Category: banks
Global financiers head to Saudi Arabia investment bash in shadow of war
Global financiers are poised to flock to Saudi Arabia’s annual flagship investment conference next week as a tightening of the kingdom’s purse strings and a deepening of regional conflict cloud the outlook. Among those expected to descend on the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh are top CEOs, including Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser and…
TD Bank Fined for Crypto Ties with UK and Colombia
According to a report from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on Oct. 10th, TD Bank’s U.S. wing agreed to pay over $3 billion in penalties. The fine was for failing to properly monitor money laundering activities. The bank has also accepted limits on its future growth in the U.S. FinCEN found that TD Bank facilitated over $1 billion in…
Massive U.S. fine against TD Bank highlights relatively modest penalties in Canada
TORONTO — The more than US$3-billion settlement TD Bank Group has reached with U.S. regulators for its failures to oversee money laundering risks has underlined what some say are relatively weak enforcement options in Canada. Denis Meunier, president of DMeunier Consulting Inc. and a former deputy director of Fintrac, said fines in Canada have to increase significantly to provide adequate…
TD Bank hit with US$3bn fine, pleads guilty to criminal charges
Canada-based financial institution TD Bank has announced its agreement to pay over USD 3 billion, pleading guilty to criminal charges related to money laundering in the US. As detailed by regulators, the fine follows TD Bank’s failure to appropriately monitor money laundering by drug cartels and other criminals, allowing them to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in unlawful funds….
Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison to be sentenced over crypto fraud
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former cryptocurrency executive Caroline Ellison is set to be sentenced on Tuesday for her role in her imprisoned former boyfriend Sam Bankman-Fried’s theft of about $8 billion in customer funds from the now-bankrupt FTX exchange he founded. Ellison has pleaded guilty to seven felony counts of fraud and conspiracy, and testified as a prosecution witness in…
Malaysian police rescue 187 more children as sex abuse probe of Islamic group deepens
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian police said Monday they have rescued 187 more children and raided locations nationwide linked to an Islamic business group that is being investigated for alleged sexual assault of children. National police chief Razarudin Husain said the children and young people, including 59 under age 5, were rescued from welfare homes linked to Global Ikhwan…
No criminal charges for US billionaire Carl Icahn, who used company funds to secure personal loans worth billions
US settles with billionaire Carl Icahn for using company to secure personal loans worth billions Billionaire Carl Icahn and his company were charged by U.S. regulators with failing to disclose personal loans worth billions of dollars that were secured using securities of Icahn Enterprises as collateral. Icahn Enterprises and Icahn have agreed to pay $1.5 million and $500,000 in civil…
George Santos due in court, expected to plead guilty in fraud case, AP source says
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos is due in court Monday afternoon, where a person familiar with the matter has said the New York Republican is expected to plead guilty to multiple counts in his federal fraud case. The person could not publicly discuss details of the plea and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Santos and his…
Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces scrutiny from UK competition watchdog
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Tuesday it’s looking into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, adding fresh regulatory scrutiny to investment money flooding into the AI industry. The Competition and Markets Authority said it’s seeking comments as it considers whether the deal between the two companies has resulted in a “substantial lessening of competition” in the United…
UK updates GL for subsidiaries of VTB & Sberbank
OFSI has updated General Licence INT/2022/1280876 which permits certain UK, EU and Guernsey subsidiaries of VTB and Sberbank (Russian banks) to make payment for basic needs, reasonable fees or service charges arising from routine holding and maintenance of its frozen funds and the payment of legal fees and insolvency-related services. § 5.2 of the GL has been amended to change the Insolvency…
Former Banker Asante Kwaku Berko Extradited from UK for Bribing Ghanaian Officials
A dual citizen of the United States and Ghana will make his initial appearance today in the Eastern District of New York to face charges related to his participation in a scheme to bribe Ghanaian officials to obtain and retain business from the Republic of Ghana. Asante Kwaku Berko, 50, was extradited yesterday from the United Kingdom to the United…
EU foreign ministers approve decision to transfer profits from Russian assets to Ukraine
BRUSSELS, June 24. /TASS/. At a regular meeting of the EU Council foreign ministers of 27 EU countries approved the decision to transfer 1.4 billion euros of profits from Russia’s frozen assets to the European Peace Facility for military assistance to Ukraine, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told a press conference following the results of the meeting. “The ministers…
US finds adds Japan to foreign exchange monitoring list
WASHINGTON – The US Treasury on June 20 said no major trading partner appeared to have manipulated its currency in 2023, but it added Japan to a foreign exchange “monitoring list”, alongside Singapore, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Germany, which were on the previous list. The Treasury’s semi-annual currency report found that none of the countries examined met all three…
Russia, China find payments workaround as US sanctions net widens, sources say
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia-China trade options have narrowed since the U.S. imposed sanctions last week on the only Russian bank branch in China, but President Vladimir Putin’s Chinese visit last month has helped ensure the two countries have payment alternatives for now, three sources said. Since Putin’s visit, specially authorised banks have been set up in border regions which allow Russian…
US sends submarine to Cuba after Russian ships arrive
USS Helena, a Los Angeles-class boat, arrived on Thursday for a “routine port visit,” the US Southern Command said in a statement. “The vessel’s location and transit were previously planned,” SOUTHCOM added, noting that the Helena is “conducting its global maritime security and national defense mission.” AP described the submarine’s arrival as “a show of force” by Washington, in response…
US and Poland set up center to fight ‘Russian disinformation’
The Warsaw-based facility will detect “deceptive narratives” on the Ukraine conflict, the US State Department has said. The United States and Poland have launched an international group based in Warsaw to counter what they describe as Russian disinformation on the Ukraine conflict, the US State Department has announced. The Ukraine Communications Group (UCG) is designed to detect “deceptive narratives” from…