Publications – Page 38 – Financial Treason & Crime

Reuters, 10 May 2021

Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and a former unit have filed 22 civil suits seeking to recover more than $23 billion in assets from entities and people allegedly involved in defrauding them, the finance ministry said on Monday.

The ministry, in a statement on the suits, did not identify any of the individuals or entities being sued but said two foreign financial institutions were among them. The Edge business daily, citing court documents that it said it had seen, reported that JP Morgan (JPM.N) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) were among those being sued.

Malaysian officials did not immediately confirm the names. Continue reading “Article: Malaysia’s 1MDB, ex-unit seek recovery of $23 bln in assets”

05/10/2021

Article: Pair arrested over suspected £3.4m furlough fraud

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Pair arrested over suspected £3.4m furlough fraud

Amy Austin, 10 May 2021

Aman and a woman from West Yorkshire have been arrested as part of an HM Revenue and Customs investigation into a suspected £3.4m Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) fraud.

Both individuals were also arrested in relation to a suspected multi-million-pound tax fraud last month, including money laundering and VAT evasion. They have been released under investigation. More than £6m held in bank accounts controlled by the pair have been frozen by HMRC after its Taxpayer Protection Taskforce officers executed a search warrant on April 28. Continue reading “Article: Pair arrested over suspected £3.4m furlough fraud”

05/10/2021

Article: ANALYSIS: Beyond GameStop—10 Takeaways From Gensler’s Testimony

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ANALYSIS: Beyond GameStop—10 Takeaways From Gensler’s Testimony

Preston Brewer, 10 May 2021

In testimony Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee, newly appointed SEC Chairman Gary Gensler signaled that he is prepared to change existing rules to better adapt to the challenges of today’s market environment, and to ask Congress for more authority where needed.

Gensler was there ostensibly to speak about the speculative trading in GameStop shares that occurred in late January. But the hearing went beyond GameStop and Robinhood to include a discussion of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulatory response about a wide range of topics. Continue reading “Article: ANALYSIS: Beyond GameStop—10 Takeaways From Gensler’s Testimony”

05/10/202105/10/2021

Article: After striking settlements with Goldman Sachs, Deloitte and AmBank, Putrajaya now hunting down other 1MDB wrongdoers

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After striking settlements with Goldman Sachs, Deloitte and AmBank, Putrajaya now hunting down other 1MDB wrongdoers

YISWAREE PALANSAMY, 10 May 2021

KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — The government is hunting down others who have received funds from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and SRC International Sdn Bhd, after settlements with banking giants Goldman Sachs, Deloitte PLT and Ambank Group.

In a statement today, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said that six of the recent civil suits on 1MDB were filed by the fund itself, while 16 were by its subsidiary SRC for the recovery of assets with a combined total in excess of RM96.6 billion, including approximately RM300 million against various local parties. Continue reading “Article: After striking settlements with Goldman Sachs, Deloitte and AmBank, Putrajaya now hunting down other 1MDB wrongdoers”

05/10/202105/11/2021

Article: Robinhood’s Big Gamble

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Robinhood’s Big Gamble

Sheelah Kolhatkar, 10 May 2021

Early on the morning of January 19th, Cody Herdman woke to the vibration of his smartphone alarm under his pillow. He immediately checked the finance app Robinhood for the trading price of a company called GameStop. Herdman, who is nineteen, is a freshman computer-science major at Dakota State University, where until recently he played center for the Dakota State Trojans football team, and he had been investing in the stock market for a month.

Robinhood, which offers zero-commission trading in stocks and cryptocurrencies, pitches itself as an enlightened version of Wall Street; its stated mission is to “democratize finance for all.” Herdman’s friend Chase Bradshaw had introduced him to trading on the app, which now consumed much of the time that he used to spend playing video games. Continue reading “Article: Robinhood’s Big Gamble”

05/10/202105/11/2021

Article: House Democrats Urge Funding Boost for Wall Street’s ‘Cop on the Beat’

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House Democrats Urge Funding Boost for Wall Street’s ‘Cop on the Beat’

Kevin Edgar, 10 May 2021

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters is calling on Congress to increase funding for Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight of Wall Street’s “regulatory and market structure weak points.”

With SEC Chairman Gary Gensler signaling stepped-up enforcement of public companies and other SEC registrants, Democrats on Capitol Hill are leveraging their majority status to ensure the agency has the resources to meet its new chairman’s aggressive oversight mandate.

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., co-signed Waters’ letter to the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee calling for more SEC funding. Sherman is chairman of the Financial Services Committee’s Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets Subcommittee. Continue reading “Article: House Democrats Urge Funding Boost for Wall Street’s ‘Cop on the Beat’”

05/10/202105/11/2021

Article: Namibia: Hedge Funds – Namibia’s Hope to Increase Market Capitalization and Liquidity

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Namibia: Hedge Funds – Namibia’s Hope to Increase Market Capitalization and Liquidity

Arney Tjaronda, 10 May 2021

Over the course of years, Hedge funds has been a driving force for the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) market. They have been nicknamed the miracle boy of the JSE due to its performance, so much so that in 2020 alone- despite the pandemic-the Single Manager Composite Index was +6.19% (HedgeNews Africa, January 18, 2021). How is that so? Before answering that question, I will define what hedge funds are.

Definition of hedge funds Continue reading “Article: Namibia: Hedge Funds – Namibia’s Hope to Increase Market Capitalization and Liquidity”

05/09/202105/10/2021

Article: Feds reportedly probing traders behind GameStop frenzy

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Feds reportedly probing traders behind GameStop frenzy

Donna Miller, 09 May 2021

Federal regulation enforcement authorities are investigating whether or not market manipulation or different monetary felony exercise fueled the meteoric rise of shares corresponding to GameStop and AMC Leisure final month, a report mentioned Thursday.

Investigators from the Justice Division’s fraud part and the US Lawyer’s workplace in San Francisco have requested data from stockbrokers and social media firms that helped spark the buying and selling hysteria that lasted for about two weeks on the finish of January, the Wall Avenue Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. Continue reading “Article: Feds reportedly probing traders behind GameStop frenzy”

05/09/202105/10/2021

Article: Banking Is Center Stage as Iran Seeks Nuclear Deal That Delivers

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Banking Is Center Stage as Iran Seeks Nuclear Deal That Delivers

Golnar Motevalli, 09 May 2021

Iran is pushing for its banking industry to be given guaranteed and conclusive sanctions relief at talks to restore the country’s nuclear deal with world powers.

“The removal of sanctions against the central bank, Iranian banks, SWIFT, and any money transfer between them and major foreign correspondent banks, needs to be verified,” Abdolnaser Hemmati, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, said in answers to written questions, referring to restrictions on Iranian access to the Belgium-based global payments system. Continue reading “Article: Banking Is Center Stage as Iran Seeks Nuclear Deal That Delivers”

05/08/202105/10/2021

Article: If the SEC doesn’t regulate crypto assets, a new shadow finance industry could emerge

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If the SEC doesn’t regulate crypto assets, a new shadow finance industry could emerge

PATRICK AUGUSTIN, 08 May 2021

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is dragging its feet in deciding whether it should approve the listing of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by VanEck Associates Group. While it is good to be cautious, speed and political decisiveness are equally important. Otherwise we risk the rise of a digital shadow finance industry.

Cryptocurrencies are here to stay. The opportunities brought about by the digitization of assets and new financial technologies make it challenging to reverse the course of financial innovation. Continue reading “Article: If the SEC doesn’t regulate crypto assets, a new shadow finance industry could emerge”

05/08/2021

Article: How the narcotics trade has reached every corner of Republic despite Covid-19

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How the narcotics trade has reached every corner of Republic despite Covid-19

Conor Lally, 08 May 2021

Last September, armed gardaí charged with tackling Ireland’s drugs criminals searched properties 200km apart in Mountmellick, Co Laois, and the tiny village of Lisselton, Co Kerry, seizing nearly €4 million in cash.

The raids illustrated a few things. Drugs have reached every part of the State and the trade is booming, despite every pub and nightclub in the country having been shut for the previous six months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most significantly, the money – the biggest cash haul ever discovered in a gangland operation in the Republic – was not owned by the Kinahan cartel. Instead, it was owned by a gang barely known by the public, but is known in the media as “The Family”. Continue reading “Article: How the narcotics trade has reached every corner of Republic despite Covid-19”

05/08/2021

Article: EU to name and shame banks that fail to fight money laundering

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EU to name and shame banks that fail to fight money laundering

Jon Ihle, 08 May 2021

The European Banking Authority (EBA) is setting up a centralised database to name and shame financial institutions in the EU that have weak anti-money laundering (AML) controls.

The EBA, which is responsible for creating a single rulebook for bank regulation in the EU, said the new database would be a “key tool” for coordinating the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. Continue reading “Article: EU to name and shame banks that fail to fight money laundering”

05/07/202105/10/2021

Article: Corus Entertainment Is Watching for Windows in High-Yield Market

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Corus Entertainment Is Watching for Windows in High-Yield Market

Esteban Duarte, 07 May 2021

Corus Entertainment Inc., which has produced shows led by actors such as Christopher Plummer, plans to take an opportunistic approach to U.S. and Canadian high-yield bond markets after a recent debt sale fetched strong investor demand, Chief Financial Officer John Gossling said.

The Toronto-based based firm sold C$500 million ($410.3 million) of seven-year unsecured bonds April 26 in the company’s first such deal since 2013. Proceeds are being used to reduce bank credit facilities, which are in the process of getting extended to May 2025, he said. Continue reading “Article: Corus Entertainment Is Watching for Windows in High-Yield Market”

05/07/202105/08/2021

Article: Hedge Funds Make Biggest Short Bet on Junk Bonds Since 2008

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Hedge Funds Make Biggest Short Bet on Junk Bonds Since 2008

Laura Benitez and Tasos Vossos, 07 May 2021

Hedge funds have accumulated the biggest short position on junk bonds since 2008 in another sign that investors are lining up to bet against frothy debt markets. About $55 billion of global high-yield bonds has been sold short, according to data from IHS Markit Ltd. That’s up from $35 billion at the start of the year.

The heady mix of rich valuations and willingness of bond bulls to throw cash at ever-riskier companies is raising alarm bells that credit markets are looking increasingly stretched. Add in the threat of rising interest rates, and there’s plenty of reason for some investors to be nervous. Continue reading “Article: Hedge Funds Make Biggest Short Bet on Junk Bonds Since 2008”

05/07/202105/08/2021

Article: How America Became the Money Laundering Capital of the World

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In March, federal agents raided the Beverly Hills premises of a company called U.S. Private Vaults. According to a subsequent grand jury indictment, U.S. Private Vaults was a money laundering operation where drug dealers and others could anonymously stash fentanyl, guns, and “huge stacks of $100 bills” in safe deposit boxes. U.S. Private Vaults didn’t really bother to hide its business, boasting in ads, “We don’t even want to know your name.” It also shared its strip mall storefront with Gold Business, which allegedly specialized in laundering drug money via purchases of gold. Continue reading “Article: How America Became the Money Laundering Capital of the World”