Swedbank announces governance overhaul, launches culture probe
Swedbank CEO Jens Henriksson announced the financial institution is making some major organizational changes “to create simpler and clearer decision-making structures to facilitate the realization of the bank’s strategy.”
Westpac accused of 23M violations of Australian AML rules
Australia’s financial crime regulator has accused Westpac Banking of committing over 23 million breaches of the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules.
Alstom exec convicted of FCPA, money-laundering charges
A former Alstom executive was found guilty by a federal jury for his role in a multi-year, multi-million-dollar foreign bribery scheme and related money-laundering scheme in Indonesia.
DOJ recovers $700M in 1MDB scandal
Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman-turned-fugitive, has agreed to forfeit more than $700 million worth of assets that he and his family allegedly misappropriated from Malaysian’s sovereign-wealth fund, 1MDB.
EY accused in U.K. gold-laundering scheme
Big Four audit firm EY has been accused of covering up evidence of smuggling by an organized crime gang that was laundering British drug money through gold dealings, according to an investigation by the BBC.
Bill to expose shell companies passes House vote
A proposed bill to crack down on anonymous shell companies passed a House of Representatives vote Tuesday and will progress to the Senate.
Singapore regulator: Technology creates both challenges, opportunities
The evolution of technology is enabling myriad capabilities for regulatory and financial crime compliance, but it is also presenting complex financial crime risks, according to a representative from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) at the International Compliance Association’s second Asia Pacific (APAC) conference this week in Singapore.
Bill requiring shell companies to disclose ownership introduced in Senate
Aimed at fighting money laundering, newly proposed legislation looks to mandate full transparency from shell companies on ownership and also fosters greater communication between financial institutions and law enforcement agencies.
Embattled Swedbank names permanent CCO
Faced with numerous AML investigations, Swedbank made several significant moves this week, including naming a permanent CCO and agreeing to waive attorney-client privilege by handing over an internal report to local prosecutors.
FINMA publishes AML guidance on blockchain
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority has published new guidance on how it applies AML rules to the financial services providers it supervises in the area of blockchain technology.
New FinCEN unit to focus on money laundering threats
FinCEN announced the launch of its newly created Global Investigations Division, with responsibility for targeting terrorist financing and money laundering threats, both domestically and internationally.
Embattled Danske hires HSBC compliance head
Danske Bank, embroiled in a substantial money laundering scandal, has added to its compliance team with the appointment of Simon Kingsbury as head of surveillance & investigation.
Yet another misstep by Danske results in firing of interim Danish CEO
Danske Bank has been forced to fire yet another board member—this time for mis-selling thousands of customers a wealth management product that charged excessive fees.
Public register pros trump cons
Harvard Law School’s Eli Goldston Professor of Law Matthew Stephenson discusses the benefits of public registers.
No proof in public register value
Consultant and independent director Geoff Cook offers evidence on why public registers are still lacking.
U.K. tax havens promise greater transparency on company ownership
Starting in 2021, Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man will make records of company ownership public, which should please members of parliament who have argued that not doing so has made them vulnerable to financial crime.
Nordea raided over ML probe in Denmark
Scandinavian banking giant Nordea revealed its Copenhagen office was raided by Danish police as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering.