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Credit Suisse pays over US$510m for aiding tax evasion
Credit Suisse Services AG, now part of another Swiss bank, UBS, will pay US$510,608,909 in penalties, restitution, forfeiture and fines after admitting holding at least US$4 billion in over 475 offshore accounts for wealthy Americans evading US taxes.
Online Published Date:
08 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
324 - 01 June 2025
Cash wins
The rise and rise of contactless, online and cryptocurrency payments would suggest the days of notes and coin are numbered but that prediction is now years old: cash continues in circulation, with issuance even increasing. Paul Cochrane examines the persistent appeal of 'real' money.
Online Published Date:
13 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
324 - 01 June 2025
Not fair - the UK sanctions regime
The UK's post-Brexit sanctions regime is cause for significant concern, says Thomas Cattee of Gherson Solicitors, over lack of due process and low evidential hurdles prior to designation, with devastating consequences.
Online Published Date:
13 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
324 - 01 June 2025
AI - are we there yet?
A lot of heat and excitement attaches to generative artificial intelligence and its potential to supercharge productivity but far less light is shone on how well it's actually working - indeed, if at all - not least, in AML functions. Keith Nuthall and Paul Cochrane determined to find out.
Online Published Date:
14 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
324 - 01 June 2025
Julius Baer paid over CHF4m in Switzerland for high-risk client control failings
Swiss bank Julius Baer was ordered to disgorge CHF3m (US$3.6m) in profits, and pay CHF1.3m (US$1.6m) costs, by its local financial markets regulator, FINMA, over failures to detect and act on suspicious activity by some high-risk customers, according to a penalty notice dated November 2024, not published but seen by the Financial Times.
Online Published Date:
14 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
324 - 01 June 2025
UK government says economic crime levy delivering despite shortfall in first year
The UK's new economic crime levy is working effectively to provide a sustainable source of funding for anti-money laundering measures, the first government annual report on the measure has concluded.
Online Published Date:
16 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
324 - 01 June 2025
Upskill - who, in what, how
Keeping up to speed with evolving rules and risks is always work in progress and optimal performance demands instructive, relevant and engaging training. Keith Nuthall reviews supervisory learning and development expectations and ways to meet them.
Online Published Date:
19 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
324 - 01 June 2025
EU issues new sanctions on Russia's 'shadow' fleet
The European Union (EU) has adopted its 17th package of sanctions in response to Moscow's ongoing war against Ukraine, aimed at "cutting off Russia's access to key military technology and curbing Russia's energy revenues", according to a European Council communiqué of 20 May.
Online Published Date:
21 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
325 - 01 July 2025
Spreadex fined UK£2m for AML control and social responsibility failings
Casino and fixed odds betting operator Spreadex Ltd, which trades through spreadex.com, must pay US£2,022,000 (US$2,713,800) after the UK Gambling Commission uncovered anti-money laundering (AML) compliance and customer protection breaches during a July 2023 inspection.
Online Published Date:
21 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
325 - 01 July 2025
Tolhurst Fisher fined UK£120,000 by UK legal regulator for long-running AML failings
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has confirmed a settlement between Tolhurst Fisher LLP and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for England & Wales, in which the law firm will pay a UK£120,000 (US$161,000) fine and UK£25,290 (US$33,930) costs for protracted breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations.
Online Published Date:
22 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
325 - 01 July 2025
Edmond de Rothschild fined €25m in Luxembourg over 1MDB sovereign wealth fund laundering
A Luxembourg court has ordered private bank Edmond de Rothschild (Europe) S.A. to pay €25 million (US$28.4 million) to settle criminal charges that it laundered money embezzled, mainly between 2009 and 2013, from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, by, amongst others, the country's former prime minister Najib Razak.
Online Published Date:
24 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
325 - 01 July 2025
Wynn Las Vegas fined US$5.5m for unlicensed money transmission and proxy betting
The Nevada Gaming Commission has fined Wynn Las Vegas, LLC, a casino operator, US$5.5m for acting as an unregistered money transmitter for patrons, some of suspect character, and for allowing "human head" proxy betting.
Online Published Date:
26 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
325 - 01 July 2025
Liberia fines Orange Money L$15m for AML/CFT oversight, risk and reporting breaches
Mobile phone-based payments operator Orange Money must pay a L$15 million (US$75,000) penalty after Liberia's Financial Intelligence Agency found "major infractions" of the country's Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act 2021 during a September 2024 inspection.
Online Published Date:
28 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
325 - 01 July 2025
UAE fines foreign banks and exchange house for AML/CFT breaches
Two branches of foreign banks operating in the UAE have been fined D10,600,000 (US$2,885,975) and D7,500,000 (US$2,041,965) respectively after inspections by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) discovered they had not complied with anti-money Laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) obligations under federal law.
Online Published Date:
29 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
325 - 01 July 2025
HSBC and Bank Pembangunan penalised in Malaysia for beneficial owner and sanctions compliance failings
HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad, its wholly owned subsidiary HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad - both part of the HSBC banking group - and Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad have been fined by Bank Negara Malaysia, variously, for non-compliance with rules around beneficial ownership of corporate customers and flaws in sanctions screening.
Online Published Date:
29 May 2025
Appeared in issue:
325 - 01 July 2025