Financial crimes

Banks are still seeking clarity from law enforcement on how to handle the alleged protesters’ accounts. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said some accounts have already been frozen as part of a financial crackdown on those accused of paralyzing the nation's capital.

Coinbase Global, Gemini Trust and Robinhood Markets are among firms helping to build a platform to comply with a U.S. money laundering rule as crypto and financial technology companies seek to satisfy existing requirements and head off stricter oversight.

The registry created by the law — whose implementing rules are being written now — is worse than useless, pairing unverified data with severe penalties for misuse. It will confuse bankers, burden small businesses and embolden crooks.

The Knoble, a nonprofit, is bringing together bank financial crime experts, law enforcement officers and the tech company Prove to help identify criminals and their victims in Los Angeles.

Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, were arrested for allegedly masterminding the 2016 scheme. They are scheduled to appear at federal court in Manhattan Tuesday afternoon.

Stephen Calk had argued against incarceration, while prosecutors asked for 51 to 63 months behind bars. The ousted bank CEO was convicted of approving $16 million of loans in exchange for Paul Manafort’s help in landing a job in the Trump administration.

The U.S. Treasury Department is looking more closely at potential money laundering and the financing of terrorism through trading high-value art.

A proposal by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network would create a pilot program allowing banks to do something they've long wanted: share suspicious activity reports with their own units in other countries. But many banks may take a pass if the agency doesn't ease the compliance requirements, experts say.

Cryptocurrency kiosks are increasingly suspected of being used in the smuggling of human beings and drugs. Law enforcement agencies need more information about their locations, according to a government watchdog report.

The Financial Conduct Authority has fined a U.K. unit of HSBC Holdings 64 million pounds ($85 million) after finding “serious weaknesses” in the automated processes it used to monitor suspicious transactions, the latest example of the watchdog’s increasingly assertive stance against the firms it regulates.

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and six other large banks may have information about billions of dollars looted from Libya by its former dictator Moammar Al Qaddafi, the Libya government said in a subpoena application. 

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed standards to determine which companies must report their beneficial owners under a law enacted in January. Banks hope the new requirements will free them of the burden of collecting true-owner information about their customers.

President Biden says his administration is focused on policing cryptocurrency crimes to combat corruption globally and is taking advantage of a newly formed Department of Justice task force, according to an anti-graft report released Monday.

The regulator has a policy that allows it to convert public enforcement actions into informal, nonpublic ones in cases where banks haven't fully met their obligations. Its inspector general says that the practice may give a false impression to customers and investors.

American Express said it discontinued a service known as Premium Wire and terminated some employees after workers inappropriately positioned the product to customers. 

Regulators are requiring an operational overhaul at The Federal Savings Bank. Its former CEO Stephen Calk, who sought a job in the Trump administration, was convicted in connection with loans the bank made to onetime Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort.

The bank was fined $150 million for anti-money-laundering violations because it missed — or ignored — numerous red flags in its dealings with the convicted sex offender. Here's what it should have done differently.

A former Wells Fargo investment advisor stole nearly $3 million from clients and used the money for personal expenses and to buy gold coins, federal prosecutors said.

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.