SOCA publishes 2012 SARs report 11 Jan 2013 SOCA has published statistics on suspicious activity reports (SARs) received from October 2011 to September 2012. A notable feature was that the number of SARs was significantly greater than the previous year. 18 December 2012 The Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) Annual Report 2012 is published today. The […]

Eight charged with conspiracy to corrupt and money laundering 11 Jan 2013 Thames Valley Police (TVP) has charged eight people with conspiracy to corrupt, fraudulent trading and money laundering originating from a branch of Halifax Bank of Scotland. The charges follow an investigation carried out by the Force’s economic crime unit, after the case was […]

HM Treasury reports on AML/CTF 11 Jan 2013 HM Treasury has published its second annual report on “Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Finance [AML/CTF] Report 2011-2012”. The report relates to AML supervisor activities from April 2011 to March 2012 and in summarising the analysis of information provided by AML supervisors (set out in Annex A), […]

JPMorgan alleged anti-laundering lapses 11 Jan 2013 Regulators to issue cease-and-desist order against JPMorgan today for alleged anti-laundering lapses – Federal banking regulators will today issue a cease-and-desist order requiring JPMorgan Chase & Co to correct weaknesses in its anti-money laundering compliance program, a source familiar with the enforcement action said. There will be no […]

Money-Laundering Inquiry Is Said to Aim at U.S. 11 Jan 2013 Federal and state authorities are investigating a handful of major American banks for failing to monitor cash transactions in and out of their branches, a lapse that may have enabled drug dealers and terrorists to launder tainted money, according to officials who spoke on […]

IMF guidance on AML/CFT 08 Jan 2013 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a guidance note on the inclusion of anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) in surveillance and financial stability assessments. In particular it sets out a framework for the treatment of cases where money laundering and terrorist financing, […]

Oldest Swiss bank to close as US tax clampdown continues 07 Jan 2013 Wegelin pleads guilty in Manhattan Federal Court and agrees to pay £36m in restitution and fines. The oldest bank in Switzerland is to formally close after it pleaded guilty to charges that it facilitated widespread tax evasion by US citizens using its […]

British banks pay big for BSA/AML violations 03 Jan 2013 Two British banks recently agreed to pay significant penalties to settle allegations of violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and U.S. sanctions programs, with deficiencies in each bank’s Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (“BSA/AML”) compliance program underlying each case. On December 10, Standard Chartered Bank (“SCB”) […]