Financial crimes

NatWest Group could face a fine of several hundred million pounds from the U.K.’s financial watchdog after pleading guilty to three criminal charges of money laundering.

A lawsuit filed by Attorney General Maura Healey last year said Credit Acceptance Corp. in Michigan made predatory loans to Bay State borrowers and used deceptive practices to collect debt.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is seeking nearly $19 million from David Julian, Claudia Russ Anderson and Paul McLinko. The trial before an administrative judge is scheduled to begin in South Dakota on Sept. 13.

Victor Ngo, 33, has pleaded guilty to making a false statement to JPMorgan Chase when he said his medical marijuana dispensary was a wellness and fitness company.

Banks are traditionally the target of anti-money-laundering regulations and law enforcement’s efforts to crack down on illicit finance. As the cryptocurrency sector grows, policymakers may subject it to customer identification requirements and other measures, analysts say.

Tech companies that help banks detect money laundering have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in recent months because of advances in their products. Observers suggest the vendors will have to diversify their offerings to survive in a crowded field.

Congress had been close to passing legislation to help banks serve cannabis firms. Now Democratic leaders have all but abandoned the effort, prioritizing a riskier proposal to decriminalize the drug.

Stephen Calk, the former CEO of Federal Savings Bank, wanted to be former President Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary, defense secretary or a top ambassador and approved loans to Trump ally Paul Manafort with that goal in mind, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have rested their case against onetime bank CEO Stephen Calk, who allegedly approved millions of dollars in loans in exchange for a potential job in the Trump administration. Federal Savings Bank employees have testified against Calk, whose lawyers have sought to shift blame to underlings

Stephen Calk, a Chicago banker, pushed through $16 million in sketchy loans to Donald Trump's onetime campaign manager because he "wanted a powerful government title," Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Rothman said in her opening statement in Calk's criminal bribery trial.