Article: London Money Laundering Raid Nets Almost $250 Million in Bitcoin

Article - Media

London Money Laundering Raid Nets Almost $250 Million in Bitcoin

Patricia Claus, 13 July 2021

London’s Metropolitan police seized nearly £180 million ($248,993,100) of bitcoin on Saturday as part of a money laundering investigation.

The seizure, announced on Tuesday, is only the latest in a string of such raids, including the confiscation of £114 million ($157,567,950) of the cryptocurrency last month. Police spokesmen told the press that criminal organizations were using cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, as a way to launder their ill-gotten takings. Continue reading “Article: London Money Laundering Raid Nets Almost $250 Million in Bitcoin”

Article: EU to propose new body to tackle dirty money, documents say

Article - Media

EU to propose new body to tackle dirty money, documents say

Huw Jones, 08 July 2021

LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) – The European Union will propose a new agency to crack down on money laundering and new transparency rules for transfers of crypto-assets, EU documents showed on Wednesday as the bloc responds to calls for tougher action to fight dirty money.

Europe has come under pressure to step up enforcement of anti-money laundering rules after several countries began investigating Danske Bank over 200 billion euros of suspicious transactions that passed through its tiny Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015. Continue reading “Article: EU to propose new body to tackle dirty money, documents say”

Article: Tory Party Donor Accused of Hiding Emails In Qatar Fight

Article - Media

Tory Party Donor Accused of Hiding Emails In Qatar Fight

Jonathan Browning and Gavin Finch, 23 June 2021

The Qatari government accused financier David Rowland and his son of “brazenly” hiding evidence as it sought to escalate its legal dispute with Banque Havilland over its alleged role in an economic attack on the country.

Lawyers for the Qataris said that U.K. Conservative Party backer David Rowland, who controlled the bank, and Edmund, who was a director at the firm, intended to conceal emails after questions arose about the private bank’s alleged role in leading a financial attack against Qatar in the fall of 2017. Continue reading “Article: Tory Party Donor Accused of Hiding Emails In Qatar Fight”

Article: HSBC’s ‘Rotten’ Traders Accused of Gaining From Secret Info

Article - Media

HSBC’s ‘Rotten’ Traders Accused of Gaining From Secret Info

Jonathan Browning, 14 June 2021

HSBC Holdings Plc faced accusations from an ex-client that its “rotten” traders used confidential information to make a profit, at the start of a London trial examining allegations of front running at the bank’s foreign exchange desk over 15 years ago.

The bank’s currency team deliberately traded ahead of client orders during a period far earlier than HSBC has previously admitted to, currency investment firm ECU Group Plc said. HSBC dismissed the claims as “incredibly stale.” Continue reading “Article: HSBC’s ‘Rotten’ Traders Accused of Gaining From Secret Info”

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

Article - Media

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: Feedzai’s Financial Crime Report: Fraud rises by 159% Year on Year

Article - Media, Publications

Feedzai’s Financial Crime Report: Fraud rises by 159% Year on Year

Feedzai Inc, 02 June 2021

SAN MATEO, Calif. and LONDON, June 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Feedzai, the world’s leading cloud-based financial crime management platform, has announced its Quarterly Financial Crime Report , an analysis of over 12 billion global banking transactions from January – March 2021. The report identifies trends in spending and in fraud attempts to show that this past quarter, as consumer activities increased, fraudsters attempted to hide their fraudulent transactions in legitimate banking. In fact, combining all banking fraud – internet, telephone, and branch – attacks grew a whopping 159% in Q1 2021 compared to Q4 2020.

Online banking made up 96% of all banking transactions and it accounted for 93% of all fraud attempts in Q1 2021. This leaves in-branch and telephone banking to make up the remaining 4%. And while the numbers are smaller, in-branch banking did increase by 442% this quarter compared with the last as a result of eased lockdown restrictions as businesses begin to open for trade. In addition, telephone scammers upped their efforts and the report shows a 728% increase in telephone banking fraud. Continue reading “Article: Feedzai’s Financial Crime Report: Fraud rises by 159% Year on Year”

Article: How corrupt is Britain and will the government do anything about it?

Article - Media, Publications

How corrupt is Britain and will the government do anything about it?

Prem Sikka , 28 May 2021

The parliamentary debate was often framed by the minister and others around the narrative that Johnny Foreigner is corrupt and a threat to our values and global stability. The Minister said that 22 individuals from six countries have been sanctioned. No doubt, there are corrupt persons all around the world, but what about home grown corruption.

‘Serious corruption’ may be associated with bribery, misappropriation of property and much more. It is not defined in legislation, but its understanding is framed by seven policy priorities. One of these is that a practice is considered as ‘serious corruption’ if it ‘undermines a country’s democratic governance, the rule of law and human rights’. Continue reading “Article: How corrupt is Britain and will the government do anything about it?”

Article: Eight arrests in Royal Mail text scam investigation

Article - Media, Publications

Eight arrests in Royal Mail text scam investigation

BBC, 25 May 2021

The suspects were allegedly involved in sending fake messages, primarily posing as Royal Mail and asking people to pay a fee to retrieve a parcel.

The men were arrested in Birmingham, Coventry, London and Colchester, Essex, a specialist unit of the City of London and Metropolitan Police said. A man from London was charged with three offences and the others were released under investigation.

The charged man, from Enfield, will appear at Inner London Crown Court on 21 June. Continue reading “Article: Eight arrests in Royal Mail text scam investigation”

Article: Groundbreaking research provides insight into operations of Italian mafias across Europe

Article - Media, Publications

Groundbreaking research provides insight into operations of Italian mafias across Europe

Michael Steward, 24 May 2021

A groundbreaking new report by researchers in Essex has provided the first analysis into the expansion of Italian mafias across Europe. The report, published by the University of Essex, highlights how criminal groups embed themselves in countries and operate across borders, and the challenges of policing mafia-type crime.

Using Italy as a starting point, the research focused on seven countries – the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Romania, and Switzerland. For mafia groups, territories outside Italy are places where they can consolidate certain business or venture into new ones. The report revealed how mafia groups operate very differently in each country. Continue reading “Article: Groundbreaking research provides insight into operations of Italian mafias across Europe”

Article: Convicted London interbank loan trader Tom Hayes joins a private espionage company

Article - Media, Publications

Convicted London interbank loan trader Tom Hayes joins a private espionage company

Agnes Zang, 23 May 2021

Former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes was found guilty of conspiracy to manipulate the Libor benchmark. He joined a company run by former Black Cube operator Seth Freedman Intelligence agency.

Hayes was released from prison In January And is working hard to overthrow his beliefs. He will join Freedman’s new agency, Red Mist, in June as a consultant, providing intelligence services against white-collar workers and financial misconduct. Continue reading “Article: Convicted London interbank loan trader Tom Hayes joins a private espionage company”

Article: London Capital & Finance spent £70m of bondholders’ cash on firm with two fraudsters

Article - Media, Publications

London Capital & Finance spent £70m of bondholders’ cash on firm with two fraudsters

Jim Armitage, 21 May 2021

Bosses at the collapsed investment firm London Capital & Finance invested £70 million of bondholders’ money with a hotel property firm where two senior players now have fraud convictions.

Prime Resort Development was one of the biggest recipients of LCF loans, but administrators to the bust lender say its assets in Cornwall, Cape Verde and the Dominican Republic, are only worth up to £15 million. One of Prime’s main players, Paul Seakens, was convicted last week over a carbon credit “boiler room” scheme that defrauded vulnerable investors out of £36 million. He is due to be sentenced on 28 May.

The other, Terrence Mitchell, was sentenced in December 2018 to two years’ jail for fraud and six months for “carrying on regulated activities” at collapsed savings scheme Anglo Wealth. Continue reading “Article: London Capital & Finance spent £70m of bondholders’ cash on firm with two fraudsters”

Article: London startup fighting against financial crime with ML picks $70M from Goldman Sachs

Article - Media, Publications

London startup fighting against financial crime with ML picks $70M from Goldman Sachs

UKTechNews, 21 May 2021

London-based global data technology company – ComplyAdvantage transforming financial crime detection has announced a fresh investment from Goldman Sachs Growth Equity (“Goldman Sachs”).

While the terms of transactions were not disclosed, the Machine Learning (ML) scaleup has extended its Series C investment to $70 million with this new Goldman Sachs investment. Pouring fresh investment into oversubscribed Series C funding. It is an extension to the company’s oversubscribed Series C funding announced in July 2020. With this, Goldman Sachs joins a growing list of the company’s world-class investors, including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Index Ventures, and Balderton Capital. Continue reading “Article: London startup fighting against financial crime with ML picks $70M from Goldman Sachs”

Article: CFTC Whistleblower Program in Peril Over Potential $100 Million-Plus Payout

Article - Media, Publications

CFTC Whistleblower Program in Peril Over Potential $100 Million-Plus Payout

Alexandra Berzon, 11 May 2021

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s whistleblower program is in turmoil over a potential payout exceeding $100 million to a former Deutsche Bank AG executive—one so large it would deplete the agency’s whistleblower funds and has led it to seek congressional action.

The executive had provided information that helped CFTC and Justice Department investigations that led to roughly $2.5 billion in settlements with Deutsche Bank in 2015, including $800 million with the CFTC. They alleged that the bank manipulated the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, a benchmark interest rate used to set short-term loans for global banks. Continue reading “Article: CFTC Whistleblower Program in Peril Over Potential $100 Million-Plus Payout”

Article: UK Finance, Which?, City of London Police Sign Letter Asking Government to Add Online Scams to “Online Safety” Bill

Article - Media, Publications

UK Finance, Which?, City of London Police Sign Letter Asking Government to Add Online Scams to “Online Safety” Bill

Omar Faridi, 07 May 2021

UK Finance (a trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector that represents around 300 firms in the UK providing credit, banking, markets and payment-related services), Which? (an organization that reviews products and services, so that you “make the best purchase decisions” for your requirements) and City of London Police are among several other organizations that have signed a letter asking the UK government to add online or Internet scams to its latest “Online Safety” bill.

The new “Online Safety” bill will require companies – through the threat of huge fines – to enhance Internet safety in key areas like terrorist content, child sex abuse, hate crimes, cyber-bullying and the circulation of fake or misleading news updates. Continue reading “Article: UK Finance, Which?, City of London Police Sign Letter Asking Government to Add Online Scams to “Online Safety” Bill”

THE DOLLAR HAS NO INTRINSIC VALUE : DO YOUR ASSETS?