Day: September 16, 2020

On 16 September, OFAC advised that 2 Russian individuals – Dmitrii KARASAVIDI and Danil POTEKHIN (aka “cronuswar”; and Kireev Valerievich SERGEY) – and a large number of digital currency addresses had been added to its sanctions lists.  These designations are said to be part of a coordinated action with the DoJ and the  Department of Homeland Security, re the individuals’ involvement in a sophisticated phishing campaign in 2017 and 2018 that targeted customers of 2 US-based and 1 foreign-based virtual asset service providers. 

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20200916

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1123

A post on the FCPA Blog on 16 September advised that the World Bank debarred a publicly-traded Spanish engineering and construction company FCC Construcción SA and 36 global subsidiaries for 2 years for fraud and collusion involving a project in Colombia.  They are ineligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects during the 2-year debarment.  The debarment also applies to projects involving the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the African Development Bank.

World Bank debars Spanish construction giant

On 16 September, Malta Today reported that Joseph Muscat has flatly denied accusations of illegalities directed towards him in a financial crime blog run by former money launderer-turned FBI informant, Kenneth Rijock. 

https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/104761/joseph_muscat_denies_us_bloggers_allegation_he_helped_finance_terrorism#.X2JDpD-SmM8

On 16 September, OCCRP reported that the part of the speech where the US Secretary of State expressed concern with Russia’s money laundering in Cyprus was missing in local media reports from a press conference he gave in the capital of Nicosia because the translator skipped it.  An official Cyrpus press release also omitted the comments and, when contacted by OCCRP, the interpreter said that Pompeo had been speaking too fast, forcing her to skip the reference to money laundering. She said nobody instructed her to omit the translation of the reference in question.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/13121-translator-skips-us-comment-on-russian-money-laundering-in-cyprus

On 16 September, Defence Web reported that Guinea-Bissau is a major crossing point for Latin American cocaine bound for Europe.  It says that Migration agency boss Colonel Alassana Diallo was taken into custody, accused of taking 83 capsules of cocaine for himself after a seizure at the Bissau airport.

Migration agency head nabbed for cocaine trafficking

On 16 September, HMRC published the latest list of deliberate tax defaulters, these are people who have received penalties where HMRC has carried out an investigation and the person has been charged one or more penalties for deliberate defaults, and those penalties involve tax of more than £25,000.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/publishing-details-of-deliberate-tax-defaulters-pddd

On 16 September, the Financial Times reported claims that money launderers use Chinese online shopping sites to funnel cash offshore.  It is claimed that individuals seeking to circumvent the nation’s capital flight restrictions, including to gamble online, have been placing fake orders on Pinduoduo and other Chinese shopping platforms.  It is said that Chinese law enforcement officials involved in arrests tied to the alleged scheme have said that at least $2.06 billion was laundered to offshore gambling websites through fake purchases and other means. 

https://www.riskscreen.com/kyc360/news/leading-chinese-online-shopping-sites-seen-as-money-laundering-vehicle-for-online-gamblers/

On 15 September, ABC News reported that the Australian arm of a US-based global bank is the latest financial institution to be fined for breaching AML laws.  It has had imposed a $1.24 million infringement notice for failing to declare international transfer instructions that potentially left it exposed to organised crime, terrorism, slavery, drug trafficking and tax evasion being committed via its facilities.  ABC said that it understands that the bank was fined $12,000 for each of the 99 breaches, which the bank self-reported to AUSTRAC.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-16/state-street-hit-with-million-dollar-money-laundering-fine/12668092

On 14 September, the Times of Malta reported that Malta’s new attorney general has refused to release a copy of an inquiry into whether the former prime minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, took a €100,000 kickback on passport sales.  The inquiry was based on a leaked FIAU report.

https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/keith-schembri-inquiry-into-passport-kickbacks-concluded-lawyer-says.818044

On 15 September, Erick Iván Martelo Robinson,the governor of Guna Yala province had been caught with 79 packets of drugs in his car and he and another man had been arrested.  It was later reported that the governor had been fired by the President.

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/guna-yala-governor-caught-with-79-drug-packs-1

https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/cortizo-fires-drug-carrying-governor-names-replacement