Correspondent banking arrangements can be manipulated to disguise the movement of funds for terrorist financing purposes according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) recently published book on counter terrorism financing frameworks (Trade-based Financial Crime, 15 May 2023). But Countering the… Read More ›

bank
TD Bank’s takeover of First Horizon reportedly scuppered by AML concerns
TD Bank’s US$13.4 billion takeover of US regional bank First Horizon collapsed over regulators’ concerns about the Canadian lender’s anti-money laundering (AML) practices, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). On May 4 2023, TD Bank informed First Horizon that… Read More ›
US banks used to launder funds in illicit gold scheme, Russian national indicted
A US federal grand jury has indicted a Russian national who allegedly used the American banking system to illegally transmit more than US$150 million, of which US$65 million was used to illicitly purchase overseas gold bullion. Feliks Medvedev has been… Read More ›
Bank of Queensland at risk of penalties for AML/CFT failings
Bank of Queensland (BOQ) says it is at risk of being subjected to penalties, sanctions or other enforcement action due to weaknesses in its anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programme. If it is in breach of AML/CFT… Read More ›
Deutsche Bank studies vulnerability of trade finance to fraud
The vulnerability of trade finance to criminals and protection measures being deployed to counter trade-based financial crime involving fake invoices, fake bills of lading, collateral fraud, and duplicate financing is the focus of a comprehensive insight piece produced by Deutsche… Read More ›
Wells Fargo agrees US$30 million settlement for trade finance breaches of sanctions against Iran, Syria and Sudan
Wells Fargo Bank has agreed a US$30 million settlement with the US treasury department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in respect of its potential civil liability for apparent violations of sanctions against Iran, Syria, and Sudan. For about seven… Read More ›
UBS, Credit Suisse and US bankers under scrutiny for possible breaches of Russian sanctions
Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are among banks under investigation by the US justice department in a probe into whether bankers helped Russian oligarchs evade sanctions, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources. Subpoenas were sent to individual bankers before the… Read More ›
TBML, bribery and tax evasion red flags revealed in Afreximbank deal
An investigation into a US$30 million loan to South Sudanese oil marketing company, Trinity Energy, claims to have revealed red flags concerning trade-based money laundering (TBML), bribery and tax evasion. The loan from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) was backed… Read More ›