Day: June 4, 2020

On 4 June, BNN Bloomberg and others reported that the Singapore casino – Marina Bay Sands, one of the most profitable casinos in the world = of billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corporations is being probed by the US DoJ over whether AML regulations were breached in the way it handled the accounts of top gamblers.  Prosecutors are said to have asked the former compliance head, as a person with knowledge of the casino’s operations, to produce records related to any such violations including through gambling junkets and third-party lending using casino credit.

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/adelson-s-singapore-casino-probed-over-laundering-controls-1.1445763

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/marina-bay-sands-casino-in-singapore-under-probe-over-money-laundering

 

 

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On 4 June, Coindesk reported that a 2-part report by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) analysed the privacy tool’s impact on using the Bitcoin blockchain to investigate crimes. It is said that the report says that in 3 weeks, BTC in the amount of nearly $50 million were deposited into Wasabi with almost 30% coming from dark web markets – despite dark web transactions are estimated to have only 1% share of total transactions. Wasabi tries to get around Bitcoin’s radical transparency, giving users more privacy by scrambling transactions together and confusing the trail.

https://www.coindesk.com/europol-bitcoin-privacy-wasabi-wallet

 

 

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A post on the fascinating Krebs on Security blog provides some background detail of a recent report by ICIJ into a Romanian ATM skimming gang operating in Mexico’s top tourist destinations disrupted their highly profitable business, which raked in an estimated $1.2 billion and enjoyed the protection of top Mexican authorities.  The blog reported on the gang’s operations as long ago as 2015 (and this is said to have disrupted the gang’s activities).

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/06/romanian-skimmer-gang-in-mexico-outed-by-krebsonsecurity-stole-1-2-billion/

 

 

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On 3 June, the EU Parliament Research Service published a paper which reports on a study which assesses 4 key measures to improve AML policy and legislation: the identification of high-risk countries through blacklisting; the reduction in money laundering through letterbox or shell companies; the harmonisation of EU AML policies through regulations; and strengthening the European executive (e.g. through a European public prosecutor, a European FIU, a European supervisor, or a European police force) also in the light of Covid-19.

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2020/648789/IPOL_STU(2020)648789_EN.pdf

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2020/648795/IPOL_ATA(2020)648795_EN.pdf

 

 

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On 4 June, HM Treasury issued 2 Notices.  One advised that no less than 335 entries on the Consolidated List relating to Syria have been amended in the light of EU Regulation 2020/716/EU.  The other Notice advised that the entry relating to North Korea for YUK TUNG ENERGY PTE LTD had =been amended following EU Regulation 2020/730/EU.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/890073/Notice_Syria_2_2020_716.pdf

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/890070/Notice_DPRK_2020_730.pdf

 

 

 

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On 4 June, the Malta Independent reported that the Malta Financial Services Authority had published a document which is said to serve to explain its risk-based approach to supervision, whilst clarifying how safeguards against financial crime risks have been integrated in the process.

https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2020-06-04/business-news/The-MFSA-publishes-Document-Outlining-its-Risk-Based-Approach-to-Supervision-6736223848

The document is at –

https://www.mfsa.mt/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Risk-Based-Supervision-Stengthening-Our-Supervisory-Approach.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

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On 4 June, the Slovak Spectator reported that police have detained 37 people in an investigation into alleged corruption at the state-owned Lesy SR company.  Among the 37 charged is the company’s former sales director, Tomáš Klouček, who was in charge of public procurement, sales and other wood-related business activities.
https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22418878/former-manager-of-the-state-forestry-company-charged-with-corruption.html

 

 

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On 4 June, Yahoo News reported that the US has added 7 Cuban companies and hotels to its list of entities under sanctions, including financial firm Fincimex which handles remittances to the island.  The new additions to the Cuba Restricted List are 7 “sub-entities” controlled by the Cuban military, including 3 hotels, 2 diving centres and a tourist marine park.  The new listings take effect from 12 June. Direct financial transactions with such entities are prohibited.

https://news.yahoo.com/us-adds-cuba-remittances-firm-sanctions-list-083004906.html

https://www.state.gov/additions-to-the-cuba-restricted-list/

https://www.state.gov/cuba-sanctions/cuba-restricted-list/

 

 

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On 32 June, the Reuters reported that the Mexican FIU is investigating Libre Abordo, a Mexico-based company that received millions of barrels of Venezuelan crude under an oil-for-food pact (suspended in May), and there are inquiries into several other companies accused of speculating with food shipments to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government.  It is also said that Libre Abordo and an affiliate, Schlager Business Group, are among businesses that have been under investigation by the FBI, US Treasury and the State departments for possible violations of US sanctions on Venezuela.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-venezuela-probe-exclusive/exclusive-mexico-probes-libre-abordos-oil-for-food-pact-with-venezuela-idUSKBN2392QE

 

 

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On 3 June, the Wall Street Journal reported that the UN and the official Libyan government are probing a Dubai-based ship charterer for possibly helping Haftar to market fuel in the Mediterranean.  It says that the US has also begun investigating a trip Haftar may have made to Venezuela.  The report says that the probes are part of a wider international campaign aimed at halting Haftar’s oil sales, which he is hoping to turn into a key source of funding for his 14-month insurgent assault on Libya’s capital city of Tripoli.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/libyan-warlords-oil-foray-draws-u-s-u-n-scrutiny-11591206614

 

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