Article: Police seize assets worth over $70 million in money laundering investigation

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Police seize assets worth over $70 million in money laundering investigation

RNZ, 16 June 2021

Police have seized over $70 million – mostly cash – linked to an international pyramid scheme in China and Canada.

The High Court has approved a settlement between Police and Xiaohua (known as Edward) Gong that enables the forfeiture of over $70m.

It is New Zealand’s largest ever forfeiture under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009. Continue reading “Article: Police seize assets worth over $70 million in money laundering investigation”

Article: Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price hits new record despite money laundering scandal

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Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price hits new record despite money laundering scandal

Brendon Lau, 16 June 2021

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price broke a new record high on Wednesday despite being tainted by a money laundering scandal.

The CBA share price jumped over 1.4% to $104.82 even as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) struggled to hold its head above water. Continue reading “Article: Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price hits new record despite money laundering scandal”

Article: Bill Ackman Sent a Text to the CEO of Mastercard. What Happened Next Is a Parable for ESG.

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Bill Ackman Sent a Text to the CEO of Mastercard. What Happened Next Is a Parable for ESG.

Michelle Celarier, 16 June 2021

On a Saturday morning last December, Bill Ackman was scrolling through Twitter when an article in The New York Times caught his eye. β€œThe Children of Pornhub,” by Nicholas Kristof, told how unauthorized sex β€” and rape and torture β€” videos were being spread across the internet on a website called Pornhub, one of the most popular in the world.

Ackman, who has four daughters, was outraged when he read how one teenager ended up a Pornhub victim after sending a naked video of herself to a boy she had a crush on. Harassed and humiliated, the young girl attempted suicide. Continue reading “Article: Bill Ackman Sent a Text to the CEO of Mastercard. What Happened Next Is a Parable for ESG.”

Article: Ohio House Expels Ex-Speaker Charged in $60 Million Corruption Scheme

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Ohio House Expels Ex-Speaker Charged in $60 Million Corruption Scheme

Michael Levenson, 16 June 2021

The Ohio House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to expel a powerful Republican lawmaker, nearly a year after he was arrested and charged in a $60 million corruption scheme while serving as House speaker.

The 75-to-21 vote to expel the lawmaker, Larry Householder, came after a vigorous debate among his fellow Republicans who control the Ohio House, some of whom argued that ousting him from office violated his right to due process. Continue reading “Article: Ohio House Expels Ex-Speaker Charged in $60 Million Corruption Scheme”

Article: How trade-based money laundering works and its impact on world finances

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How trade-based money laundering works and its impact on world finances

World Economic Forum , 15 June 2021

Trade-based money laundering and associated tax evasion is big business. Financial losses from these crimes in developing countries totalled $9 trillion between 2008 and 2017. Global trade complexities make tackling this type of money laundering difficult, but not impossible.

Money laundering is big business, so big, that to handle the movement of enormous sums of money, fraudsters are increasingly turning to Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML). In developing countries, TBML and associated tax evasion contributed to almost $9 trillion in losses between 2008 and 2017. Tackling TBML is complicated by cross-jurisdiction trade, multinational companies, and globalized trade pathways. Continue reading “Article: How trade-based money laundering works and its impact on world finances”

Article: Assets recovered from Tom Petters Ponzi scheme reach $722 million

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Assets recovered from Tom Petters Ponzi scheme reach $722 million

Dana Thiede, 15 June 2021

MINNEAPOLIS β€” A bankruptcy trustee’s search to recover assets linked to one of the largest financial crimes in Minnesota’s history has netted $722 million.

Doug Kelley says his work to collect assets from Tom Petters’ $1.9 billion Ponzi scheme is nearly done, 13 years after the search began.

Petters, now 63, was indicted in 2008 on multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy for operating a scheme which spanned 26 countries, including the the Cayman Islands, Germany and Switzerland. Continue reading “Article: Assets recovered from Tom Petters Ponzi scheme reach $722 million”

Article: Deutsche Bank Revamps Controls as New Lapses Threaten Turnaround

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Deutsche Bank Revamps Controls as New Lapses Threaten Turnaround

Steven Arons, 15 June 2021

Deutsche Bank AG revamped the units seeking to detect and prevent financial crimes after a number of recent compliance issues risk undermining progress in Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing’s turnaround plan.

Chief Administrative Officer Stefan Simon, in a memo to employees Tuesday, announced a reorganization of his business into six units, with the aim of reshaping the bank’s anti financial crime efforts. As part of the changes, Mary Kirwan, a former Credit Suisse Group AG executive, and Jan-Gerrit Iken from Commerzbank AG will join. Continue reading “Article: Deutsche Bank Revamps Controls as New Lapses Threaten Turnaround”

Article: Wildlife trafficking: a new frontier for organised financial crime

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Wildlife trafficking: a new frontier for organised financial crime

JOHN BASQUILL, 15 June 2021

Pressure is growing on financial institutions to toughen their approach to environmental crime, with G7 leaders vowing to crack down on the illicit fund flows supporting wildlife trafficking and campaign groups warning that the activity has morphed from a conservation issue to a financial crime concern.

In a communique issued ahead of June’s annual G7 summit, the finance ministers and central bank governors of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US jointly sounded the alarm that greater attention is being paid to wildlife trafficking. Continue reading “Article: Wildlife trafficking: a new frontier for organised financial crime”

Article: ECU Group Accuses HSBC of Fraud and Misconduct Made on Its FX Trading Desk

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ECU Group Accuses HSBC of Fraud and Misconduct Made on Its FX Trading Desk

Felipe Erazo, 15 June 2021

A currency manager, ECU Group has accused the multinational investment bank, HSBC of fraud and misconduct within its foreign exchange (forex) trading desk between 2004 and 2006. According to a report published by the Financial Times, quoting a hearing at the UK High Court on Monday, an alleged β€˜rotten culture’ between such a period allowed bankers to misuse confidential data.

In fact, the ECU Group claims that HSBC is responsible for having committed fraud related to 52 forex trades it placed with the bank in those years. The allegations were made in the context of a trial that expects to last for at least seven weeks. The banking giant denied all the claims made by the currency manager, the FT said. Continue reading “Article: ECU Group Accuses HSBC of Fraud and Misconduct Made on Its FX Trading Desk”

Article: Is Texas headed toward another blackout? Did the Legislature fix the power grid? Here are answers to your questions about the grid.

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Is Texas headed toward another blackout? Did the Legislature fix the power grid? Here are answers to your questions about the grid.

ERIN DOUGLAS AND MITCHELL FERMAN, 15 June 2021

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Monday asked residents to reduce their electricity usage through at least Friday due to β€œtight” power grid conditions. A number of power plants are inexplicably offline at the same time as the state is experiencing record June demand for electricity. Continue reading “Article: Is Texas headed toward another blackout? Did the Legislature fix the power grid? Here are answers to your questions about the grid.”

Article: True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Global Report Reveals that Costs Reached $213.9 Billion in 2021

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True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Global Report Reveals that Costs Reached $213.9 Billion in 2021

Omar Faridi, 15 June 2021

LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a global data and analytics firm, has published its annual True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Global Report.

The results shared in the new report have been prepared after conducting an extensive survey of 1,015 financial crime compliance decision-makers at established financial institutions such as banks, investment companies, funds managers, and insurers. Continue reading “Article: True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Global Report Reveals that Costs Reached $213.9 Billion in 2021”

Article: Reserve Bank names companies abusing foreign exchange auction system

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Reserve Bank names companies abusing foreign exchange auction system

Bongani Ndlovu, 15 June 2021

THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has named 18 companies that have been abusing the foreign exchange auction system.

The RBZ released a statement and said the companies that were found out by the Financial Intelligence unit will be fined.

The companies include National Foods (Pvt) Ltd, Georgia Petroleum (Pvt) Ltd, Tettola Investments (Pvt) Ltd, Africa Steel (Pvt) Ltd, Westville Investments (Pvt) Ltd (T/A Omni Africa), Flicknik Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, Duo Valley Commodity Brokers, Faircclot Investments, GlenuLas Trading, Natural Stone Export Company, Nuvert Trading, Phirebrook Investments, Classic Energy, Clorex Energy, Explochem, Mutare Mart & Exchange, Souzcre Fuels and Kimya Investments. Continue reading “Article: Reserve Bank names companies abusing foreign exchange auction system”

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