Launderers in the news – December 2012 27 Dec 2012 Online ticket scams and internet cafe cons feature in December’s launderers in the news. This month we also look at some recent cases where the criminals have avoided lengthy jail sentences. Britain’s most prolific female fraudster jailed for 9 years – London A woman who […]

Money-laundering lawyer dodges prison 20 Dec 2012 A former partner at Chicago-based law firm Winston & Strawn who used his position to launder more than $18m for convicted Ponzi schemer Kenneth Starr will not serve any prison time, a judge ruled yesterday. The New York Law Journal reports that in May 2011Jonathan Bristol pleaded guilty […]

FSA requires action of HSBC Group 14 Dec 2012 The FSA is taking action against HSBC to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering rules and US sanction requirements. The FSA requires HSBC Holdings plc to: • establish a committee of the HSBC Board with a mandate to oversee matters relating to anti-money laundering, sanctions, terrorist financing […]

Three arrested in connection with UK LIBOR probe – 14 Dec 2012 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), with the assistance of the City of London Police, conducted searches at three residential premises. Three men have been arrested and questioned as part of the SFO’s investigation into the manipulation of LIBOR rates.A copy of the SFO’s […]

Iran Sanctions – Buyers must hold payments for Iran oil starting Feb 6 14 Dec 2012 Starting February 6, U.S. law will prevent Iran from repatriating earnings it gets from its oil export trade. The latest financial sanction will “lock up” a substantial amount of payments to Iran ramping up the U.S. Treasury’s use of […]

Three articles on the huge money laundering penalties – 13 Dec 2012 As yesterday’s Reuters article shows, HSBC got hit with a 1.92 billion dollar fine for money laundering shortcomings. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/11/us-hsbc-probe-idUSBRE8BA05M20121211?utm_source=Email+Created+2012%2F12%2F11%2C+4%3A42+PM&utm_campaign=nyc121212&utm_medium=email This makes Monday’s settlement of $340 million for money laundering problems between Standard Charter bank and the US Justice Department seem like a bargain. […]

Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 12 Dec 2012 Transparency International (“TI”) released its Corruption Perception Index 2012 (“CPI 2012”) earlier today.The Corruption Perception Index ranks countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. The index, which reflects the views of observers from around the world, offers a yearly snapshot of the problem […]

Obtaining information about a BVI company by court order 12 Dec 2012 Background The BVI Company Registry is the only major source of publicly available information and records, other than by recourse to litigation. However, a search of the public register is likely to reveal only the following: • the certificate of incorporation;• the memorandum […]