Article: France opens graft probe into Lebanon’s central bank chief

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France opens graft probe into Lebanon’s central bank chief

Associated Press, 07 June 2021

PARIS — The French national financial prosecutor’s office has opened a preliminary investigation into the actions of Lebanon’s central bank governor involving potential money laundering, the prosecutor’s office said Monday.

The French move came months after Switzerland started a probe into possible money laundering and embezzlement at Lebanon’s central bank, which is now at the center of an unprecedented financial crisis roiling the small Mediterranean country. The French prosecutor’s office said the investigation around Riad Salameh was opened in late May involving potential charges of money laundering and association with an organized criminal group. It gave no further details. Continue reading “Article: France opens graft probe into Lebanon’s central bank chief”

Article: Australia’s NAB reveals anti-money laundering probe, shares fall

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Australia’s NAB reveals anti-money laundering probe, shares fall

Paulina Duran, 06 June 2021

SYDNEY (Reuters) – National Australia Bank said on Monday it is under investigation for suspected serious and ongoing breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws, sparking concerns about potential fines and higher compliance costs.

The financial crime regulator said there were “areas of serious concern” that required further investigation, but it was not considering a civil penalty order at this stage.

Shares in Australia’s third-largest lender fell 2.6% in morning trading while the wider market was little changed.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said the problems at NAB involved “potential serious and ongoing non-compliance” with customer identification procedures, customer due diligence and other compliance requirements.

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Article: France probes Lebanese central bank chief’s wealth

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France probes Lebanese central bank chief’s wealth

AFP, 06 June 2021

PARIS: France has opened a probe into the personal wealth of Riad Salameh, central bank chief in crisis-hit Lebanon, sources told AFP Sunday.

Paris financial prosecutors have opened a preliminary probe into criminal association and money laundering by Salameh, a source close to the investigation and a judicial source said, following a similar move by Switzerland. Its findings could shed light onto the origins of the 70-year-old former Merill Lynch banker’s wealth. Continue reading “Article: France probes Lebanese central bank chief’s wealth”

Article: G-7 Targets Environmental Crimes in Push for Greater Disclosure

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G-7 Targets Environmental Crimes in Push for Greater Disclosure

Alessandra Migliaccio and David Goodman, 05 June 2021

The Group of Seven nations targeted environmental crimes with a move to push companies into disclosing the impact they have on the climate.

Finance ministers from the G-7 meeting in London agreed for the first time to embed climate-change considerations into their decision making. They also expanded the work of a money laundering and corruption watchdog to root out crimes against the planet.

The moves stopped short of the U.K. ambition to get G-7 firmer backing for mandatory reporting of climate risks by companies, something central bankers and green groups have said will force investors to focus on how moves to curb fossil fuel use will impact their holdings. Continue reading “Article: G-7 Targets Environmental Crimes in Push for Greater Disclosure”

Article: As Ransomware Hackers Sit On Millions In Extorted Money, America’s Military Is Urged To Hack Back

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As Ransomware Hackers Sit On Millions In Extorted Money, America’s Military Is Urged To Hack Back

Thomas Brewster, 05 June 2021

In just two months last year, the FBI watched three companies pay hackers wielding ransomware called NetWalker millions in Bitcoin to get their hacked data back. While that seems like a big win for the cybercriminals, it also gave investigators in the U.S. and elsewhere a new roadmap for tracking and prosecuting them.

Netwalker was a ransomware-as-a-service crew, similar to DarkSide and REvil, whose tools were used in the attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS, which led to gas and food shortages across America in the last month. The creators of NetWalker rented it out to other cybercriminals, who would find a way to break into a company and then deploy Netwalker to lock up the victims’ files. Only the key the Netwalker crew controlled could unlock that data. Since it emerged in 2019, its myriad victims included universities, healthcare bodies and government departments, making close to $50 million in that time. Continue reading “Article: As Ransomware Hackers Sit On Millions In Extorted Money, America’s Military Is Urged To Hack Back”

Article: How The AMC Squeeze Compares To The GameStop Run: Are Buyers Just Playing A Game?

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How The AMC Squeeze Compares To The GameStop Run: Are Buyers Just Playing A Game?

Wayne Duggan, 05 June 2021

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC 6.51% held on to its weekly gains in early afternoon trading on Friday after a sharp pullback in Thursday’s session.

Heading into next week, AMC traders will be asking themselves if this week’s run-up is a repeat of January trading action in GameStop Corp. GME 3.89%, or if the rally in AMC had legs.

Deja Vu? GameStop shares hit their all-time high of $483 on Jan. 28. In the month leading up to that peak, the stock rallied about 1,560%. Continue reading “Article: How The AMC Squeeze Compares To The GameStop Run: Are Buyers Just Playing A Game?”

Article: Greatest Financial Event in History Coming – Bo Polny

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Greatest Financial Event in History Coming – Bo Polny

Greg Hunter , 05 June 2021

Biblical cycle expert and financial analyst Bo Polny predicted in November of 2020 the stock market (DOW) would “top out in May 2021 at around 33,000 to 34,000 and then crash in June.” So far, half of the prediction is spot on, and we are waiting for the crash. Polny says, “The greatest financial event in human history is not and will not happen on a Trump watch. I repeat, the greatest financial event in human history is not going down on a Trump watch. It’s going to go down under the current, whatever you want to call him. Trump is a builder. The builder comes in to fix things.”

What’s the timeline on this “greatest financial event in human history”? Polny says, “All hell breaks loose next week. . . . There are all these events, mini events, that are all culminating in God’s perfect orientation and God’s perfect timing to create the absolute perfect storm, and then he pulls the trigger. Remember this: When the Red Sea opened and closed, that entire event happened in one day. By the end of the day or the next day, everything was 180 degrees different. Mark my words, we sit here today, and by the end of this year, everything will be 180 degrees different. Most likely everything is going to happen in the next 90 days. We are living in a Biblical year. It’s the year of Jubilee, and we are about to see acts of God.” Continue reading “Article: Greatest Financial Event in History Coming – Bo Polny”

Article: Bookkeeper embezzles $1M from NC tree nursery, buys home theater and truck, feds say

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Bookkeeper embezzles $1M from NC tree nursery, buys home theater and truck, feds say

HAYLEY FOWLER, 04 June 2021

A longtime bookkeeper and office manager at a family-owned tree nursery in North Carolina has pleaded guilty to stealing upwards of $1 million from his employer over six years, according to the federal government.

The money went toward outfitting a home theater, buying a new truck and paying off his mortgage, prosecutors said.

Richard Allen Clark, 55, pleaded guilty to mail fraud, money laundering and making a false statement on his tax return, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said Thursday in a news release. Clark is from Lenoir, about 86 miles northwest of Charlotte in the foothills. Continue reading “Article: Bookkeeper embezzles $1M from NC tree nursery, buys home theater and truck, feds say”

Article: Hossein Azari of cmorq Discusses Meme Stocks, Sees DeFi as an Answer to Retail Desires

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Hossein Azari of cmorq Discusses Meme Stocks, Sees DeFi as an Answer to Retail Desires

JD Alois, 04 June 2021

The rise of the “meme stocks” has been a fascinating adventure with the combination of ubiquitous technology and the ability to drive trading by retail investors in a way that has never been experienced before. While a certain amount of manipulation of markets has always existed, the recent advent of trading forums, like Wallstreetbets on Reddit, and other digital communication methods, has shifted some of the influence away from big money to smaller investors pooling resources.

The phenomenon really gained traction when GameStop (NYSE:GME), a highly shorted equity by certain hedge funds, became a focus for a targeted short squeeze. In brief, smaller investors, many trading on Robinhood, rocketed the price of GME higher causing certain hedge funds to lose money in a classic short squeeze. Continue reading “Article: Hossein Azari of cmorq Discusses Meme Stocks, Sees DeFi as an Answer to Retail Desires”

Article: With a straight face, Malta signs 87-point UN pledge to end impunity, protect journalists and prosecute corrupt politicians

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With a straight face, Malta signs 87-point UN pledge to end impunity, protect journalists and prosecute corrupt politicians

Alice Elizabeth Taylor, 04 June 2021

The Maltese government has signed a United Nations declaration promising to “investigate, prosecute, and punish threats and acts of violence” against journalists, provide a “Safe and enabling environment” for whistleblowers, and ‘take effective measures” to “prevent, investigate, and prosecute” corruption involving public officials.

The declaration on “challenges and measures to prevent and combat corruption and strengthen international cooperation” was signed yesterday at the first-ever UN General Assembly Special Session against Corruption, which started yesterday and will close on Saturday. Continue reading “Article: With a straight face, Malta signs 87-point UN pledge to end impunity, protect journalists and prosecute corrupt politicians”

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