‘Father’ of Catalan Nationalism Deemed Unfit for €290mn Corruption Trial
A Spanish court has declared former Catalan leader Jordi Pujol, 95, unfit to stand trial in a long-running corruption case alleging his family concealed as much as €290 million in illicitly obtained wealth in Andorra
Web of Shell Firms Tie Trump Operative to Russian Money in Albanian Politics
A network of shell companies tied to sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska helped finance an Albanian conservative party’s hiring of a former Donald Trump campaign operative ahead of Albania’s 2017 general election.
EU Anti-Fraud Office Launches Formal Probe of Peter Mandelson
The European Union’s anti-fraud office has opened a formal investigation into Lord Peter Mandelson, the bloc’s former trade commissioner and recently dismissed British ambassador to Washington, over alleged misconduct during his four years in Brussels.
U.S. Moves Against Asian Scam Centers, Sinaloa Supply Chain
U.S. officials on Wednesday struck at Southeast Asian scam compounds defrauding Americans and a global fentanyl supply chain, announcing criminal charges, sanctions, and the seizure of hundreds of fraudulent websites in a pair of coordinated enforcement actions.
Leader of $140mn ‘Faith-Based’ Ponzi Scheme Charged with Wire Fraud
The founder of a Newnan, Georgia-based lender that marketed faith-based investments to conservative audiences was charged with felony wire fraud on Thursday, escalating a civil fraud case into a criminal prosecution nearly a year after regulators shuttered what they described as a $140 million Ponzi scheme.
FINTRAC Warns of Rise in Extortion Schemes Targeting Indian Students
Canada’s financial intelligence agency has issued a bulletin warning banks and other institutions to be on alert for money laundering linked to an escalating extortion campaign targeting South Asian diaspora communities, particularly in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario.
AMLA Draft Rules Could Lead to ’Significant’ Bank Burden, ITFA Says
Proposed European anti-money-laundering (AML) standards could place a “significant operational burden” on banks by potentially requiring customer due diligence checks on counterparties that are not traditional bank clients, a trade finance industry body has warned.
Suspicious Gamblers Laundered Up to $144mn in Sydney Mega Club
Mounties, one of Australia’s largest club groups, allowed 13 customers to launder as much as A$226 million ($144 million) through poker machines over five years.
A Decade on, Nordic Banks Emerge from Russian Money-Laundering Scandal
Nordic banks are finally beginning to move past the Baltic money-laundering scandal that engulfed the region’s financial sector, after nearly a decade of probes, fines, management upheaval, and costly compliance overhauls.
Five Banking Giants Tied to Alleged Iran Sanctions-Evasion Scheme
Five of the world’s largest banks have been drawn into allegations that they unwittingly processed payments tied to a sanctions-evasion and money-laundering scheme benefiting Iran.