The International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) has announced the creation of the ITFA fraud prevention working group. The global trade finance industry body says the newly created group is being set up as part of ITFA’s fintech committee, with the… Read More ›

banks
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 ›
New US sanctions target Russian banks, metals and mining sector, and third-country actors linked to sanctions evasion
In one of its most significant sanctions actions to date, the US treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated over a dozen more Russian banks and financial institutions and announced a new determination targeting Russia’s metals and mining… Read More ›
Banks caused to violate sanctions to launder millions of dollars for Russian oligarchs and proscribed entities
US banks were caused to process tens of millions of dollars in schemes to evade sanctions and export controls applicable to Russia according to an indictment charging five Russian nationals and two oil traders with global sanctions evasion and money… Read More ›
International banks and auditors involved in US$700 million TBML scheme says Zambia’s financial intelligence unit
International banks and audit firms were used by a company involved in an “aggressive profit shifting” trade-based money laundering (TBML) scheme to understate its taxable income and tax liability due to the Zambian government by over US$700 million according to… Read More ›
Cross-border banking scandals prompt EBA calls for more cooperation between supervisors in AML/CFT colleges
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a new report that calls for more proactive engagement between supervisors in anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism financing (AML/CFT) colleges. This is the authority’s second report on the functioning of AML/CFT… Read More ›
Banks should include all forms of TBML in compliance processes says new NGO
Financial institutions should include all forms of trade-based money laundering (TBML) in their standard due diligence, record keeping, and financial intelligence reporting according to a new report by a recently formed national security non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Washington. The… Read More ›
Banks drawn into reputational laundering networks to obscure illicit gains
Reputation launderers, notably public relations agencies and law firms, are distorting the financial crime and sanctions risk profiles of kleptocratic regimes and oligarchs seeking to launder and protect their illicit gains according to academic and investigative researchers. Banks can also… Read More ›