Finma

French judges have formally charged HSBC Private Bank Suisse with organized money laundering and criminal conspiracy in connection with the alleged embezzlement of $330 million from Lebanon’s central bank by its former governor Riad Salameh.

Switzerland’s financial markets regulator published supplementary guidance on money laundering risk analysis Wednesday, flagging persistent weaknesses in how banks and other financial institutions define risk tolerance and assess inherent risks.

It was a tiny Swiss bank, headquartered in an open-plan office close to Lake Zurich and little known abroad. But MBaer Merchant Bank AG would sometimes charge clients 10 times the normal rate to process payments.

Switzerland has approved its first comprehensive national strategy for fighting money laundering and terrorist financing, the country’s Federal Council announced Friday. 

U.S. officials have linked two prominent figures in English polo to an alleged scheme to launder proceeds from the illicit sale of Venezuelan oil, according to a Financial Times report that cited a recent Treasury Department notice about the now-defunct Swiss lender MBaer Merchant Bank.