Jan 13 2022

Dubai continues to combat money laundering

Dubai Public Prosecution is continuing to combat money laundering and related crimes in cooperation with law enforcement agencies and local and federal authorities. Courts in the emirate have issued various sentences in cases that will serve as deterrents to money laundering-related crimes. The sentences included imprisonments for periods ranging from nine months to eight years, confiscations worth a total of AED306,000 and fines amounting to over AED15 million.

In the first case, the Criminal Court sentenced a defendant to three years imprisonment for the charge imposed on him as well as a fine of AED14.76 million. According to Counselor Ismail Ali Madani, Senior Advocate General – Head of Public Funds Prosecution, the defendant committed the crime of money laundering an amount of AED14.76 million by transferring, using and concealing the truth of the proceeds, the location of its origin as well as the manner of its disposition. The amount was obtained by appropriating public funds related to proceeds from a large number of damaged replacement cards that were misappropriated from the branch of a company specialised in communications where the defendant worked as a sales executive.

Source: Hatem Mohamed, 13th of January 2022; http://wam.ae/en/details/1395303010880

Jan 10 2022

Man Behind 29,000 Bitcoin Ponzi Scam is Arrested in Brazil

Johann Steynberg, a South African known for running the multi-million dollar Ponzi scam Mirror Trading International (MTI), was recently arrested in Brazil.

This would be yet another large-scale arrest for the country. A few months ago, Claudio Oliveira of the Bitcoin Banco group was also put behind bars for the disappearance of 7,000 Bitcoin from his investors in 2019.

Source: Felix Mollen, 10th of January 2022; https://cryptopotato.com/man-behind-29000-bitcoin-ponzi-scam-is-arrested-in-brazil/

Jan 10 2022

Europe Says Iraq Is No Longer A High Risk For Money Laundering

The European Union has removed Iraq from its list of countries deemed to be high risk for money laundering, six years after first identifying it as a problematic jurisdiction.

The EU’s ambassador to Iraq Ville Varjola met prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Baghdad on January 9, saying he was “bringing the good news … that Iraq has been taken off the list of countries at high risk of money laundering by the EU.”

Source: Dominic Dudley, 10th of January  2022; https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2022/01/10/europe-says-iraq-is-no-longer-a-high-risk-for-money-laundering/?sh=2ed8764f3971

Jan 06 2022

Crypto crime hit record $14 billion in 2021, research shows

Crime involving cryptocurrencies hit an all-time high of $14 billion last year, blockchain researcher Chainalysis said on Thursday, a record that comes as regulators call for more powers over the fast-growing sector.

Crypto received by digital wallet addresses linked to illicit activity including scams, darknet markets and ransomware jumped 80% from a year earlier, Chainalysis said in a report. The activity represented just 0.15% of total crypto transaction volumes, its lowest ever.

Source: Tom Wilson, 6th of January 2022. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/crypto-crime-hit-record-14-billion-2021-research-shows-2022-01-06/

Dec 14 2021

Nearly Half of UK’s E-Money Firms Red Flagged for Money Laundering Risk

Nearly 40% of the e-payment sector in the United Kingdom, which made more than £500 billion (US$660.2 billion) worth of transactions in 2020/21, have been flagged red — a warning of money laundering risk, a Transparency International UK research published on Tuesday found.

While most e-payment enterprises appear to respect the regulations, the paper warns that without stronger oversight, Electronic Money Institutions (EMI) will become a preferred channel for those trying to launder the proceeds of crime and corruption through Britain — “if they are not already.”

Source: Zdravko Ljubas, 14th of December 2022; https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/15667-ti-nearly-half-of-uk-s-e-money-firms-red-flagged-for-money-laundering-risk

Nov 15 2021

In France, Money Laundering Crosses Community Lines

French police in the past two months have dismantled two networks that allegedly laundered at least 100  million euro for Paris-based drug traffickers by routing the funds through Chinese textile wholesalers and separately through Pakistani-led construction companies. An initial investigation led to the Sept. 27 arrest of six individuals of Chinese origin working for five companies in the french capital’s textiles district and seizure of 250,000 euro in cash.

Source:  Gabriel Vedrenne, 8th of November 2021. https://www.moneylaundering.com/news/in-france-money-laundering-crosses-community-lines/

Nov 15 2021

G-20 leaders reaffirm full support for FATF’s efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing

Photo source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/g-20-leaders-reaffirm-full-support-for-fatfs-efforts-to-combat-money-laundering-terrorist-financing/articleshow/87460032.cms

G-20 leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have reaffirmed their full support for the Financial Action Task Force and recognised that effective implementation of the measures put in place to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation is essential for building confidence in financial markets, ensuring a sustainable recovery and protecting the integrity of the international financial system. In the Rome Declaration issued on Sunday, the G20 leaders stressed the relevance of the risk-based approach of the global anti-money laundering and Paris-based terror financing watchdog’s recommendations with the aim to ensure legitimate cross-border payments and to promote financial inclusion.

Source: PTI, 1st of November 2021.  https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/g-20-leaders-reaffirm-full-support-for-fatfs-efforts-to-combat-money-laundering-terrorist-financing/articleshow/87460032.cms

Nov 12 2021

How Does Cryptocurrency Fit into the U.S. Infrastructure Bill?

The $100 billion infrastructure bill passed by the Senate includes a plan to help cryptocurrency brokers obtain tax reporting requirements similar to the way stockbrokers report to the IRS customer sales. One of the ways lawmakers proposed is to pay for $1 trillion in infrastructure legislation would be to introduce a tax reporting requirement for cryptocurrency brokers, just as stockbrokers report their customer sales to the IRS. This could pave the way for tighter regulation of cryptocurrency as the Biden administration moves forward with its push for tax compliance. 

Source:  31st of August 2021.  https://diamcircle.io/how-does-cryptocurrency-fit-into-the-u-s-infrastructure-bill/ 

Nov 02 2021

Czech prime minister’s party narrowly loses re-election days after Pandora Papers revelations in surprise outcome

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis gave up the option of forming a new government after his party lost parliamentary elections, promising a smooth handover of power to the bloc of opposition parties that secured a narrow, surprise win on Oct. 9. 

Babis’ centrist party ANO (Czech for “Yes”) was defeated by a center-right opposition group. Voting in the tight race began days after Babis faced investigations and public questioning over Pandora Papers reporting that he used offshore companies to buy a luxury French Riviera estate.

In its final days, Babis’ campaign was rocked by reports by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and its Czech partner, Investigace.cz, that he used offshore companies to buy a luxury French Riviera estate for $22 million.

One of the Czech Republic’s richest people, Babis amassed an estimated $3.4 billion fortune during more than two decades as the head of Agrofert, a conglomerate of companies in the chemicals, food processing, farming and media sectors.

Babis was one of the 35 world leaders named in ICIJ’s Pandora Papers. The investigation found that, in 2009, the Czech billionaire used a string of shell companies to secretly buy 16 properties in Mougins, a French village near Cannes. He routed the money through the British Virgin Islands, Washington, D.C., and Monaco, the leaked records show.

After entering politics, Babis did not disclose ownership of the companies or properties in assets declarations public officials in the Czech Republic are required to file every year.

Source: Scilla Alecci/ICIJ, 9th of October 2021. https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/czech-prime-ministers-party-narrowly-loses-re-election-days-after-pandora-papers-revelations-in-surprise-outcome/

Nov 01 2021

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera to be criminally investigated due to Pandora Papers revelations

Chilean opposition lawmakers have launched impeachment proceedings against President Sebastián Piñera over new details about the sale of a mining company revealed in the Pandora Papers investigation.

Chile’s national prosecutor’s office announced Friday that it would open a criminal investigation against President Sebastián Piñera following revelations concerning his business affairs in the Pandora Papers.

Investigators said the probe would focus on the 2010 sale by the Piñera family of a stake in a Chilean mining project and, depending upon the findings, could lead to bribery and tax-related charges.

The prosecutor’s office said that a prior investigation related to the business deal didn’t include a contract, written in English and signed in the British Virgin Islands, that was revealed in the Pandora Papers.

The Pandora Papers revelations, first published days ago by ICIJ partners, the Chilean Center for Investigative Reporting (CIPER) and Labot, revealed that in December 2010, nine months into Piñera’s first term as president, a Chilean mining company, Dominga, partially owned by his children made a $152 million deal with another company belonging to one of Piñera’s closest friends, Carlos Alberto Délano.

Source: Brenda Meidna and Malia Politzer/ICIJ, 8th of October 2021. https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/chilean-president-sebastian-pinera-to-be-criminally-investigated-due-to-pandora-papers-revelations/