eight main channels are smuggling cash, underground banking services, trade under current accounts, overseas investment, credit cards, offshore financial centers, direct overseas payments and payments to family members or lovers living overseas.

However, the exact amount of assets transferred overseas, since Chinese officials on corruption charges began to flee the country at the end of the 1980s, remains a mystery, said the report.

The report quotes statistics released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which estimate that up to 800 billion yuan ($123 billion) has been transferred overseas by fleeing or missing officials and company executives since the mid-1990s.

The cross-border transfer of such assets causes huge losses to the country as the majority cannot be recovered and their whereabouts are hard to find, the report added.

The report also provided details about the destinations for corrupt officials and businesspeople.

People with a higher rank or larger assets tended to flee to Western countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands.

Those who cannot reach Western countries directly, use Hong Kong or some small countries in Africa, East Europe and Latin America as a stopover.

Those with lower rankings or smaller assets often find safe havens in China's neighboring countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Mongolia and Russia.

Source: China Daily

Apple Global Supply Manager Accused of Accepting $1 Million in Kickbacks

A mid-level Apple manager faces twenty-three counts of a federal grand jury indictment alleging that the 37-year-old Paul Shin Devine, a global supply manager, is guilty of wire fraud, money laundering, and kickbacks related to his position at the company. Andrew Ang, of Singapore, faces the same charges as well.

And if that's not bad enough, Apple itself has filed a separate civil suit against Devine, alleging that the Sunnyvale, CA-based (former) employee accepted more than $1 million in bribes and kickbacks from countries including China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.

According to the indictment, Devine allegedly used his position at Apple to acquire various bits of confidential information about the company. He would turn around and sell this information to more than a half-dozen Apple suppliers—including the aforementioned Ang—and both would receive payments for their efforts. Using the confidential knowledge, said suppliers would be able to better position themselves to bid for and receive Apple contracts.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that the companies in the indictment remained unnamed, but they're said to be involved in supplying materials for Apple's iPods and iPhones.

"Apple is committed to the highest ethical standards in the way we do business," said Apple spokesman Steve Dowling in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for dishonest behavior inside or outside the company."

The somewhat-complicated scheme, reads the indictment, involved a number of U.S. and foreign bank accounts, as well as the falsified company "CPK Engineering," to process the payments. Devine allegedly attempted to conceal the money transfers using code words as to not clue his employer into what was actually transpiring, and would even go so far as to open the foreign bank accounts in his wife's name.

The Internal Revenue Service reports that Devine is currently in the custody of U.S. Marshals, awaiting a 1:30 p.m. court appearance this coming Monday in the U.S. Northern District Court in San Jose.

Source: PC Mag

Why the Iran Sanctions Matter

It's easy to criticize the U.N. Security Council's new resolution targeting Iran. But it might prove a surprisingly effective tool in tightening the noose on the regime in Tehran.

Wednesday's U.N. Security Council resolution sanctioning Iran marks a critical turning point in the U.S.-led efforts to target Iran's illicit activities. The resolution focuses on Iran's nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile programs; the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is responsible for these programs as well as the regime's support for terrorism; and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), which has been directly involved in proliferation shipments. The sanctions included in this resolution are, as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice put it, "as tough as they are smart and precise." If anything, this new resolution is both too precise and purposefully vague. And therein lies its strength.

The list of 40 entities and one individual listed in the resolution's three annexes is extremely targeted. Employing such "smart sanctions" -- pinpointing the specific entities and persons involved in Iran's illicit conduct and holding them accountable while shielding the general Iranian public from old-fashioned, shotgun, regime-wide sanctions -- has been very effective. This tactic denies Iran's revolutionary regime the chance to deflect blame for the country's economic woes, while disrupting its ability to finance and transport material necessary for its nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile programs. But the number of entities excluded from the resolution is even more telling than the list of those that made the final cut. Most entities designated this week, for example, had already been designated by the U.S. Treasury Department and/or the European Union. They have therefore already been subject to most of the impacts a U.N. resolution would hope to achieve, such as economic isolation by major financial institutions.

Consider Iran's shipping line, IRISL. The U.S. government first designated IRISL in September 2008 for facilitating the transport of cargo for U.N.-designated proliferators and falsifying documents and using deceptive schemes to shroud its involvement in illicit commerce. And, as the State Department noted at the time of the designation, IRISL had already been "called out by the U.N. Security Council as a company that has engaged in proliferation shipments."

But following up on U.S. and EU designations of entities like IRISL or the IRGC-controlled Khatam al-Anbiya construction company (also called Ghorb) by designating them at the United Nations as well is vitally important to the global sanctions regime. With critical countries such as China, Malaysia, Singapore, and others willing to do only the minimum to comply with Security Council resolutions, getting critical entities like IRISL and IRGC companies designated at the U.N. means wider implementation of sanctions.

Unfortunately, multilateral action is not only difficult to achieve, but can often lead to lowest-common-denominator decision-making. So while international consensus was being built for robust action at the U.N., Britain, the European Union, the United States, and others wisely pursued both unilateral and bilateral financial measures focused on IRISL, IRGC-affiliated entities, and other individuals and institutions facilitating Iran's illicit conduct. With the increased militarization of the Iranian regime and the blatant abuses of the IRGC-affiliated Basij militia, targeting entities affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard unilaterally while international consensus was being built to do so at the U.N. level was an effective strategy. That does mean, however, that this week's list of sanctioned entities is more of a reinforcement of prior actions than completely new ones.

And that's OK. Because though the lists of sanctioned entities are very precise, U.S. and other negotiators made sure that general "hooks" upon which additional actions could be "hung" were peppered throughout the body of the resolution. These will provide the United States and other states and multilateral bodies with the international imprimatur for further action. Put another way, the new resolution is most important not for the specific entities listed in its annexes, but for providing a foundation upon which further efforts to disrupt Iran's illicit activities can be built.

Note, for example, the multiple times the resolution "calls upon all States" to do things above and beyond checking the list of specifically sanctioned entities and persons, such as the call to "exercise vigilance" over transactions involving the IRGC that could contribute to "proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems." In plain English, this language effectively empowers states and other international bodies to take still more stringent action against the IRGC.

Broadening its sanctions against Iran's shipping company, the resolution "calls upon all States" to inspect "all cargo to and from Iran, in their territory, including seaports and airports, if the State concerned has information that provides reasonable grounds to believe the cargo contains items the supply, sale, transfer, or export of which is prohibited" by this or prior Security Council resolutions. The contrast between the specificity of the list of sanctioned entities and the fairly low standard of "reasonable grounds to believe" is a telling example of purposeful vagueness that could prove powerful in the hands of states inclined to get tough on Tehran.

Similarly, the resolution "requests" that all member states report to the U.N. "any information available" on "transfers or activity by Iran Air's cargo division or vessels owned or operated by [IRISL] to other companies" that might be related to sanctions evasion. The resolution "calls upon" states to "take appropriate measures" -- which, again, by virtue of being appropriately vague is appropriately empowering -- both to prohibit Iranian banks from opening branches, subsidiaries, representative offices, joint ventures, or correspondent relationships with banks in their jurisdiction and to prohibit financial institutions in their territories or under their jurisdiction from opening offices or accounts in Iran.

Indeed, the resolution specifically "welcom[es]" the guidance issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) -- the multilateral technocratic body that sets international standards to combat money laundering and terrorism finance -- to assist states in implementing their financial obligations under two previous resolutions, 1737 (2006) and 1803 (2008). In particular, it highlights the FATF's warning to "exercise vigilance over transactions involving Iranian banks, including the Central Bank of Iran, so as to prevent such transactions contributing to proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities, or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems." So though the Central Bank of Iran is not specifically sanctioned, it is, broadly speaking, open game.

In February, the FATF named Iran to its new blacklist, recognizing that in support of its weapons programs, its crackdown on democracy, and its terrorist proxies, Tehran has continued to engage in deceptive financial conduct aimed at raising, moving, hiding, and accessing funds internationally. In line with the G-20's call to protect the international financial system from abuse, the blacklist identified countries with deficient "anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism" (AML/CFT) measures. Iran received special designation on the blacklist; it was the only country whose illicit financial conduct merited a call for international countermeasures.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, Iran is highly sensitive to such actions. After one of the FATF's warnings, for example, Iran sent a delegation to lobby the agency despite not being a member. The FATF, however, dismissed Iran's claims that legislative changes had fixed its financial shortcomings, calling the new measures "skimpy" and noting their "big deficiencies." Indeed, the FATF blacklisted Iran even as it recognized the regime's "recent steps" to engage with the agency. The message seemed to be that the FATF would not mistake public engagement for substantive progress. Similarly, though Iran requested technical help from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime to set up a computer-based training center for its nascent financial intelligence unit, the FATF still highlighted the regime's "failure to meaningfully address the ongoing and substantial deficiencies" in its AML/CFT efforts.

The result is a sharp increase in the cost of doing business for the Iranian regime. European multinational companies are terminating business relationships with Iran, following the lead of major international banks in tightening the noose on Iran's financial system. Chinese and Malaysian companies may lap up available contracts, but many key technologies Iran needs for its oil and gas industries and for its nuclear and missile programs are only available in the West.

And now, for a change, existing sanctions might finally be seriously enforced. Just as important as the specific list of sanctioned entities and the broad invitations to take further action against Iran is the resolution's creation of a monitoring committee, including a panel of experts, to better enforce existing sanctions. Indeed, expert panels proved effective in strengthening sanctions on Sudan and Ethiopia. The "naming and shaming" power of the panel's findings could further influence firms and individuals considering whether to run the risk of doing business with Iran. Furthermore, an expert panel could also help the Sanctions Committee and U.N. member states by recommending ways to make the sanctions more effective. Such a monitoring committee would be particularly effective if it included among its experts individuals knowledgeable about export control and dual-use goods.

But implementation and follow-up is everything in the sanctions business. For the new resolution to make a difference, three things must happen.

First, states like Britain and the United States, regional bodies like the EU, and multilateral bodies like the FATF and G-20 must all act on the resolution's various "calls" to expand the resolution beyond the list of specifically sanctioned entities.

Secondly, the monitoring committee must demand substantive reports from member states upon which it can submit public reports with substantive recommendations for enhancing enforcement of existing sanctions.

Finally, unless the report finds that Iran has become fully compliant with its obligations, the Security Council must quickly follow up on the report with another round of sanctions. The resolution requests that the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency submit a report to the Security Council within 90 days on whether Iran has established "full and sustained suspension" of its illicit nuclear activities. If the international community does not respond in a timely fashion, the entire premise of targeted and graduated sanctions -- the credibility of which are premised on consequences for ongoing illicit conduct -- will be irreparably damaged. One reason Iran has not been deterred by the sanctions put in place to date is that the deadlines of prior resolutions came and went with no timely follow-up. This delay undermined the whole sanctions enterprise, leaving Iran with the general sense it could survive sanctions, get by, and outlast the resolve of the international community. June 9's resolution offers an opportunity to reverse that trend and re-empower sanctions as an effective tool of foreign policy, one that doesn't require the use of force.

On their own, these sanctions will not solve the crisis over Iran's nuclear program. But wisely implemented and enforced, they could prove critical in preventing Iran from getting the bomb. And that's a very good thing.

Source: Foreign Policy

The New UN Sanctions Resolution Against Iran

The UN Security Council approved a resolution on June 9th imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran in response to its continued nuclear enrichment program in violation of prior Security Council resolutions. The vote was 12 in favor, 2 against (Brazil and Turkey) and 1 abstention (Lebanon).

The new resolution imposes new financial restrictions on Iran, expands an existing arms embargo, and authorizes greater stop and search of Iranian cargo ships. Targeted sanctions on specific individuals and entities were expanded. The resolution also includes measures directed against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

While the United States, Great Britain and France were its strongest sponsors, China and Russia also expressed their verbal support along with their votes, although the Russian ambassador added a major caveat in his response to a reporter’s question about Russia’s prospective sale of a sophisticated anti-aircraft system to Iran.

Lebanon’s decision to abstain was a pleasant surprise, considering the influence of Iran-backed Hezbollah in the Lebanese government. However, Brazil and Turkey as expected opposed the new resolution on the grounds that it could undermine the proposed nuclear fuel swap agreed by the two countries with Iran last month. They seemed to forget that the European Union has been trying to negotiate with Iran since 2005 and the Obama administration waited 18 months while trying to engage Iran before seeking passage of this resolution. Only when new sanctions became a real possibility did Iran come around to the fuel swap concept that it had first agreed upon and then promptly reneged on last fall.

Rice’s Positive Spin

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters after the vote that the “resolution is strong, it’s tough and it’s comprehensive. And it is something that Iran fought very hard to prevent passage today. The effort, the time, the money, and the poise that they employed, to try to prevent this resolution’s passage only underscores their understanding, that this is a major blow.”

Despite the ineffectiveness of the three prior resolutions, Ambassador Rice expressed confidence that the cumulative effect on Iran of all the resolutions is “harmful and hurtful.”

Iran’s Rebuke

Iran remains unbowed. Its representative told the Security Council after the vote that it had no intention of changing its present course. He accused the United States and Great Britain in particular of continuing a long pattern of interference in Iran’s affairs and displaying a double standard vis a vis Israel. Ambassador Rice told reporters that these comments were “reprehensible, offensive, and inaccurate.”

Stronger Resolution on Paper

On paper at least, the new resolution does appear to represent a significant move forward from the prior three. More specifically, the resolution prohibits Iran from investing in sensitive nuclear activities abroad, like uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, as well as activities involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The ban also applies to investment in uranium mining.

States are prohibited from selling or in any way transferring to Iran various categories of heavy weapons (battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, and certain missiles or missile systems). States are similarly prohibited from providing technical or financial assistance for such systems, or spare parts.

The resolution also sets up a new cargo inspection framework. States are expected to inspect any vessel on their territory suspected of carrying prohibited cargo, including banned conventional arms or sensitive nuclear or missile items. States are also expected to cooperate in such inspections on the high seas.

States are called upon to prevent any financial service and freeze any asset that could contribute to Iran’s proliferation.

Resolution targets the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Most significantly, the resolution targets the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for its role in proliferation and requires states to mandate that businesses exercise vigilance over all transactions involving the IRGC. Fifteen IRGC-related companies linked to proliferation will have their assets frozen. The IRGC is the major power center in Iran’s economic and military spheres as well as one of the government’s primary instruments for suppressing political dissent. Impairing the IRGC’s freedom of operations will be a significant accomplishment, if successful.

The Proof Will be in Enforcement

UN Security Council sanctions resolutions against Iraq, North Korea and Iran have had a bad track record in actual practice. The resolutions have been easy for the sanctioned countries to evade, through the use of multiple front entities, money laundering and trading partners unwilling to give up short term advantage for longer term peace and security.

Also, enforcement of the cargo inspection at sea will be a challenge if Iran, as expected, refuses to cooperate. When the French UN ambassador, for example, was asked what measures France would be willing to take in such a scenario, he refused to answer what he called a “hypothetical question.”

Most ominously, the Russian UN ambassador told reporters that Russia did not consider the sale of its sophisticated S-300 anti-aircraft system to Iran to be within the resolution’s scope. The S-300 missile defense system would no doubt be used by Iran to shield its nuclear sites against a potential air strike, should military force become necessary to stop Iran from producing nuclear bombs. The Russian ambassador is technically correct because the resolution’s ban on the transfer to Iran of certain missile systems is written in such a way that it creates a big loophole for Russia to walk through in delivering to Iran its ground-to-air missiles, including its S-300 anti-aircraft missiles and anti-missile interceptors.

The Obama administration will spin the latest sanctions resolution against Iran as a major diplomatic triumph and a significant obstacle in the way of Iran’s progress towards achieving a nuclear arms capability. I hope they are right. However, until the S-300 loophole is closed; until the U.S. and its allies figure out a way to effectively stop evasions of the sanctions; and until enough countries show that they are willing to enforce the cargo inspections, the Obama administration might want to wait before it celebrates.

Source: Canada Free Press

China's AML strategy launched

China's first anti-money laundering strategy was released today by the Central Bank and anti-money laundering departments, chinanews.cn reported.


The strategy focuses on the anti-terrorism financing network, which will supervise the lottery and payment system. Any funds transferred overseas that are deemed criminal will be claimed.

The Central Bank, the top monetary authority in China, has punished more than 500 finance agencies this year for violating rules.

Source: The China Daily

Satyam Wins Pegasystems Partner Innovation Award for AML Solution

October 30, 2007: 12:33 PM EST

HYDERABAD, India, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Satyam Computer Services Ltd. , a leading global consulting and IT services provider, announced today that it won the 2007 Pegasystems Partner Innovation Award in financial services. The announcement was made at PegaWORLD 2007, Pegasystems' annual conference, and one of the business process management (BPM) industry's flagship events.

Satyam won the esteemed award for its advanced Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solution, which enables financial institutions to intelligently track, manage and quickly resolve potentially fraudulent and criminal activity with greater speed and accuracy and to comply with stricter AML regulations. Satyam used Pegasystems' SmartBPM(R) Suite to create the new solution, which addresses a critical and underserved need in the market.

"Financial institutions now have an innovative way to fight fraud and financial crime, as well as stay in compliance with BSA/AML/KYCC statutes," said Anil Kumar, the Global Head of Satyam's Financial Services Business.

Integration among Satyam experts accelerated the solution's development and deployment.

"Satyam's business process management and banking experts leveraged Pegasystems' SmartBPM platform to rapidly deliver an advanced solution without additional and costly software development," said Joseph Lagioia, head of Satyam's Consulting and Enterprise Solutions Practice. "We are very proud and pleased to win this prestigious honor."

Satyam's AML solution optimizes a financial institution's existing transaction-monitoring systems-detecting suspicious activity such as the deposit of very large sums, multiple accounts for the same person, and suspicious names-while at the same time minimizing the number of false positives, which has been a nagging problem in the past. The solution also allows financial institutions to recognize suspicious transactions quickly, rather than waiting until the end of the day, which is the norm for institutions using case management systems.

"Satyam combines superior subject matter expertise in financial services with deep understanding of Pegasystems technology to deliver truly innovative business solutions in an accelerated fashion," said Douglas Kim, managing director of Global Alliances and Business Development for Pegasystems. "We're proud of our long-standing relationship with Satyam and are delighted to recognize them with this award."

About Satyam

Satyam , a leading global business and information technology services company, delivers consulting, systems integration, and outsourcing solutions to clients in 20 industries and 57 countries.

Satyam leverages deep industry and functional expertise, leading technology practices, and an advanced, global delivery model to help clients transform their highest-value business processes and improve their business performance. The company's 45,700* professionals excel in engineering and product development, supply chain management, client relationship management, business process quality, business intelligence, enterprise integration, and infrastructure management, among other key capabilities.

Satyam development and delivery centers in the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, Hungary, Egypt, UAE, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia serve 599* clients, 173 of which are Fortune Global 500 and Fortune US 500 corporations. For more information, see http://www.satyam.com.

*As of Sept. 30, 2007

Safe Harbor

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements contained herein are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward- looking statements. Satyam undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of the risks associated with our business, please see the discussions under the heading "Risk Factors" in our report on Form 6-K concerning the quarter ended June 30, 2006, furnished to the United States Securities Exchange Commission on July 28, 2006 and the other reports filed with the Securities Exchange Commission from time to time. These filings are available at http://www.sec.gov.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/DCTU00430102007-1.htm

Bank of China ex-managers, wives convicted in Las Vegas

Two former managers of the Bank of China and their wives were convicted this afternoon of racketeering, money laundering, international transportation of stolen property and passport fraud, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Las Vegas.

Xu Chaofan, Xu Guojun, Kuang Wan Fang and Yu Ying Yi were convicted by a federal jury in Las Vegas at the conclusion of a trial that began nearly three months ago. U.S. District judge Philip Pro is scheduled to sentence them Nov. 24.

The indictment also charged Kwong Wa Po, who remains a fugitive.

The charges stemmed from an elaborate scheme to defraud the Bank of China of at least $485 million. According to the U.S. attorney's office, the scheme was orchestrated by Xu Chaofan, Xu Guojun and a third former bank manager, Yu Zhendong, who pleaded guilty in connection with the investigation and cooperated with the United States.

Source: Review Journal

Bank of China: Terror allegations 'unfounded'

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

Israelis accuse Bank of China of funding militants

The Bank of China has brushed off accusations that it was involved in transferring money to terrorists acting against Israeli citizens as "sheer nonsense".

The statement comes in the wake of reports in the western media that over 100 Israeli victims of terrorism have filed a lawsuit in a US court against it demanding an end to the transfer of funds to terrorists. "The accusation is absolutely groundless. Bank of China is prepared to fight the suit," BOC said.

A group of Israelis have moved the US court saying the bank has put through dozens of wire transfers totalling several million dollars to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The funds had helped to finance attacks on them between 2004 and 2007. The lawsuit also said the BOC has "knowingly assisted Hamas and the Islamic Jihad," the lawsuit alleged.

Source: Times of India

Anti-corruption head: Macao SAR ex-secretary's corruption cases "won't drag on indefinitely"

The legal cases involving former policy secretary of Macao Special Administration Region (SAR), Ao Man Long, "won't drag on indefinitely" and "hopefully will be completed before too long", the SAR's Commissioner against Corruption, Cheong U, said at a press conference held here on Monday.

Cheong said that the SAR government has taken legal actions to reclaim Ao's ill-gotten wealth in Hong Kong and other places, but "its progress is not under our control".

Ao Man Long, the disgraced former secretary for transport and public works of the SAR, was sentenced by the SAR's Court of Final Appeal to 27 years in prison on 57 counts of corruption, money laundering, abuse of power and false declaration of assets. Ao is the highest-ranking SAR official ever convicted after the return of Macao to China.

Hong Kong media previously reported that Ao's ill-gotten proceeds and assets were worth 637 million HK dollars (81.7 million U.S. dollars) in 39 Hong Kong bank accounts and two safe deposit boxes, and 92 overseas bank accounts which were opened in the name of Ao, his father, fugitive wife, brother and sister-in-law.

Parts of the cases involving Ao was still under investigation and the total of Ao's ill-gotten wealth amounted to more or less 800 million patacas (103 million U.S. dollars), said the Commissioner. But he refused to disclose the details of these cases, saying he had to respect the confidential obligations of ongoing legal cases.

Last month, Ao's absconded wife was sentenced to 23 years on charges of money laundering and unjustified wealth. His younger brother, Ao Man Fu, was jailed for 18 years, while his brother's wife, Ao Chan Wa Choi, was given 13 years, both on money laundering charges. Ao's father, Ao Veng Kong, got 10 years for money laundering.

"Honestly, even one case like this is already too much for us and Macao," said the Commissioner, referring to the legal cases resulting from Ao's corruption scandal.

He also pointed out that it is high time that the SAR government and the local communities reflected on the cause of Ao's corruption scandal in the wake of his record long sentence.

Editor: Wang Hongjiang

Source: Xinhua

CHINA: AML law snares first suspects

(China Daily)
Updated: 2012-05-24 07:40

Four people were sentenced to between 15 and 24 months' imprisonment Tuesday in Shanghai for money laundering in the first such case since the anti-money laundering law took effect in January.

The Shanghai Hongkou District People's Court sentenced Pan Rumin to two years in jail and fined him 60,000 yuan ($8,000) for the crime. Accomplices Zhu Suzhen, Li Daming and Gong Yuan were sentenced to between 15 and 16 months in prison and fined 20,000 yuan each.

The case was the first in the country to turn on the new anti-money laundering law. Before the law took effect, suspects in money-laundering cases were charged with operating illegal businesses or disordering financial markets.

The four parties had collectively laundered more than 1 million yuan by withdrawing money and transferring funds over the Internet, through ATMs and over the counter at bank branches.

The Shanghai branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China eventually grew suspicious, and police arrested the suspected launderers in Hongkou on July 24 last year.

The authorities have been drawing up legislation to fight money laundering. The National People's Congress Standing Committee passed the new anti-money laundering law in October, last year.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/24/content_6201509.htm

China: AML screws tightened

By Xin Zhiming (China Daily)
Updated: 2012-05-27 06:52

The central bank has directed insurance and securities institutions to set up an anti-money laundering mechanism this year, and is likely to ask some non-financial sectors to do the same.

"We need the insurance and securities sectors to set up an (internal) arm and devise rules against money laundering this year," Tang Xu, head of the anti-money laundering department of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, said during a live Internet conference yesterday.

This is PBOC's latest move to intensify its fight against money laundering. Earlier, it ordered the banking industry to devise a system to monitor and report dubious money flow.

Some specific non-financial institutions such as law and accounting firms and auction houses are the others that could be directed to set up similar mechanisms, Tang said.

"We will study these sectors one by one and map out reporting and inspection regimes for dubious transactions."

Securities and insurance companies will have to send data on dubious deals to the anti-money laundering monitoring center of the central bank from October 1, he said.

China intensified efforts to improve its anti-money laundering regime by passing an anti-money laundering law late last year and issuing rules on checking the possible flow of funds for terrorists last month.

It has joined hands with the Ministry of Public Security to set up a network to check the identity of banks' customers. The system went into force in late June, and all the country's banks have joined it, PBOC deputy governor Su Ning told a press briefing yesterday.

If a bank official wants to check a customer's identity he just needs to click a few times for the computerized image of his ID to pop up on the screen, the PBOC official said.

(China Daily 07/27/2007 page1)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/27/content_5444415.htm

Son of Taiwan ex-leader returns to face money laundering charges

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

Nigeria, Senegal get ECOWAS posts against money laundering

Abuja, Nigeria - The 34th ordinary summit of the heads of state and government of ECOWAS has allocated the posts of Director-General and Deputy Director- General of the inter-governmental action group on money laundering (GIABA) to Nigeria and Senegal respectively.

According to a communique issued here Monday at the end of the summit, the Nigerian Director-General and his Senegalese Deputy will assume office when the current holders of the posts complete their terms 30 April 2009 and 11 January 2009 respectively.

Regarding the post of Commissioner for Human Development and Gender allocated to Senegal, the Heads of state and government endorsed the appointment by the Council of Ministers of Dr. Adrienne Diop.

They also directed the ECOWAS Commission to undertake a study to be presented to them at their next session on an appropriate structure of the Commission to en s ures effective implementation of community decisions.

The leaders expressed gratitude to all development partners of ECOWAS for their support towards the realisation of the Community objectives and programmes, capacity building of ECOWAS institutions as well as enhancing peace and security in the region.

They drew attention to the continuing need for support towards post-conflict rec onstruction in certain member states and expressed the hope that the Partners Forum on Liberia scheduled to hold on 26-27 June in Berlin, Germany, would be well a ttended by development partners.

They also called on partners to support the forth-coming ECOWAS Conference on Climate Change scheduled for Cotonou, Benin, from 27-31 October, 2008.

The participants expressed deep appreciation to the government and people of India for announcing in April 2008 the facility for duty free imports from African LDCs into India, among other initiatives, and urged ECOWAS LDCs to take full advantage of this offer for the benefit of increased trade exchanges between West Africa and India.

Regarding the ECOWAS/China Economic and Trade Forum planned for 23-26 September 2008 in Beijing, China, the leaders urged member states to effectively prepare with their respective private sectors to derive maximum benefits from the platform.

The Summit endorsed the candidacy of Mr. Gilbert Houngbo of Togo for the position of President of the International Fund for the Development of Agriculture (IFAD).

The next ordinary session of the ECOWAS leaders will hold in December 2008 in Abuja, Nigeria's Federal capital.

Abuja - 24/06/2008

Pana

Source: Afriquenligne

Sri Lanka: International Conference on Countering Terrorism

Sri Lanka: International Conference on Countering Terrorism draws international terrorism experts to Colombo

20th October 2007

The three-day International Conference on Countering Terrorism is now on in Colombo on the theme 'Terrorism: A Challenge to Democratically Elected Governments.' The Conference, brought together renowned terrorism experts, including from the academia and the media, from 23 countries including Australia, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam. It was also widely attended by the Diplomatic Community .

Delivering the Inaugural Address, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, highlighted that "Sri Lanka had been a foot soldier in the battle against terrorism over a long period of time and notwithstanding some impediments and setbacks, can in several aspects count itself as having been a success story in the battle against terrorism." Sri Lanka's refusal to compromise or condone terrorism while constantly seeking to resolve the conflict through political means, to persuade other states to proscribe the LTTE, prevent money flows and apprehend those conniving with terrorists, has been significant. Successive governments and the people of Sri Lanka have also shown considerable resilience in the face of terror, whilst also ensuring that economic growth was not compromised. The Minister hoped that the deliberations of this Conference would, among other matters focus on the need for states to go beyond merely adopting conventions, to convert these into tangible action by developing enabling legislation and taking concrete action against those including terrorist front organizations operating from their soil. Noting that a bulk of maritime traffic passes through the Indian Ocean region and that in recent times many acts of terrorism had taken place in these waters, the Minister emphasized the urgent necessity to develop robust modalities to arrest the growing threat that faces Indian Ocean states from terrorists.

The former Director of the European Center for the Study of Conflicts in France, and one of the earliest writers in the field of terrorism, Dr. Gerard Chaliand traced the evolution of terrorism over the years. Referring to the LTTE, he said "the independence they ask cannot be granted and should not be granted, not only because no State is willing to accept such a blow to its sovereignity but also because, like the Shining Path or the Khmer Rouges, the LTTE under the leadership of V. Prabhakaran is a totalitarian movement, which has transformed its groups into a killing machine." He said "the most important thing about the LTTE is that it is a totalitarian movement fighting in a country which is democratic." He said the "LTTE has brutally eliminated all other parties or groups willing to represent the Tamils". "An absolutely intolerant sect, no peace seems possible with V. Prabhakaran as we have seen from the peace process of 2002-2005, which was but a tactical truce", Dr. Chaliand added.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Palitha Kohona delivering the vote-of-thanks repeated the unprecedented challenge Sri Lanka faces in combating terrorism and Sri Lanka. He said the world had focused on international terrorism only after 9/11 but terrorism had affected countries long before then. He emphasized that "the international rule of law against terrorism is being strong themed each year," adding that "there are 13 UN Conventions addressing different dimensions of the global terrorist threat and a comprehensive convention is being negotiated." The Foreign Secretary pointed out that "terrorism will never be eradicated solely by cooperation among law enforcement officials. It requires a concerted political effort and policy coordination among countries. Further it also requires an ability to understand and minimize the motivation and impetus that inspire terrorist acts."

Renowned Chairman of the French Anti-Terrorist Judges, Judge Jean Louis Bruguiere, who was the Guest of Honour of the Conference, and addressing the first panel of the day focused on the international responses to terrorism, traced the manner in which international efforts at responding to terrorism have evolved over the years, stating that if the fight against terrorism is an inescapable requirement, "we owe it to ourselves to reinforce our international cooperation at every level, notably by adopting multilateral or bilateral conventions in the field of judicial cooperation as well as extradition." He said the French Government considers "that an organization like the LTTE is a terrorist organization like any other and that its activities even in the area of logistics, have to be repressed with the same vigour as for terrorist networks operating on our [French] soil and threatening us directly" and that on this basis "that in April this year the French Government had dismantled a vast network of Tamil militants who actively supported the LTTE, notably at the financial level."

This session, which was chaired by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Colombo, Prof. Amal Jayawardena,while the discussants were the Executive Director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Dr. Rifaat Hussain and the Senior Terrorism Prevention Officer of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna, Dr. Ms. Irka Kuleshnyk.

Addressing the panel on regional responses to terrorism, former Commander of the Indian Army, Gen. V. P. Malik emphasized the need to combat and defeat terrorism in all its manifestations. He said "terrorist activities anywhere will stop only when their fuel runs out." Gen. Malik who traced the important steps taken to counter terrorism in South Asia, emphasized the need for a regional strategy and cooperation, but essentially local operatives and doctrines.

Former Secretary General of SAARC, Ambassador Nihal Rodrigo, chaired this session, while the discussants comprised the Associate Research Fellow of the China Institute of International Studies, Prof. Zhang Lijun, the Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mr. Vladimir Titokerni as well as the Pro-Chancellor and Director of the School of Science and Forensic Science, National Law University Rajastan, India, Prof. P. Chandra Sekharan.

The third thematic session focused on the domestic dimensions of terrorism where the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, who was the principal speaker, who joining the deliberations on a video link, highlighted the recent successes of the security forces in combating LTTE terrorism. He noted that within the year the Sri Lanka Navy destroyed eight merchant vessels. In order to defeat the LTTE, Dr. Gunaratna articulated the need for strengthening and building capacity in the intelligence field, with a high degree of professionalism, and also stressed the necessity for special forces and elite units that could target the leadership of the LTTE.

Former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Chandra Fernando chaired the discussion at which intervention were made by Deputy Solicitor General, Mr. Dappula de Livera and Prof. Karunaratne Hangawatte of the University of Nevada.

The final panel discussion of the day focused of the critical area of combating terrorist financing, where the Founder and CEO of World-Check, Mr. David Leppan spoke extensively on the manner in which terror groups collect funds and their illegal activities.

Researcher of the Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism of the Macquarie University of Australia, Mr. Shanaka Jayasekera the co-speaker at this session noted that the LTTE's supply chain capability has been significantly disrupted, estimated at between 65% to 70%. This would result in the need for the LTTE to aggressively campaign for fund raising activities in the 12 top level resource mobilization countries. In order to maintain the advantage the Government has achieved, it is imperative that the fund-raising be curbed with international cooperation in the next few months. Therefore it is suggested that a contact group be established as a prelude to the commencement of a political process."

The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Ms. Ranee Jayamaha chaired the sessions, at which the discussants were Mrs. Joan De Zilva Moonesinghe formerly of the Financial Investigation Unit and the Advisor of the Financial Investigation Unit of the Central Bank, Mr. Eric Stonecipher.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo

20 October 2007

Chinese president urges implementation of anti-corruption responsibility system

Chinese President Hu Jintao has urged to implement the responsibility system which was designed 10years ago for the building of a clean government and improvement of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) work style.

In his instructions for a teleconference held here on Monday to mark the tenth anniversary of the issuance of the responsibility system by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Hu, also the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said the responsibility system is fundamental for further pushing forward the building of a clean government, improvement of the Party's work style and the anti-corruption drive.

Hu said that the Party committees and governments at all levels had made remarkable achievements in improving the Party's work style, building a clean government and the anti-corruption drive in the past 10 years, but must be aware of the problems still existing.

He urged Party committees and governments of all levels to study and implement the essence of the 17th Party Congress and make strenuous efforts to gear up the improvement of the Party's work style, the building of a clean government and the anti-corruption drive.

Hu called for seriously carrying out the responsibility system, making substantial efforts to push forward the building of a mechanism for punishing and preventing corruption, further enhancing the ability of resolving the outstanding problems in improving the Party's work style and building a clean government so as to provide a favorable political guarantee for promoting scientific development and social harmony.

In addition to studying Hu's instructions, the participants in the teleconference also shared their experiences on the anti-corruption drive over the past 10 years.

Addressing the teleconference, He Guoqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and Secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, talked about how to implement the responsibility system by strengthening supervision and check on the implementation of the Party lines and policies so as to ensure the smooth implementation of Party's orders.

Source: Xinhua

Romanian soccer investigated for tax evasion, embezzlement, money laundering

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Anti-corruption prosecutors began an investigation Thursday into top soccer officials involving money laundering and tax evasion in the transfer of Romanian players to foreign clubs.

The prosecutors say the state should have received ¤1.7 million (US$2.5 million) in revenue and tax if the actual amounts of money received in the transfers
had been registered in the accounts of the clubs.

Romanian prosecutors pieced together information about finances related to soccer deals from countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, China and South Korea. They say 12 players were transferred to foreign clubs for bigger amounts of money than stated in the accounts.

Ten people are under investigation, including Rapid Bucharest chairman Gheorghe Copos and Dinamo chairman Cristi Borcea. The 10 are accused of diverting more than ¤10 million (US$14.6 million) to bank accounts of offshore companies from the Virgin Islands and the Netherlands to avoid paying the full tax.

Soccer is one of the most popular sports in Romania, but it has recently been marred by claims of corruption and match-fixing.

http://www.pr-inside.com/romanian-soccer-investigated-for-tax-r391755.htm

India takes tough stand on terrorism at RIC troika talks

Talking tough on the issue of terrorism, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today told his Russian and Chinese counterparts here that there can be no justification for any terrorist acts, and added that there should be zero tolerance towards this menace.Mukherjee urged Russia and China to implement the comprehensive Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, which was adopted by the United Nations on December 9, 1999.

Mukherjee also raised objections over talks taking place between the Pakistan Government and the Taliiban.Mukherjee said: “It confuses the cause of fighting terrorism both inside and outside Afghanistan.” At the meeting, Mukherjee also raised the issue of killing of indian workers in Afghanistan.India has also raised concerns over narco-trade which is fuelling terrorism in India. The Russian and Chinese Foreign Ministers also condemned Tuesday’s bombing in Jaipur, which claimed over 65 lives and injured over 200. (ANI)

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/south-asia/india-takes-tough-stand-on-terrorism-at-ric-troika-talks_10048944.html