Taiwan has sought the help of international banks as part of its probe into an alleged money-laundering case implicating former president Chen Shui-bian and his family, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Merrill Lynch & Co., Credit Suisse Group and ABN Amro Holding NV are among the banks that have pledged to assist the investigation, said a prosecutor who declined to be named.
"We are seeking assistance from the banks as witnesses," the prosecutor said, without elaborating.
When contacted by phone, Merrill Lynch spokeswoman Vicki Kwong said: "As in normal practice, Merrill Lynch is cooperating with authorities."
Taiwan launched a probe this month into alleged money laundering implicating the former first family, following similar moves by Swiss authorities.
Copies of Swiss documents obtained by a Taiwanese lawmaker showed Chen's son Chen Chih-chung and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching transferred 31 million US dollars to her Swiss bank accounts in 2007.
They were also suspected of laundering money by setting up companies in the Cayman Islands.
Prosecutors have named the couple and Chen Shui-bian, his wife and brother-in-law, as defendants in the case.
The ex-president has admitted that his wife wired 20 million US dollars abroad from his past campaign funds, but said she did so without his knowledge. He has denied any illegal activity.
His son and daughter-in-law have said they merely did their mother's bidding and were unclear about "the source or the background" of any transferred funds.
Chen, who left office in May, is already being investigated for allegedly embezzling 14.8 million Taiwan dollars (480,500 US) in special expenses while president, and his wife is on trial for corruption and document forgery in the same case.
Source: AFP
Showing posts with label PEP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PEP. Show all posts
Prosecutors discovered a dozen of classified documents during the search in former president Chen Shui-bian’s residence and office. Some of them are letters from Prosecutor Chen Juei-jen sent to various departments to request for investigation of secretive diplomacy, or documents asking judicial police to audit accounts. Apparently, Chen had known prosecutors’ actions and acquired evidence via intelligence unit.
These documents are mostly issued by corruption investigation center to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Security Bureau, to investigate secretive diplomacy of Gong Case in the reign of former president Lee Teng-huei, including reports of Lee’s possible overseas money laundering under prosecutors’ order to the Money Laundering Prevention Center.
The then-Director of Bureau of Investigation was Yeh Sheng-mao, who was indicted by Taipei Prosecutor’s Office for revealing money laundering information and documents to Chen. Therefore, it is possible that this case was also covered up by Yeh.
by Taiwan News, Website Editorial Staff
These documents are mostly issued by corruption investigation center to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Security Bureau, to investigate secretive diplomacy of Gong Case in the reign of former president Lee Teng-huei, including reports of Lee’s possible overseas money laundering under prosecutors’ order to the Money Laundering Prevention Center.
The then-Director of Bureau of Investigation was Yeh Sheng-mao, who was indicted by Taipei Prosecutor’s Office for revealing money laundering information and documents to Chen. Therefore, it is possible that this case was also covered up by Yeh.
by Taiwan News, Website Editorial Staff
on Friday, May 25, 2012
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
on Saturday, May 19, 2012
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) aims at criminalizing unexplained wealth for government officials, Vice Justice Minister Huang Shih-ming said yesterday.
The statement came less than a week after an investigation was launched into money laundering claims apparently implicating former president Chen Shui-bian and his family, following similar moves by Swiss authorities.
Speaking at a news conference, Huang drew on similar laws existing abroad to explain that Taiwan aims at better monitoring illicit flows of money and combat money laundering.
As Chen and his wife Wu Shu-jen deposited large sums of cash abroad under the names of their family members, he stressed that the MOJ will seek to broaden cross-border judicial cooperation with foreign governments in Switzerland, Singapore and the United States.
In the meantime, Huang said the MOJ offers a NT$10 million reward to anyone providing information leading to a break in the case over the latest money-laundering allegations against the former first family.
The MOJ also urges companies, organizations or individuals who were involved in the alleged money laundering operations to take a moral stance and come forward to help solve the case.
During a questioning at her residence last week, the former first lady told prosecutors that the US$21 million remitted in the family's various overseas bank accounts was "all legal income."
The hefty sum was reportedly rifled into three bank accounts: two in Switzerland held in the names of her daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching and one in Singapore under the name of her brother Wu Ching-mao.
In November 2006, Chen's wife was first charged with corruption and forgery for using receipts provided by others to claim reimbursements totaling NT$14.8 million from the president's "state affairs fund" between July 2002 and March 2006.
Chen, who was named as a co-defendant in the same case but enjoyed immunity from prosecution while he was in office, came under questioning shortly after he stepped down from the presidency May 20.
After he admitted Aug. 14 that he lied about his campaign expenses for his two mayoral elections and two presidential elections, and that his wife had transferred surplus campaign contributions to overseas bank accounts, prosecutors imposed an overseas travel ban on him.
Prosecutor Ching Chi-jen left for Switzerland Aug. 15 to review the accounts under the name of Chen's daughter-in-law at Merrill Lynch Bank after the Federal Department of Justice and Police of the Swiss Confederation requested assistance from Taiwan in a case of suspected money laundering by Chen's son and his daughter-in-law, through two Swiss bank accounts.
The prosecutors also searched Chen and Wu's home over the weekend.
Source: China Post
The statement came less than a week after an investigation was launched into money laundering claims apparently implicating former president Chen Shui-bian and his family, following similar moves by Swiss authorities.
Speaking at a news conference, Huang drew on similar laws existing abroad to explain that Taiwan aims at better monitoring illicit flows of money and combat money laundering.
As Chen and his wife Wu Shu-jen deposited large sums of cash abroad under the names of their family members, he stressed that the MOJ will seek to broaden cross-border judicial cooperation with foreign governments in Switzerland, Singapore and the United States.
In the meantime, Huang said the MOJ offers a NT$10 million reward to anyone providing information leading to a break in the case over the latest money-laundering allegations against the former first family.
The MOJ also urges companies, organizations or individuals who were involved in the alleged money laundering operations to take a moral stance and come forward to help solve the case.
During a questioning at her residence last week, the former first lady told prosecutors that the US$21 million remitted in the family's various overseas bank accounts was "all legal income."
The hefty sum was reportedly rifled into three bank accounts: two in Switzerland held in the names of her daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching and one in Singapore under the name of her brother Wu Ching-mao.
In November 2006, Chen's wife was first charged with corruption and forgery for using receipts provided by others to claim reimbursements totaling NT$14.8 million from the president's "state affairs fund" between July 2002 and March 2006.
Chen, who was named as a co-defendant in the same case but enjoyed immunity from prosecution while he was in office, came under questioning shortly after he stepped down from the presidency May 20.
After he admitted Aug. 14 that he lied about his campaign expenses for his two mayoral elections and two presidential elections, and that his wife had transferred surplus campaign contributions to overseas bank accounts, prosecutors imposed an overseas travel ban on him.
Prosecutor Ching Chi-jen left for Switzerland Aug. 15 to review the accounts under the name of Chen's daughter-in-law at Merrill Lynch Bank after the Federal Department of Justice and Police of the Swiss Confederation requested assistance from Taiwan in a case of suspected money laundering by Chen's son and his daughter-in-law, through two Swiss bank accounts.
The prosecutors also searched Chen and Wu's home over the weekend.
Source: China Post
The alleged involvement of former President Chen Shui-bian in massive overseas money laundering drove down the share prices of some major financial stocks by 7%, the daily maximum limit, yesterday (Aug. 18), due to the rumor alleging that Chen received huge bribes from them during the second financial reform.
The most noticeable case is Taishin Financial Holding, whose share price closed at NT$10.05 yesterday, barely higher than the par value of NT$10, a record low, overshadowing the company`s plan to raise fresh fund via cash capital increment by issuing 450 million new shares in December.
To cope with the crisis, Taishin runs advertisements on all major local newspapers today, categorically denying involvement in any irregular activities and vowing to take legal moves against those who spread rumors against the company, so as to uphold the interests of its shareholders and its affiliate Chang Hwa Commercial Bank.
Lin Keh Hsiao, Taishin president, denied yesterday giving Chen NT$2.7 billion to facilitate the takeover of Chang Hwa Bank in 2005, in refuting the statement of Shih Min-teh, former chairman of Democratic Progress Party that "a domestic enterprise gave Chen NT$2.7 billion."
Lin noted that Taishin obtained 400 million shares of Chang Hwa in 2005 at NT$26.12 per share, totaling NT$$36.5 billion, NT$11.4 billion higher than the floor price and NT$7 billion higher than the second highest bid tendered by Taemasek of Singapore.
The participation of Taishin has helped vitalize Chang Hwa`s operation, including write-off of NT$70 billion bad debt, increase of return on equity (ROE), and increase in the latter`s share price, according to Lin.
Despite its huge spending, Taishin has yet to complete the merger with Chang Hwa, which, plus the impact of the twin-card debt storm, has driven down its share price from the level of NT$27.65 on July 22, 2005, when it won the bidding for Chang Hwa shares.
(by Philip Liu)
Source: CENS
The most noticeable case is Taishin Financial Holding, whose share price closed at NT$10.05 yesterday, barely higher than the par value of NT$10, a record low, overshadowing the company`s plan to raise fresh fund via cash capital increment by issuing 450 million new shares in December.
To cope with the crisis, Taishin runs advertisements on all major local newspapers today, categorically denying involvement in any irregular activities and vowing to take legal moves against those who spread rumors against the company, so as to uphold the interests of its shareholders and its affiliate Chang Hwa Commercial Bank.
Lin Keh Hsiao, Taishin president, denied yesterday giving Chen NT$2.7 billion to facilitate the takeover of Chang Hwa Bank in 2005, in refuting the statement of Shih Min-teh, former chairman of Democratic Progress Party that "a domestic enterprise gave Chen NT$2.7 billion."
Lin noted that Taishin obtained 400 million shares of Chang Hwa in 2005 at NT$26.12 per share, totaling NT$$36.5 billion, NT$11.4 billion higher than the floor price and NT$7 billion higher than the second highest bid tendered by Taemasek of Singapore.
The participation of Taishin has helped vitalize Chang Hwa`s operation, including write-off of NT$70 billion bad debt, increase of return on equity (ROE), and increase in the latter`s share price, according to Lin.
Despite its huge spending, Taishin has yet to complete the merger with Chang Hwa, which, plus the impact of the twin-card debt storm, has driven down its share price from the level of NT$27.65 on July 22, 2005, when it won the bidding for Chang Hwa shares.
(by Philip Liu)
Source: CENS
on Friday, May 18, 2012
The China Post news staff
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Wu Ching-mao, the brother-in-law of ex-president Chen Shui-bian, said yesterday that he remitted mo
ney abroad via underground channels on behalf of his younger sister Wu Shu-jen, the former first lady, according to the Special Criminal Investigation Unit (SCII) of the Supreme Prosecutor Office.
Wu made the remarks when questioned by the SCII over his alleged role in the suspected money laundering involving the former first family.
Wu told prosecutors that since Chen was elected Taipei mayor in 1994, he started to use his account at a Dutch bank in Singapore to manage funds for his younger sister. Touching on credit transfer methods, Wu said he sometimes remitted money abroad via banks, and sometimes through underground channels.
Chen's brother-in-law also noted that sometimes he made remittances on his own, but sometimes asked his wife Chen Chun-ying to do the job.
Prosecutors were surprised to hear Wu's remarks concerning remittances via underground channels, and they wondered very much why Wu chose underground remittance channels.
Earlier, former first lady Wu Shu-jen told prosecutors that all the funds, around US$20 million, remitted abroad were all legally obtained. "If so, why should her elder brother use underground remittance channels, instead of legal ones?" prosecutors asked.
Prosecutors said that they would also move to question operators of the underground remittance channels on charges of violating the Banking Act by handling the remittances for Wu.
For his alleged role in the suspected money laundering scandal, Wu Ching-mao has been listed as a defendant in the case and has been banned from leaving the country.
Ex-president Chen, Wu Shu-jen and their son Chen Chih-chung, as well as daughter-in-law have all been listed as defendants in the suspected money laundering case as evidence emerged about the former president and his wife using their daughter-in-law to transfer US$20 million of funds through her two Swiss bank accounts.
The scandal came to light recently after Swiss prosecution authorities sought Taiwan's help in a probe into a possible money laundering case in Switzerland involving the ex-president's son and his daughter-in-law.
Also yesterday evening, Wu Ching-mao's wife, Chen Chun-ying, was sent to the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) for emergency medical treatment after she fainted while being questioned by prosecutors. Wu claimed that her wife attempted to commit suicide amid heavy questioning and pressure from prosecutors by taking a certain kind of pill. Wu accused prosecutors of pressing his wife to confess to allegations beyond her knowledge, leading to her suicide attempt.
Prosecutor Chu Chao-liang, spokesman of the SCII, said that Wu told prosecutors that his wife took a kind of sedative to mitigate the interrogation pressure, during a break in the questioning session. Prosecutors allowed Wu to take his wife to receive medical treatment at the NTUH, according to Chu.
Chu continued by saying that the entire questioning process, carried out in a legal way, had been recorded and videotaped.
Meanwhile, prosecutors also questioned Lin Wen-yen, chairman of China Steel Corp., over his alleged role in managing the election campaign budgets to see if the money remitted abroad by ex-president Chen was related to the campaign budget surplus.
Lin said he was responsible for controlling the campaign budgets for Chen, adding that he knew little about Chen remitting money abroad.
Source: The China Post
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Wu Ching-mao, the brother-in-law of ex-president Chen Shui-bian, said yesterday that he remitted mo
ney abroad via underground channels on behalf of his younger sister Wu Shu-jen, the former first lady, according to the Special Criminal Investigation Unit (SCII) of the Supreme Prosecutor Office.
Wu made the remarks when questioned by the SCII over his alleged role in the suspected money laundering involving the former first family.
Wu told prosecutors that since Chen was elected Taipei mayor in 1994, he started to use his account at a Dutch bank in Singapore to manage funds for his younger sister. Touching on credit transfer methods, Wu said he sometimes remitted money abroad via banks, and sometimes through underground channels.
Chen's brother-in-law also noted that sometimes he made remittances on his own, but sometimes asked his wife Chen Chun-ying to do the job.
Prosecutors were surprised to hear Wu's remarks concerning remittances via underground channels, and they wondered very much why Wu chose underground remittance channels.
Earlier, former first lady Wu Shu-jen told prosecutors that all the funds, around US$20 million, remitted abroad were all legally obtained. "If so, why should her elder brother use underground remittance channels, instead of legal ones?" prosecutors asked.
Prosecutors said that they would also move to question operators of the underground remittance channels on charges of violating the Banking Act by handling the remittances for Wu.
For his alleged role in the suspected money laundering scandal, Wu Ching-mao has been listed as a defendant in the case and has been banned from leaving the country.
Ex-president Chen, Wu Shu-jen and their son Chen Chih-chung, as well as daughter-in-law have all been listed as defendants in the suspected money laundering case as evidence emerged about the former president and his wife using their daughter-in-law to transfer US$20 million of funds through her two Swiss bank accounts.
The scandal came to light recently after Swiss prosecution authorities sought Taiwan's help in a probe into a possible money laundering case in Switzerland involving the ex-president's son and his daughter-in-law.
Also yesterday evening, Wu Ching-mao's wife, Chen Chun-ying, was sent to the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) for emergency medical treatment after she fainted while being questioned by prosecutors. Wu claimed that her wife attempted to commit suicide amid heavy questioning and pressure from prosecutors by taking a certain kind of pill. Wu accused prosecutors of pressing his wife to confess to allegations beyond her knowledge, leading to her suicide attempt.
Prosecutor Chu Chao-liang, spokesman of the SCII, said that Wu told prosecutors that his wife took a kind of sedative to mitigate the interrogation pressure, during a break in the questioning session. Prosecutors allowed Wu to take his wife to receive medical treatment at the NTUH, according to Chu.
Chu continued by saying that the entire questioning process, carried out in a legal way, had been recorded and videotaped.
Meanwhile, prosecutors also questioned Lin Wen-yen, chairman of China Steel Corp., over his alleged role in managing the election campaign budgets to see if the money remitted abroad by ex-president Chen was related to the campaign budget surplus.
Lin said he was responsible for controlling the campaign budgets for Chen, adding that he knew little about Chen remitting money abroad.
Source: The China Post
Author : DPA
Taiwan on Monday thanked Singapore for offering to help Taipei probe suspected money laundering by former president Chen Shui-bian. "We are happy to see that Singapore is willing to provide legal assistance and to jointly fight cross-country crime," the Central News Agency (CNA) quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Andrew Hsia as saying.
Hsia made the remark after Singapore's trade office announced that Singapore would assist Taiwan in probing the suspected money laundering by former president Chen and his family.
Because it refuses to allow its financial system to be used for illegal activities, Singapore contacted Taiwan's Supreme Prosecutor's Office to provide the necessary assistance allowable by Singaporean law, Singapore's trade office was reported as saying.
In January 2008, Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen deposited 20 million US dollars - campaign funds from the 2000 and 2004 presidential election which Chen has not declared - into several foreign bank accounts, and eventually into a Swiss bank account.
One of the deposits was made to an account at the Standard Merchant Bank Asia in Singapore opened by Wu's elder brother Wu Ching-mao.
Taiwan has also required legal assistance from Swiss prosecutors.
Chen, former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), served as Taiwan's president from 2000-2004 and from 2004-2008.
Corruption scandals involving Chen's family and DPP officials caused the party to lose the 2008 election to the pro-China Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Chen quit the DPP on August 15 as the party, in reaction to his money laundering allegations, was preparing to expel him.
Source: The Earth Times
Taiwan on Monday thanked Singapore for offering to help Taipei probe suspected money laundering by former president Chen Shui-bian. "We are happy to see that Singapore is willing to provide legal assistance and to jointly fight cross-country crime," the Central News Agency (CNA) quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Andrew Hsia as saying.
Hsia made the remark after Singapore's trade office announced that Singapore would assist Taiwan in probing the suspected money laundering by former president Chen and his family.
Because it refuses to allow its financial system to be used for illegal activities, Singapore contacted Taiwan's Supreme Prosecutor's Office to provide the necessary assistance allowable by Singaporean law, Singapore's trade office was reported as saying.
In January 2008, Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen deposited 20 million US dollars - campaign funds from the 2000 and 2004 presidential election which Chen has not declared - into several foreign bank accounts, and eventually into a Swiss bank account.
One of the deposits was made to an account at the Standard Merchant Bank Asia in Singapore opened by Wu's elder brother Wu Ching-mao.
Taiwan has also required legal assistance from Swiss prosecutors.
Chen, former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), served as Taiwan's president from 2000-2004 and from 2004-2008.
Corruption scandals involving Chen's family and DPP officials caused the party to lose the 2008 election to the pro-China Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Chen quit the DPP on August 15 as the party, in reaction to his money laundering allegations, was preparing to expel him.
Source: The Earth Times
on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Taiwan is seeking assistance from Switzerland in probing suspected money laundering by former president Chen Shui- bian, a prosecutor said on Sunday, the dpa reported.
"I have asked Swiss judicial authorities for legal assistance ... to pass on to us all the data they have on the case, and to return Chen's assets if it is proven that they were obtained illegally," Prosecutor Ching Chi-jen told reporters upon her return from Switzerland.
"Regarding our request for legal assistance, we received a positive reply," she said at Taoyuan International Airport outside Taipei.
Ching flew to Switzerland on July 12 after Swiss judicial authorities alerted the Taiwan government about suspicious transfers into a bank account opened by Chen's daughter-in-laughter Huang Jui- ching.
The bank account holds 20 million US dollars, wired in from Taiwan through several foreign banks.
After the Taiwan press reported Chen's suspected money-laundering, Chen held a news conference Thursday, admitting he failed to declare campaign funds from the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, and his wife Wu Shu-chen had remitted the funds abroad this January without telling him.
But prosecutors are trying to determine if the couple was attempting to launder illegally obtained money.
Investigators claimed to have found details of four other secret bank accounts, three opened in 2000, when Chen won the presidential election, and one opened in 2004, when he was re-elected for a second four-year term.
The four accounts hold a total of 500 million Taiwan dollars (16 million US dollars).
On Saturday, prosecutors barred Chen and his brother-in-law Wu Ching-mao from going abroad after searching Chen's home and office and Wu's home earlier in the day, the Taiwan daily China Post reported.
Wu, elder brother of Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen, allowed Wu Shu-chen to use his bank account to wire money abroad.
Chen was the former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Corruption scandals involving Chen's family and DPP officials caused the party to lose the 2008 election to the pro-China Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Chen quit the DPP on Friday as the party was preparing to expel him.
Source: Trend News
"I have asked Swiss judicial authorities for legal assistance ... to pass on to us all the data they have on the case, and to return Chen's assets if it is proven that they were obtained illegally," Prosecutor Ching Chi-jen told reporters upon her return from Switzerland.
"Regarding our request for legal assistance, we received a positive reply," she said at Taoyuan International Airport outside Taipei.
Ching flew to Switzerland on July 12 after Swiss judicial authorities alerted the Taiwan government about suspicious transfers into a bank account opened by Chen's daughter-in-laughter Huang Jui- ching.
The bank account holds 20 million US dollars, wired in from Taiwan through several foreign banks.
After the Taiwan press reported Chen's suspected money-laundering, Chen held a news conference Thursday, admitting he failed to declare campaign funds from the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, and his wife Wu Shu-chen had remitted the funds abroad this January without telling him.
But prosecutors are trying to determine if the couple was attempting to launder illegally obtained money.
Investigators claimed to have found details of four other secret bank accounts, three opened in 2000, when Chen won the presidential election, and one opened in 2004, when he was re-elected for a second four-year term.
The four accounts hold a total of 500 million Taiwan dollars (16 million US dollars).
On Saturday, prosecutors barred Chen and his brother-in-law Wu Ching-mao from going abroad after searching Chen's home and office and Wu's home earlier in the day, the Taiwan daily China Post reported.
Wu, elder brother of Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen, allowed Wu Shu-chen to use his bank account to wire money abroad.
Chen was the former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Corruption scandals involving Chen's family and DPP officials caused the party to lose the 2008 election to the pro-China Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Chen quit the DPP on Friday as the party was preparing to expel him.
Source: Trend News
on Saturday, May 12, 2012
Nigeria and Britain yesterday held talks on the trial of Nigerian politicians being investigated by the British police over money laundering charges.
British Minister for Africa and Asia, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, who spoke with State House correspondents after a meeting with President Umaru Yar’Adua, said the President asked for the cooperation of both countries in ensuring that justice took its cause in the trials.
“It was the President himself that called for co-operation with us on some high court actions in the UK which is enormously important priority for him and a broader commitment in fighting corruption and rule of law.
“In other words, he wants to make sure that the court in UK or here in Nigeria is fully respected in a way that you root out corruption and respect the rule of law structure.
“He expressed co-operation and full support to what is happening in the law court in London,’’ Malloch-Brown said, adding: “He pledged his full support and co-operation to the British legal authority handling the case.’’
He said that his visit was a follow-up to issues raised in London when the President was the guest of the British government in July.
“We had a good discussion on the good steps his government had taken and I also brought him warm regards from his good friend, Gordon Brown,’’ he said.
Source: Vanguard
British Minister for Africa and Asia, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, who spoke with State House correspondents after a meeting with President Umaru Yar’Adua, said the President asked for the cooperation of both countries in ensuring that justice took its cause in the trials.
“It was the President himself that called for co-operation with us on some high court actions in the UK which is enormously important priority for him and a broader commitment in fighting corruption and rule of law.
“In other words, he wants to make sure that the court in UK or here in Nigeria is fully respected in a way that you root out corruption and respect the rule of law structure.
“He expressed co-operation and full support to what is happening in the law court in London,’’ Malloch-Brown said, adding: “He pledged his full support and co-operation to the British legal authority handling the case.’’
He said that his visit was a follow-up to issues raised in London when the President was the guest of the British government in July.
“We had a good discussion on the good steps his government had taken and I also brought him warm regards from his good friend, Gordon Brown,’’ he said.
Source: Vanguard
on Monday, May 7, 2012
A Taiwan court on Monday ordered the detention of former internal security chief Yeh Sheng-mao for alleged corruption and reportedly leaking top secrets to former president Chen Shui-bian over a money-laundering scandal. "He allegedly violated the anti-corruption law by covering up the case in a bid to profit a third party," a court spokesman said of Yeh. "He also allegedly violated the national classification information law by leaking top secrets to a third party."
The court detained Yeh to prevent him from hampering evidence, said the court spokesman.
Yeh was charged in late August with concealing documents that hindered investigations into the alleged money laundering implicating Chen. Prosecutors are seeking a jail sentence of two and a half years against him.
The documents concerning alleged money laundering by Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, were submitted by the head of the anti-money laundering centre to then-director of the Investigation Bureau, Yeh, in February, according to the indictment.
Yeh later told the head of the centre that he had personally handed the documents to prosecutor-general Chen Tsung-ming for further investigation and necessary legal action, the indictment said.
Yeh never passed on the documents, claiming later he forgot as he was busy during the transition between governments. He said he had verbally told the prosecutor-general about the issue, but Chen Tsung-ming denied the claim.
On August 21, prosecutors searched Yeh's home and found copies of the documents, indicating that it is unlikely that Yeh forgot about them, the indictment said.
Yeh was the first person to have been indicted in the snowballing money laundering scandal involving the former president and his family.
The allegations surfaced in June when Swiss judicial authorities alerted Taiwan after detecting unusual transfers of 21 million US dollars in bank accounts set up by Swiss banks in the Cayman Islands for Chen's son and daughter-in-law.
The scandal was first revealed by a Taiwan magazine on August 10. On August 14, Chen admitted that his wife had remitted 21 million US dollars into several foreign bank accounts.
Chen had not declared the monies, which were leftover campaign funds from the 2000 and 2004 presidential election.
Two former chief aides of Chen and an associate of Wu were also arrested for their alleged roles in helping with the fund management and transfers.
Prosecutors have questioned Chen, his wife, brother-in-law, son and daughter-in-law over their alleged roles in the scandal and barred them from leaving Taiwan.
Chen stepped down as president in May after serving two terms from 2000. He was succeeded by Ma Ying-jeou of the Nationalist Party.
Source: The Earth Times
The court detained Yeh to prevent him from hampering evidence, said the court spokesman.
Yeh was charged in late August with concealing documents that hindered investigations into the alleged money laundering implicating Chen. Prosecutors are seeking a jail sentence of two and a half years against him.
The documents concerning alleged money laundering by Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, were submitted by the head of the anti-money laundering centre to then-director of the Investigation Bureau, Yeh, in February, according to the indictment.
Yeh later told the head of the centre that he had personally handed the documents to prosecutor-general Chen Tsung-ming for further investigation and necessary legal action, the indictment said.
Yeh never passed on the documents, claiming later he forgot as he was busy during the transition between governments. He said he had verbally told the prosecutor-general about the issue, but Chen Tsung-ming denied the claim.
On August 21, prosecutors searched Yeh's home and found copies of the documents, indicating that it is unlikely that Yeh forgot about them, the indictment said.
Yeh was the first person to have been indicted in the snowballing money laundering scandal involving the former president and his family.
The allegations surfaced in June when Swiss judicial authorities alerted Taiwan after detecting unusual transfers of 21 million US dollars in bank accounts set up by Swiss banks in the Cayman Islands for Chen's son and daughter-in-law.
The scandal was first revealed by a Taiwan magazine on August 10. On August 14, Chen admitted that his wife had remitted 21 million US dollars into several foreign bank accounts.
Chen had not declared the monies, which were leftover campaign funds from the 2000 and 2004 presidential election.
Two former chief aides of Chen and an associate of Wu were also arrested for their alleged roles in helping with the fund management and transfers.
Prosecutors have questioned Chen, his wife, brother-in-law, son and daughter-in-law over their alleged roles in the scandal and barred them from leaving Taiwan.
Chen stepped down as president in May after serving two terms from 2000. He was succeeded by Ma Ying-jeou of the Nationalist Party.
Source: The Earth Times
on Saturday, May 5, 2012
The family of former Taiwan President, Chen Shui-bian, is accused of laundering money in several overseas accounts, including in the Cayman Islands.
Chen`s family is suspected of depositing at least T$1 billion in banks in Japan, the United States, the Cayman Islands, Singapore and Switzerland, among other places, Taiwan media reports indicate.
But Chen has denied any wrongdoing.
`There is absolutely no graft, absolutely no stolen money,` he told a news conference this week.
Chen has admitted `expatriating` $20 million, but claims the money came from unused campaign contributions - permissible under Taiwan's law at the time - and was intended to underwrite the island's `diplomatic work.`
Source: Carib World News
Chen`s family is suspected of depositing at least T$1 billion in banks in Japan, the United States, the Cayman Islands, Singapore and Switzerland, among other places, Taiwan media reports indicate.
But Chen has denied any wrongdoing.
`There is absolutely no graft, absolutely no stolen money,` he told a news conference this week.
Chen has admitted `expatriating` $20 million, but claims the money came from unused campaign contributions - permissible under Taiwan's law at the time - and was intended to underwrite the island's `diplomatic work.`
Source: Carib World News
on Friday, April 27, 2012
Senegal's former prime minister is facing charges of taking part in a money laundering scheme with an unnamed African head of state. The former prime minister denies the charges which his opposition party says are meant to silence political challengers ahead of March municipal elections.
Senegal's Interior Ministry says authorities intercepted mail exchanged with an unnamed African head of state indicating that the former prime minister was part of a scheme to launder money belonging to Gabon-based Senegalese businessman Abdoulaye Sall.
The businessman, who is a member of Macky Sall's still-unregistered opposition party, is already under arrest. In a statement announcing the charges, Interior Minister Cheikh Tidiane Sy says the investigation into their alleged illicit operation continues.
Speaking to supporters at his home early Tuesday morning, the former president of the National Assembly thanked them for their support during what he called "these moments of aggression."
Sall rejects accusations
Sall said the charges against him and members of his party are unfounded. Party spokesman Seydou Gueye said it is a political attempt to silence Sall two months before local government elections. Gueye said the party will not be intimidated by what he called "the practices of another age" saying what he described as "the beleaguered regime" of President Abdoulaye Wade is guilty of "slander and authoritarianism."
Sall quit President Wade's ruling party three months ago when he was voted out as president of the National Assembly after the term of that office was reduced to one year. Sall had previously served as President Wade's energy minister and interior minister as well as government spokesman and director of the president's 2007 re-election campaign.
But the two men split after Sall called the president's son Karim before a hearing investigating his oversight of spending on last year's Organization of the Islamic Conference summit in Dakar. Karim Wade is currently standing as a candidate for mayor of the capital city in March elections.
Source: VoA
Senegal's Interior Ministry says authorities intercepted mail exchanged with an unnamed African head of state indicating that the former prime minister was part of a scheme to launder money belonging to Gabon-based Senegalese businessman Abdoulaye Sall.
The businessman, who is a member of Macky Sall's still-unregistered opposition party, is already under arrest. In a statement announcing the charges, Interior Minister Cheikh Tidiane Sy says the investigation into their alleged illicit operation continues.
Speaking to supporters at his home early Tuesday morning, the former president of the National Assembly thanked them for their support during what he called "these moments of aggression."
Sall rejects accusations
Sall said the charges against him and members of his party are unfounded. Party spokesman Seydou Gueye said it is a political attempt to silence Sall two months before local government elections. Gueye said the party will not be intimidated by what he called "the practices of another age" saying what he described as "the beleaguered regime" of President Abdoulaye Wade is guilty of "slander and authoritarianism."
Sall quit President Wade's ruling party three months ago when he was voted out as president of the National Assembly after the term of that office was reduced to one year. Sall had previously served as President Wade's energy minister and interior minister as well as government spokesman and director of the president's 2007 re-election campaign.
But the two men split after Sall called the president's son Karim before a hearing investigating his oversight of spending on last year's Organization of the Islamic Conference summit in Dakar. Karim Wade is currently standing as a candidate for mayor of the capital city in March elections.
Source: VoA
on Sunday, April 22, 2012
A former top minister in the Chinese gambling resort of Macau already jailed for taking tens of millions of US dollars in bribes was Wednesday sentenced to a further 28-and-a-half years. Ao Man Long, 52, former secretary for transport and public works, is already serving a 27-year jail term after being convicted last year of taking huge bribes in return for awarding public work contracts.
At the end of a second trial Wednesday, he was convicted of 23 additional counts or bribe-taking and five of money laundering in the biggest corruption case in modern Macau history.
Sentencing him in Macau's Court of Final Appeal, judge Shum Ho-fai said Ao had abused his power as a government official and that his behaviour had seriously damaged the image of the territory.
The two sentences will be served concurrently because of limitations in the Macau Penal Code which mean Ao cannot serve more than 30 years in prison.
Ao was arrested in 2006 and sentenced to 27 years in January 2008 after being found guilty of taking huge bribes as he awarded public works contracts for a series of massive casino projects.
He built up a personal fortune of 100 million US dollars as the former Portuguese colony, which reverted to Chinese rule in 1999, welcomed a series of Las Vegas-owned casinos.
Ao was found guilty of 57 out of 76 charges including corruption, money-laundering, abuse of power and making false statements at the end of his original trial.
A graduate of Taiwan University, Ao joined the Macau government in 1987 and was appointed its first secretary for transport and public works after the territory reverted to Chinese rule.
Source: DPA- EARTH TIMES
At the end of a second trial Wednesday, he was convicted of 23 additional counts or bribe-taking and five of money laundering in the biggest corruption case in modern Macau history.
Sentencing him in Macau's Court of Final Appeal, judge Shum Ho-fai said Ao had abused his power as a government official and that his behaviour had seriously damaged the image of the territory.
The two sentences will be served concurrently because of limitations in the Macau Penal Code which mean Ao cannot serve more than 30 years in prison.
Ao was arrested in 2006 and sentenced to 27 years in January 2008 after being found guilty of taking huge bribes as he awarded public works contracts for a series of massive casino projects.
He built up a personal fortune of 100 million US dollars as the former Portuguese colony, which reverted to Chinese rule in 1999, welcomed a series of Las Vegas-owned casinos.
Ao was found guilty of 57 out of 76 charges including corruption, money-laundering, abuse of power and making false statements at the end of his original trial.
A graduate of Taiwan University, Ao joined the Macau government in 1987 and was appointed its first secretary for transport and public works after the territory reverted to Chinese rule.
Source: DPA- EARTH TIMES
A British member of the European Parliament has been charged with false accounting and money laundering, the prosecutors' office said.
Tom Wise, 60, a former UK Independence Party (UKIP) MEP who now sits as an independent, was investigated by police after claims made about his conduct in tabloid the News of the World four years ago.
His former researcher, Lindsay Jenkins, faces the same charges, which relate to the generous expenses received by MEPs.
"Following the publication of a news article in October 2005 relating to Mr Wise and Ms Jenkins, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) began an investigation into Mr Wise's use of allowances," said Derek Frame of the Crown Prosecution Service in a statement released Monday.
OLAF had passed the investigation to a economic crime unit with the English police, said Frame, reviewing lawyer of the CPS' Special Crime Division.
"I received the full file on 20 March, 2009 and carefully reviewed the evidence before making this decision."
Wise's former party UKIP is a Eurosceptic party which feels too much power is being concentrated in Brussels at the expense of British sovereignty.
It withdrew European Parliament party voting rights from Wise in 2007 after it learned he was under investigation.
Party leader Nigel Farage said UKIP had acted swiftly to remove Wise.
"We dealt with Tom Wise ruthlessly, kicking him out of the group over two years ago," said Farage.
Source: AFP
Tom Wise, 60, a former UK Independence Party (UKIP) MEP who now sits as an independent, was investigated by police after claims made about his conduct in tabloid the News of the World four years ago.
His former researcher, Lindsay Jenkins, faces the same charges, which relate to the generous expenses received by MEPs.
"Following the publication of a news article in October 2005 relating to Mr Wise and Ms Jenkins, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) began an investigation into Mr Wise's use of allowances," said Derek Frame of the Crown Prosecution Service in a statement released Monday.
OLAF had passed the investigation to a economic crime unit with the English police, said Frame, reviewing lawyer of the CPS' Special Crime Division.
"I received the full file on 20 March, 2009 and carefully reviewed the evidence before making this decision."
Wise's former party UKIP is a Eurosceptic party which feels too much power is being concentrated in Brussels at the expense of British sovereignty.
It withdrew European Parliament party voting rights from Wise in 2007 after it learned he was under investigation.
Party leader Nigel Farage said UKIP had acted swiftly to remove Wise.
"We dealt with Tom Wise ruthlessly, kicking him out of the group over two years ago," said Farage.
Source: AFP
on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Former Fiji prime minister Mahendra Pal Chaudhry has been charged with a dozen crimes relating to money laundering and tax evasion.
Chaudhry, who was held hostage for 56 days before being deposed as Fiji's leader in a nationalist coup in 2000, appeared in court on Friday charged with 12 offences, Fiji police spokeswoman Ema Mua told AAP.
It is alleged he held up to $A400,000 in a Commonwealth Bank of Australia account and $A50,000 was given to his daughter in Australia without procedures being followed, Agence France-Presse reported.
The 12 charges, which date back to just after the 2000 coup, include providing false information to the Fiji Islands Revenue and Customs Authority, AFP said.
Chaudhry appeared in Suva Magistrate's Court on Friday afternoon and was represented by his son, lawyer Rajendra Chaudhry, news website Fijivillage reported.
He heard the charges but was not required to enter a plea, Fijivillage said.
He was released on bail and will reappear in court next week.
"He's out on bail and he's got bail condition and he's to appear in the High Court next month," Ms Mua told AAP, later correcting the next court date to July 30.
"He's to surrender his travel documents, passport, and he's to report in to the nearest police post to his home every Thursday," she said.
Chaudhry was briefly finance minister in the current military-led government of Frank Bainimarama, during which time an independent audit cleared him of any wrongdoing in relation to his overseas financial dealings.
He was Fiji's first ethnic Indian leader when he was elected prime minister in 1999 and was overthrown a year later in a coup led by nationalist George Speight.
On May 19, 2000, failed businessman Speight led a group of special force soldiers into Fiji's parliament, where he seized Chaudhry and his government, holding them hostage for 56 days.
During the hostage period, the Fiji Military Forces took power, declared martial law and installed an interim prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, who a year later won the post in a democratic election.
Speight and co-conspirators, Timoci Silatolu and Josefa Nata, were convicted of treason and jailed for life.
Chaudhry was the leader of the Fiji Labour Party until 2008 and controversially backed Commodore Bainimarama's 2006 bloodless coup, in which the military leader seized power from Mr Qarase's government.
Australia has been one of the harshest critics of Fiji since Commodore Bainimarama led the coup and stalled democratic elections, which were initially promised for 2009 and have now been pushed back to 2014.
Already-frosty relations between the two nations heightened this week when Australia and Fiji became embroiled in a bitter spat over whether a meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) should proceed in Fiji.
Fiji believed the meeting would lend some credibility to its regime, while Australia thought the meeting would undermine efforts to pressure Fiji to return to democracy.
The meeting went ahead - under the new name of Engaging Fiji - and Australia and New Zealand were the only nations in the region to decline an invitation to attend.
At the conclusion of the two-day meeting on Friday, Fiji government spokeswoman Sharon Smith Johns said the officials from 10 nations - including Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Solomons Islands - had held unified discussions about climate change and the economy.
There were plans to regroup annually for updates on Fiji's progress towards democracy and elections in 2014, she said.
Source: AAP
on Thursday, January 12, 2012
Five leading UK banks failed to adequately check funds they accepted from politicians accused of graft, watchdog says.
High street banks in the United Kingdom could have helped fuel corruption in Nigeria by accepting millions of dollars in deposits from dubious politicians in the west African nation, an international corruption watchdog said.
In a 40 page report released on Sunday, Global Witness said that five leading banks have failed to adequately investigate the source of tens of millions of dollars taken from two Nigerian governors accused of corruption.
"Banks are quick to penalise ordinary customers for minor infractions but seem to be less concerned about dirty money passing through their accounts," Robert Palmer, a campaigner at Global Witness, wrote on the group's website.
"Large scale corruption is simply not possible without a bank willing to process payments from dodgy sources, or hold accounts for corrupt politicians."
Global Witness acknowledged that in accepting the money, Barclays, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HSBC, as well as Switzerland's UBS, might not have broken the law, but noted that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) must do more to prevent money laundering through British banks.
"The FSA needs to do much more to prevent banks from facilitating corruption. As yet, no British bank has been publicly fined or even named by the regulators for taking corrupt funds, whether willingly or through negligence," Global Witness said in the report.
"This is in stark contrast to the United States, where banks have been fined hundreds of millions of dollars for handling dirty money."
'Deeply disappointed'
HSBC dismissed the allegations in the "International Thief Thief" report, saying that it had taken the lead in tackling holes in the financial system, particularly regarding funds from "politically exposed persons" (PEPs) deemed to pose a higher money laundering risk.
"As a bank that has been at the very forefront of developing global PEP guidance over the last decade, we are deeply disappointed with these misguided allegations," a spokesman for HSBC told the Reuters news agency.
"Rest assured, rigorous and robust compliance procedures were followed diligently. To ignore this is to ignore the facts."
Barclays, HSBC and UBS are all members of the Wolfsberg Group, an international body set up in 2000 to try to improve global anti-money laundering procedures.
Global Witness said its findings were based on court documents from cases the Nigerian government has brought in London in an attempt to get funds returned that it said were stolen by two former state governors: Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa state and Joshua Dariye of Plateau state.
Alamieyeseigha was accused of corruption after he was caught with about $1.6m in cash at his London home. He was briefly jailed in Nigeria after pleading guilty to embezzlement and money laundering charges two years later.
Dariye was arrested in 2004 in London and was found to have purchased properties worth millions of dollars even though his legitimate earnings amounted to the equivalent of $63,500 a year.
He returned to Nigeria, where the anti-corruption agency has accused him of looting public funds. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Corruption ranking
The report did not provide any evidence that the funds accepted by the banks were the direct proceeds of any crime.
Africa's most populous nation is regularly ranked one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It ranked 130th out 180 nations in Transparency International's list of country's perceived as most transparent in 2009.
Most of its 150 million people survive on $2 a day or less, yet the country is one of the world's top champagne importers and its wealthiest residents are among the continent's richest.
Nuhu Ribadu, the former head of its anti-corruption agency, has estimated that corruption and mismanagement swallow up about 40 per cent of Nigeria's annual oil income.
"Without access to the international financial system, it would be much harder for corrupt politicians from the developing world to loot their treasuries or accept bribes," Global Witness said in its report.
Source: Aljazeera
on Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Moldova's Center for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption suspects ex-President Vladimir Voronin' son Oleg of tax evasion and money laundering.
"The evidence available in relation to Oleg Voronin will be handed over to the Center's Main Prosecution Department today, which will decide jointly with the Prosecutor's Office whether a criminal case will be started against him," the Center said in a statement after Voronin was questioned about the source of his incomes.
"Oleg Voronin's case could be considered in the context of tax evasion and money laundering," the statement says.
"The evidence available in relation to Oleg Voronin will be handed over to the Center's Main Prosecution Department today, which will decide jointly with the Prosecutor's Office whether a criminal case will be started against him," the Center said in a statement after Voronin was questioned about the source of his incomes.
"Oleg Voronin's case could be considered in the context of tax evasion and money laundering," the statement says.
on Thursday, January 25, 2007
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has asked financial institutions to take a close look at customers who are politically involved overseas in order to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities, Thai media reported Thursday.
The institutions have been told to monitor accounts and transactions by "special" customers and keep records of related documents for at least five years in case of a legal probe, according to a report on the news website of the English newspaper The Nation.
The vigilance is aimed at customers involved in foreign politics, private banking, correspondent banking and those with unclear sources of money, the BOT demanded.
Targets subject to special scrutiny also include those close to any person allegedly involved in money laundering, and those in high-risk careers such as jewelry, precious metals, foreign exchange and illegal lending.
The institutions have reminded to pay special attention to complicated, abnormally large or illegal transactions.
High-ranking executives should be assigned to approve new account applications by these "special" customers.
Source: Xinhua
The institutions have been told to monitor accounts and transactions by "special" customers and keep records of related documents for at least five years in case of a legal probe, according to a report on the news website of the English newspaper The Nation.
The vigilance is aimed at customers involved in foreign politics, private banking, correspondent banking and those with unclear sources of money, the BOT demanded.
Targets subject to special scrutiny also include those close to any person allegedly involved in money laundering, and those in high-risk careers such as jewelry, precious metals, foreign exchange and illegal lending.
The institutions have reminded to pay special attention to complicated, abnormally large or illegal transactions.
High-ranking executives should be assigned to approve new account applications by these "special" customers.
Source: Xinhua
on Sunday, December 10, 2006
December 7, 2006
In its continued fight against corruption, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), is to beam its search light on commercial banks and other financial institutions. This, according to EFCC, is boost its fight against the menace of money laundering and terrorists financing.
Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja at a two-day conference on Anti-money laundering for Bank directors organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Financial Intelligent Unit and KPMG, a consulting firm, EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu said the commission had concluded arrangements to commence the monitoring and rating of all financial institutions to ensure they comply with its new policy.
“Soon, however, in line with arrangement made by the EFCC, the integrity of financial institutions will be monitored and rated independently and publicly in an attempt to arrive at a market-driven approach to ensuring compliance,” he stated.
Ribadu also said, to ensure strict compliance with its policy which entails the accountability and transparency of the financial institutions’ transactions involving money transfers in sync with regulatory and legal requirements, the commission created rewards for complaints institutions and penalties against non-compliant ones. The total aim of the policy, he explained, is to bring to the front burner the two key critical mechanisms for the purpose of effective fight against money laundering and financing of terror which includes: Know Your Customer (KYC) and Politically Exposed Persons (PEP).
He said, the essence is however to give effect to those mechanisms as couched in the binary sequence of capacity to detect and identify the nature of specific transactions and the capacity to discern the character of specific transactions.
In his paper, entitled “Role of Regulators in combating money laundering and terrorist financing,” Rune Grundekjon of Kredit Tilsynet, financial supervisory authority of Norway, recommended that for effective criminalising of the financing of terrorism and associated money laundering among nations, countries should ensure that financial institutions are subject to adequate regulation and supervision they are also effectively implement the Financial Tasks Force on Money Laundering, he stressed.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2006/dec/07/national-07-12-2006-09.htm
In its continued fight against corruption, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), is to beam its search light on commercial banks and other financial institutions. This, according to EFCC, is boost its fight against the menace of money laundering and terrorists financing.
Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja at a two-day conference on Anti-money laundering for Bank directors organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Financial Intelligent Unit and KPMG, a consulting firm, EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu said the commission had concluded arrangements to commence the monitoring and rating of all financial institutions to ensure they comply with its new policy.
“Soon, however, in line with arrangement made by the EFCC, the integrity of financial institutions will be monitored and rated independently and publicly in an attempt to arrive at a market-driven approach to ensuring compliance,” he stated.
Ribadu also said, to ensure strict compliance with its policy which entails the accountability and transparency of the financial institutions’ transactions involving money transfers in sync with regulatory and legal requirements, the commission created rewards for complaints institutions and penalties against non-compliant ones. The total aim of the policy, he explained, is to bring to the front burner the two key critical mechanisms for the purpose of effective fight against money laundering and financing of terror which includes: Know Your Customer (KYC) and Politically Exposed Persons (PEP).
He said, the essence is however to give effect to those mechanisms as couched in the binary sequence of capacity to detect and identify the nature of specific transactions and the capacity to discern the character of specific transactions.
In his paper, entitled “Role of Regulators in combating money laundering and terrorist financing,” Rune Grundekjon of Kredit Tilsynet, financial supervisory authority of Norway, recommended that for effective criminalising of the financing of terrorism and associated money laundering among nations, countries should ensure that financial institutions are subject to adequate regulation and supervision they are also effectively implement the Financial Tasks Force on Money Laundering, he stressed.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2006/dec/07/national-07-12-2006-09.htm
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