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 […]

UK banks hit with record $2.5bn in US fines 12 Dec 2012 HSBC and Standard Chartered have agreed record settlements over money laundering allegations as the former agrees to pay $1.9bn to US regulators. HSBC, which had been alleged to have helped launder money belonging to drug cartels and countries under US sanctions, will pay […]

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 […]

Legal Pitfalls of Christmas – 12 Dec 2012 In order to have a risk free workplace Christmas, employers would be wise to bear in mind the following: 1. Consider other religions – Remember to think about dietary requirements involved with some religions when putting on food and drink for the office party. Make sure there […]

HSBC money laundering report: Key findings 12 Decv 2012 Failure after failure at HSBC led to the London-based bank being used as a conduit for “drug kingpins and rogue nations“,a 300-page report compiled for a US Senate committee and has found.The July 2012 report and investigations by US authorities led to the UK-based bank being […]

FATF on improving the understanding of terrorist financing in West Africa 12 Dec 2012 Experts of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and FATF-style regional bodies held their annual meeting in Dakar, Senegal, from 26-28 November, which this year focused on improving the understanding of terrorist financing in West Africa. In addition, following topics were […]

Bank VP jailed for over nine years for fraud and money laundering – 28 November 2012 11 Dec 2012 Rhonda Devries – formerly vice president of operations at First Security Bank (FSB) in Malta, Montana – has been sentenced to 110 months in prison for bank fraud, credit card fraud and money laundering. She was […]