Category: banks

ING Belgium investigated as part of probe into ex-EU commissioner Reynders

ING Belgium INGA.AS is under investigation as part of an ongoing probe into alleged money laundering by former European Union commissioner Didier Reynders – who denies the charge. “The public prosecutor’s office confirms an investigation has been opened. No further comments will be made,” said a spokesperson for the Belgian prosecutor’s department on Wednesday, confirming an earlier report in Le Soir newspaper. The investigation will examine ING Belgium’s role in holding one of Reynders’ bank accounts, which had large sums…

CIBanco sues Treasury Department following money laundering allegations

CIBanco filed a complaint against the US Treasury Department before the Federal Court of the District of Columbia, following accusations against it of facilitating money laundering for criminal organizations. With this appeal, the Mexican bank seeks to stop the order issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) at the end of June, which will disconnect it from the US financial system on September 4. The lawsuit was filed on August 17 in the U.S. District Court for the District…

Trump says banks discriminate against his supporters while White House prepares order

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Aug 5 said he believes that banks discriminate against him and his supporters, adding that Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase had previously refused to accept his deposits. They totally discriminate against, I think, me maybe even more, but they discriminate against many conservatives,” he told CNBC in an interview. “I think the word might be Trump supporters more than conservatives.” Mr Trump made the comments when asked about a report by the…

Italy arrests 13 people in nationwide raids against Chinese mafia groups

ROME – Italian police arrested 13 people following a nationwide sweep against Chinese mafia groups, on charges including involvement in crimes such as drug dealing, sex trafficking and aggravated robbery, they said on Aug 4. Raids were conducted in 25 provinces, including Milan, Rome, Florence, Prato and Catania, anti-organised crime police official Andrea Olivadese said. Police reported a further 31 people to judicial authorities without arresting them, and seized 550 grams or around 5,500 doses of “shabu” crystal methamphetamines, and…

Brazilian banks scramble to understand scope of US sanctions on Supreme Court justice

BRASILIA – Brazilian banks are scrambling to assess the domestic fallout from sweeping U.S. sanctions against a Supreme Court justice who oversees a criminal trial against an ally of President Donald Trump, as legal teams weigh how the move to isolate the judge financially could ripple through Brazil’s financial system. Justice Alexandre de Moraes is presiding over the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right leader who is accused of plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 electoral loss….

Antidepressant Withdrawal: Why Do Researchers Keep Downplaying It?

When a major study appears in JAMA Psychiatry—a high-profile journal that shapes headlines and clinical decisions—its findings carry weight. So when Kalfas and colleagues released what they billed as the most comprehensive analysis of antidepressant withdrawal to date, it drew immediate attention. The study concluded that symptoms were generally “mild,” short-lived, and possibly amplified by nocebo effects—positioning itself as the last word on the subject. The authors mobilised a rapid media campaign to shape the public narrative, with the Science Media Centre issuing…

TikTok Hit By Fresh Controversies Over Data Access

By Emmanuel Kwada ‎TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media giant, is under fire again as Austria-based privacy group Noyb (None of Your Business) filed fresh complaints against the company on Thursday, accusing it of violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). ‎The complaints, also targeting AliExpress and WeChat, claim the companies failed to comply with data access requests, obstructing European users’ rights to understand how their personal data is processed. ‎Noyb, a prominent advocate for online privacy, previously filed complaints…

Money Laundering Scandal Rocks SunTrust Bank: EFCC Arraigns MD Halima Buba, Executive Director Over $12M Fraud

In a high-profile case that has sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s financial sector, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday, June 13, 2025, arraigned Halima Buba, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of SunTrust Bank Ltd, and Innocent Mbagwu, the bank’s Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer, before Justice Emeka Nwite at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The duo faces a six-count charge of money laundering involving a staggering $12 million, in what the EFCC describes as a blatant violation of…

UK MPs barred from entering Israel

Two pro-Palestinian British MPs were denied entry to Israel and subsequently deported after local authorities accused them of misrepresenting the nature of their visit and planning to promote campaigns targeting the state. Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, both members of the governing Labour Party, landed in Tel Aviv at 2:30pm local time on Saturday, accompanied by two aides. During questioning at Ben Gurion Airport, they told border officers they were part of an official UK parliamentary delegation – a claim…

News from Russia: Bosnia issues arrest warrant for Bosnian Serb leadership, Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik

Bosnian prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for the president, prime minister, and parliament speaker of Republika Srpska, the predominantly-Serb region within Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are accused of having launched an “attack on the constitutional order” by enacting laws that restrict the operations of Bosnia’s state-level judiciary and law enforcement agencies. Following a brutal civil war that pitted the former Yugoslav region’s ethno-religious groups against one another, Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two self-governing entities, the ethnically Serbian Republika Srpska…

New India Cooperative Bank former GM in police custody for fraud allegations

On Sunday, Mumbai Police arrested Dharmesh Paun, private developer from Kandivali, in connection with the New India Cooperative Bank scam (NICB). According to the police, Paun allegedly received illicit funds from the bank’s General Manager and Account Head, Hitesh Mehta, who was also arrested Saturday. The scam was uncovered during an audit at the bank’s headquarters in Prabhadevi last Wednesday, when RBI officials discovered funds missing from the vault. Mehta, who has been with the bank since 1988, reportedly confessed…

TD’s chief compliance officer departs amid US anti-money laundering probe

TD Bank’s (TD.TO), opens new tab chief compliance officer has left the bank, according to a memo sent internally, at a time the Canadian lender faces U.S. regulators and the Justice Department in a probe related to its anti-money laundering program. Monica Kowal, who joined the bank in 2017, left the company this week, and will be replaced by Deputy Chief Compliance Officer Erin Morrow who will report to Chief Risk Officer Ajai Bambawale, according the memo sent in late June, seen by…

TD Bank global anti-money laundering officer stepping down

TD Bank (TD.TO), opens new tab said on Thursday Chief Global Anti-Money Laundering Officer Herbert Mazariegos is stepping down immediately, as the bank takes remediation actions after it was fined by U.S. regulators for compliance failures. Mazariegos joined TD in November 2023 from Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), opens new tab, where he served as the chief anti-money laundering officer for over four years. He was hired as part of TD’s push to revamp its risk and compliance team. Mazariegos, hired while outgoing CEO…

Tax evasion: UBS / Credit Suisse to pay a $2.5 billion fine

UBS is reportedly preparing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to resolve allegations that Credit Suisse violated a prior agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding U.S.-based customers who evaded taxes, according to the Wall Street Journal. In 2023, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee found that Credit Suisse, now owned by UBS, breached its 2014 plea agreement with U.S. authorities by continuing to assist ultra-wealthy Americans in tax evasion and concealment of more than $700 million from the…

Vanguard reaches deal with US bank regulator over control of bank stakes

Vanguard reaches deal with US bank regulator over control of bank stakes (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said on Friday it has struck a passivity agreement with Vanguard, to help the regulator better monitor the money manager’s interests in large banks. According to the deal, Vanguard is strictly prohibited from engaging in activities that influence the management or policies of institutions regulated by the FDIC, or their subsidiaries. Through “passivity agreements,” investors commit to regulators that they…

Vanguard strikes deal with FDIC over huge holdings in US banks, agrees to new oversight of its investments in some US lenders

Vanguard has bowed to regulatory pressure and agreed to new oversight of its investments in some US lenders, a decision that could have sweeping implications for money managers and banks. The deal, which the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp disclosed on Friday, will allow Vanguard’s funds to continue to be huge shareholders in a wide swath of the country’s banks while also increasing the watchdog’s supervisory power over the $10tn money manager. Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street have amassed large…