Financial Crime

The USAA Federal Savings Bank (USAA FSB) has been fined $140m after admitting that despite repeated warnings, it willfully failed to implement and maintain an anti‑money laundering (AML) program that met the minimum requirements of the US Bank Secrecy Act […]

Money laundering underpins most forms of organized crime by disguising illicitly-obtained financial assets as “clean” and allowing nefarious groups or individuals to profit from illegal activity. While the amount of money laundered globally in one year is estimated to equal […]

A Chicago woman has been convicted of fraud and tax offenses after cashing her dead grandmother’s pension checks and creating false tax returns. The Justice Department reports that Eunice Salley (aka Eunice Sally Dobyns, aka Oya Awanata-Bey, aka Oya Awanata) […]

The latest set of explosive revelations concerning bank accounts of the rich and powerful has seen Switzerland’s second largest bank, Credit Suisse, face accusations of widespread, systemic failures of due diligence. Suisse Secrets is an international investigation – involving more […]

South Korea’s largest telecom provider is to pay $6.3m to settle a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) action over alleged bribes. KT Corp, which is publicly traded and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, engaged in multiple schemes […]

If there’s one pain point that stands out in the ComplyAdvantage State of Financial Crime 2022 report, it’s cybercrime. Our annual survey of 800 compliance professionals globally asked firms about their biggest compliance-related pain points (Figure 1) – 45% said […]

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has issued new guidance designed to help firms identify suspicious behavior related to forced sexual servitude. While sex work is largely legal or decriminalized across Australia and subject to regulation, forced sexual […]

Delays by the UK government in introducing legislation to combat economic crime are being questioned in a major new report. The Treasury Select Committee is calling for a raft of measures, including the creation of a new government department to […]

The former CEO of Swedbank has been charged with fraud and market manipulation following investigations into money laundering in the Baltics. If convicted she could face up to six years in prison. Birgitte Bonnesen was chief executive of Sweden’s oldest […]

President Biden has signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) into law, requiring importers from the Xinjiang province to provide “clear and convincing evidence, that the good, ware, article, or merchandise was not mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or […]

The EU has imposed sanctions on a Russian mercenary organization accused of human rights abuses in Libya, Syria, Ukraine and the Central African Republic (CAR). The measures target the Wagner Group and eight individuals and three entities connected to it. […]

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has warned that wildlife trafficking is on the rise, and that financial institutions are not capturing the full extent of the problem.  FinCEN’s latest Financial Threat Analysis, focusing on wildlife trafficking threat patterns […]