Investigative Report Says Credit Suisse Harbored Dirty Money From Criminals, Fraudsters And Corrupt Politicians

 

The Guardian: Revealed: Credit Suisse leak unmasks criminals, fraudsters and corrupt politicians 

* Massive leak reveals secret owners of £80bn held in Swiss bank 

* Whistleblower leaked bank’s data to expose ‘immoral’ secrecy laws 

* Clients included human trafficker and billionaire who ordered girlfriend’s murder 

* Vatican-owned account used to spend €350m in allegedly fraudulent investment 

* Scandal-hit Credit Suisse rejects allegations it may be ‘rogue bank’ 

A massive leak from one of the world’s biggest private banks, Credit Suisse, has exposed the hidden wealth of clients involved in torture, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption and other serious crimes. 

Details of accounts linked to 30,000 Credit Suisse clients all over the world are contained in the leak, which unmasks the beneficiaries of more than 100bn Swiss francs (£80bn) held in one of Switzerland’s best-known financial institutions. 

The leak points to widespread failures of due diligence by Credit Suisse, despite repeated pledges over decades to weed out dubious clients and illicit funds. 

The Guardian is part of a consortium of media outlets given exclusive access to the data.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Credit Suisse is saying this is old news .... Swiss bank Credit Suisse says rogue accounts are from the past (Reuters). More here .... Credit Suisse rejects allegations made in media reports on client criminality (MINT/WSJ). 

Investigative Report Says Credit Suisse Harbored Dirty Money From Former Soviet Republics, Balkans  

Arab Rulers and Spy Chiefs Stashed Millions in Swiss Bank -- New York Times  

Credit Suisse faces fresh scrutiny over culture after client data leaks -- CNBC 

Investigative Report Says Credit Suisse Harbored Dirty Money From Former Soviet Republics, Balkans -- RFE  

Credit Suisse had autocrats, criminals as clients — report -- DW 

'SwissLeaks' probe says Credit Suisse bank handled dirty money over decades -- France 24 

Credit Suisse leak reportedly shows dictators, pop star’s killer among clients -- NYPost  

Revealed: king of Jordan used Swiss accounts to hoard massive wealth -- The Guardian 

How Swiss banking secrecy enabled an unequal global financial system -- The Guardian

Africa Is Losing $89 Billion Per Year Through Tax Evasion And Theft

Reuters: Illegal money flows from Africa near $90 billion, U.N. study says

GENEVA (Reuters) - Africa is losing nearly $89 billion a year in illicit financial flows such as tax evasion and theft, amounting to more than it receives in development aid, a U.N. study showed on Monday.

The estimate, in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) 248-page report, is its most comprehensive to date for Africa. It shows an increasing trend over time and is higher than most previous estimates.

The report calls Africa a “net creditor to the world,” echoing economists’ observations that the aid-reliant continent is actually a net exporter of capital because of these trends.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Only $89 billion. For one year that is a small amount. But over 15 years we are talking big money .... Africa’s ‘lost $836bn through illegal transfers’.

More News On Africa Losing $89 Billion Per Year Through Tax Evasion And Theft

Africa could gain $89 billion annually by curbing illicit financial flows -- UN Trade and Development
Illicit capital robbing Africa and its people of their future: UN trade and development chief -- UN News
Illicit money flows from Africa near $89bn, UN study says -- Al Jazeera

FinCEN Files: Leaked US Files Show Global Banks Reported $2 Trillion In Suspicious Transactions Over Two Decades

Daily Mail: Some of the world's biggest banks including HSBC and Barclays 'let criminals and fraudsters move dirty money around the globe – in some cases even after being told' global investigation reveals

* Two trillion dollar's worth of transactions were analysed from leaked dossiers
* The five banks which featured most in the documents were HSBC, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, Bank of New York Mellon
* Documents are said to reveal 'banking system's most closely guarded secrets'
* Also reported to show how Russian oligarchs avoid being hit by sanctions

Some of the world's biggest banks let criminals and fraudsters move dirty money around the world, according to leaked financial dossiers.

Banking papers detailing $2 trillion in dealings were analysed after being leaked to Buzzfeed News and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which distributed them to 108 news organisations, BBC Panorama said.

HSBC is one of several international banks whose name appears most in the cache of thousands of secret US government documents called the FinCEN files.

They show that HSBC continued shuttling funds through to accounts in Hong Kong months after it was warned about the Ponzi scheme worth £62 million.

Read more ....

More News On Leaked Files That Show Global Banks Reported $2 Trillion In Suspicious Transactions Over Two Decades

The FinCEN Files -- ICIJ
Dirty money pours into the world’s most powerful banks. -- BuzzFeed News
Explore Thousands Of Suspicious Payments Sent Around The World -- BuzzFeed News
The FinCEN files: Dirty little secrets of the world's banks revealed in mass US government leak -- ABC News Online
Global Banks Reported $2 Trillion In Suspicious Transactions Over Two Decades, New Report Shows -- RFE
FinCEN Files: Deutsche Bank tops list of suspicious transactions -- DW
'FinCEN' documents reportedly show banks moved illicit funds - BuzzFeed, ICIJ -- Reuters
World's biggest banks 'allowed criminals to launder dirty money', leaked documents allege -- SKY News
FinCEN Files: Sanctioned Putin associate ‘laundered millions’ through Barclays -- BBC
FinCEN Files: HSBC moved Ponzi scheme millions despite warning -- BBC
Leak reveals $2tn of possibly corrupt US financial activity -- The Guardian
FinCEN leak paints picture of indiscriminate money laundering with help of world’s largest banks as govt turns blind eye -- RT
The FinCEN Files -- OCCRP
FinCEN Files: Tracing the flow of dirty money -- DW
FinCEN Files: All you need to know about the documents leak -- BBC

Are Estonia's Banks The Money-Laundering Nexus For The World?

Zero Hedge: Estonian Central Bank Exposed As $1 Trillion Money-Laundering Nexus

The fallout from the Danske Bank money laundering scandal has rattled the European financial system as $235 billion that flowed through the bank's tiny Estonian branch - an amount that dwarfs the Baltic nation's GDP - has been deemed by the bank's auditors to be suspicious.

And while that might seem like a staggering sum and raise questions about how regulators on the Continent managed to overlook this, the full scale of the money laundering that took place in the Baltics is even more staggering. According to data provided to Bloomberg by the Estonian central bank in Tallinn, Estonian banks handled about 900 billion euros, or $1.04 trillion, in cross-border transactions - a figure that includes the highly suspect non-resident flows - between 2008 and 2015.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: I am willing to bet that a lot of this money is from Russia.

Massive Russian Money Laundering Operation Using British And U.S. Banks Unveiled

The Guardian: British banks handled vast sums of laundered Russian money

Exclusive: Billions of dollars were moved out of Russia in ‘Global Laundromat’ operation, with anonymously owned UK companies playing major role

Britain’s high street banks processed nearly $740m from a vast money-laundering operation run by Russian criminals with links to the Russian government and the KGB, the Guardian can reveal.

HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, Barclays and Coutts are among 17 banks based in the UK, or with branches here, that are facing questions over what they knew about the international scheme and why they did not turn away suspicious money transfers.

Read more ....

More News On A Massive Russian Money Laundering Operation Using British And U.S. Banks Unveiled

How 'dirty money' from Russia flooded into the UK – and where it went -- The Guardian
Russian money and the 'Global Laundromat': what banks said -- The Guardian
British banks 'processed dirty cash from £65bn Russian money laundering operation' -- The Independent
UK banks accused over multi-billion Russia cash claims -- SKY Names
UK banks 'involved in multibillion-pound Russian money-laundering scam' -- Belfast Telegraph
Three-year probe finds laundered Russian money was 'processed through British banks' -- International Business Times
Stolen Russian billions ended up in EU states -- EU Observer
Dutch banks accused of aiding Russian money laundering scheme -- NL Times

Panama Papers: Biggest Leak In History Reveals How The Rich And Powerful Hide Their Money

Daily Mail: Putin and the 'Dirty Dozen': 11million leaked documents reveal how TWELVE world leaders – plus Russian leader's inner circle, British politicians and Lords – hide their millions in tax havens

* 11million financial documents have been leaked from Panamanian law firm
* Show how world's rich and powerful use offshore tax havens to hide wealth
* Twelve current or former world leaders implicated along with UK politicians
* Russian president Vladimir Putin's friends appear to have earned millions
* Leak is bigger than the amount of data stolen by Edward Snowden in 2013
* German newspaper obtained documents but identity of source is unknown

The biggest financial data leak in history has revealed how Vladimir Putin's inner circle and a 'dirty dozen' list of world leaders are using offshore tax havens to hide their wealth.

A host of celebrities, British politicians and the global rich are all implicated in the so-called Panama Papers - a leak of 11million files which contain more data than the amount stolen by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013.

Documents were leaked from one of the world's most secretive companies, Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, and show how the company has allegedly helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax.

Lord Ashcroft, Baroness Pamela Sharples and former Tory MP Michael Mates are among the British politicians named in the data release, while several dictators make up the 12 world leaders.

German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung obtained the files and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists but the identity of the source who leaked them and how it was done is unknown.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: There has been a rumour for the past few weeks that an expose on Putin's financial holdings was going to be released .... I guess this is it .... and in revealing Putin they are revealing evryone else. I have been spending the past 3 hours reading all and everything on this story. Cannot say that I am surprised .... but it is good to see it being exposed as it is right now. The newspaper that broke this story and its exclusive is here (it is in English) .... PANAMA PAPERS: The secrets of dirty money (Suddeutsche Zeitung).

Update: The law firm responsible for all of these tax havens has responded .... Mossack Fonseca’s response to the Panama Papers (The Guardian).

WNU Editor: This is a huge story. $32 trillion in assets hidden in shelter companies that are based in tax havens. Tens of thousands of companies and individuals involved. I expect there is going to be a lot of fall-out from this expose .... starting with the tax audits and tax investigations of people who have now been revealed in this expose. As to the political implications .... it is going to be enormous and long lasting for those who have been named.

More News On The Panama Papers

ICIJ/OCCRP Panama Papers project yields unprecedented access to high level offshore corruption -- OCCRP
Panama Papers: Mossack Fonseca leak reveals elite's tax havens -- BBC
Revealed: the $2bn offshore trail that leads to Vladimir Putin -- The Guardian
'Panama Papers' reveal how the rich hide money offshore -- DW
Panama Papers: biggest leak in history published by German newspaper -- Euronews
'Panama Papers': World leaders, politicians, celebrities hide fortunes offshore -- UPI
Panama leak draws scrutiny to offshore havens -- Financial Times
Huge data leak shows how world's rich hide their money -- Al Jazeera
A massive leak of documents connects Putin and other world leaders to offshore deals -- Quartz
Panama Papers: Massive Tax Haven Document Leak Exposes Corruption and Crime on Global Scale -- Haaretz
Super rich hiding up to $32 trillion offshore -- Al Jazeera
Panama Papers: Mossack Fonseca Leak Reveals Widespread International Corruption -- IBTimes
Massive document leak taints 140 int'l politicians, officials -- FOX News
Massive Document Leak Reveals Offshore Accounts Of World Leaders -- NPR
Panama Papers: Millions of leaked documents reveal how world’s rich and powerful hid money -- The Independent
Panama Papers: Document leak exposes global corruption, secrets of the rich -- CBC
Massive ‘Panama Papers’ leak reveals how world leaders, celebrities, billionaires are using shady off-shore company to hide their riches -- New York Daily News
Massive leak reveals money rings of global leaders -- USA Today
Massive Document Leak Details Offshore Accounts Connected to Putin and Other Leaders -- Fortune
Putin associates had $2 billion in offshore accounts, report says -- Washington Post
Panama Papers: Putin associates linked to 'money laundering' -- BBC
International Journalists Say Putin Associates Ran $2 Billion Through Offshore Accounts -- VOA
In search of Putin's money -- Al Jazeera
Australian tax office probes hundreds for possible tax evasion after Panama Papers leak -- Reuters
Panama Papers: Iceland PM's investments questioned -- BBC
Leaked papers give Fifa ethics committee new credibility crisis -- The Guardian
Panama Papers: ATO investigating more than 800 Australian clients of Mossack Fonseca -- Sydney Morning Herald
The Panama Papers: Massive Leak Reveals the Global Elite's Secret Cash Havens -- Vice
Here are the famous politicos in ‘the Wikileaks of the mega-rich’ -- Fusion
Worldwide, jaws drop to 'Panama Papers' leak -- USA Today
Largest leak ever: Whistleblower reveals global elite crime network -- Inforwars
A world of hidden wealth: why we are shining a light offshore -- The Guardian
Panama law firm safeguards murky offshore secrets -- News & Observer
Panama Papers and Mossack Fonseca explained -- Lisa Main and Elise Worthington, ABC Nes Online
Panama Papers Q&A: How assets are hidden and taxes dodged -- BBC
The Panama Papers: what you need to know -- Luke Harding, The Guardian
The largest leak of secret documents in history was just released — here are its key findings -- Business Insider
Panama Papers: Jurgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca - the lawyers whose firm is at the centre of global controversy -- The Independent

A Look At Where The World's 'Hot Money' Comes From

Zero Hedge: Visualizing The World's "Hot" Money

Every year, roughly $1 trillion flows illegally out of developing and emerging economies due to crime, corruption, and tax evasion. This amount is more than these countries receive in foreign direct investment and foreign aid combined.

This week, a new report was released that highlights the latest data available on this “hot” money. Assembled by Global Financial Integrity, a research and advisory organization based in Washington, DC, the report details illicit financial flows of money from developing countries using the latest information available, which is up until the end of 2013.

WNU Editor: The numbers from Russia and China do not surprise me, and those from Mexico have more to do with its expatriate population in the U.S.. But Malaysia?!?!?!

A Different Standard For The Banks When They Are Caught 'Money Laundering'

Photo: Syed Jan Sabawoon/USAID

Michael Daly, Daily Beast: Cartel Turned Drug Money Into Gold

After HSBC was caught laundering $881 million, the Sinaloa cartel turned to ‘Walt Disney.’ Now he faces 20 years in jail or losing his fingers.

After the mega-bank HSBC was caught laundering $881 million in narco-cash, the Sinaloa cartel began funneling a big chunk of its profits through a cash-for-gold-for-cash scheme whose alleged ringleaders include a fretful fellow with the alias “Walt Disney.”

Also known more familiarly as Don Walt, Carlos Parra-Pedroza and 31 others are said to have laundered more than $101 million in cartel bucks, in what the U.S. Attorney in Chicago terms a money-laundering organization (MLO).

And, unlike HSBC, Don Walt and his codefendants are most definitely not considered too big to jail.

WNU Editor: If you are prepared to do the crime .... be prepared to do the time. But for bankers .... it does look like they get a pass.

How A US Bank Laundered Billions For The Mexican Drug Cartels

How A Big US Bank Laundered Billions From Mexico's Murderous Drug Gangs -- The Guardian

As the violence spread, billions of dollars of cartel cash began to seep into the global financial system. But a special investigation by the Observer reveals how the increasingly frantic warnings of one London whistleblower were ignored

On 10 April 2006, a DC-9 jet landed in the port city of Ciudad del Carmen, on the Gulf of Mexico, as the sun was setting. Mexican soldiers, waiting to intercept it, found 128 cases packed with 5.7 tons of cocaine, valued at $100m. But something else – more important and far-reaching – was discovered in the paper trail behind the purchase of the plane by the Sinaloa narco-trafficking cartel.

During a 22-month investigation by agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and others, it emerged that the cocaine smugglers had bought the plane with money they had laundered through one of the biggest banks in the United States: Wachovia, now part of the giant Wells Fargo.

Read more ....

My Comment: The stat that caught my eye was the following ....

.... More shocking, and more important, the bank was sanctioned for failing to apply the proper anti-laundering strictures to the transfer of $378.4bn – a sum equivalent to one-third of Mexico's gross national product – into dollar accounts from so-called casas de cambio (CDCs) in Mexico, currency exchange houses with which the bank did business.

What is even more shocking .... not one bank official has gone to jail for these crimes.

Update: Hmmmm .... international banks are

Largest Money-Laundering Scam In History?

Explanation: Bharara speaks beside a chart detailing the operation of the Costa Rica-based company

Online Currency Company Founder Indicted For Largest Money-Laundering Scam In History 'After Website Users Carried Out Millions Of Criminal Transactions Worth $6 BILLION' -- Daily Mail

* Arthur Budovsky, founder of Liberty Reserve, arrested in Spain on Friday
* Six others have also been charged in $6 billion money transfer scheme
* Liberty Reserve allowed users to convert money to online currency
* Transactions 'hid the proceeds of crimes including credit card fraud, child pornography, identity theft and drugs trafficking'
* U.S. Attorney: 'It was the bank of choice for the criminal underworld'

The founder of an internet company that allows users to convert money to an online currency has been indicted in the U.S. for a massive $6 billion money-laundering scheme - in what authorities have called the largest case of its kind in history.

Arthur Budovsky, the founder of Liberty Reserve, was arrested in Spain on Friday.

The Costa Rica-based company, which had more than one million users, allegedly helped hide 55 million illegal transactions across the world, authorities said today.

In total, seven people indicted for their alleged part in the cyber network, which authorities said was 'staggering' in scope. Budovsky's partner, Vladimir Kats, is in custody in New York.

Read more ....

More News On Liberty Reserve Being Shut Down In A $6bn Money Laundering Case

U.S. accuses currency exchange of laundering $6 billion -- Reuters
US charges seven men over Liberty Reserve digital cash laundering -- The Australian/Wall Street Journal
Liberty Reserve shut down in $6bn money laundering case -- The Telegraph
US prosecutors: Liberty Reserve ran $6bn money-laundering scheme -- The Guardian
Police in 17 Countries Smash Huge Money Laundering Scheme -- Voice of America
Feds bust online currency firm in $6B money-laundering scheme -- CBS/AP
Secret Service busts $6 billion money laundering scheme -- FOX News
Digital currency exchange accused of biggest money laundering scheme ever -- RT
Online Service Is Accused in Laundering of $6 Billion -- New York Times
7 charged in $6B online money-laundering case -- Miami Herald
Liberty Reserve website at center of $6 billion money-laundering scheme: prosecutors -- New York Daily News
Liberty Reserve Founder Indicted on $6 Billion Money-Laundering Charges -- Threat Level
Alleged $6 billion money-laundering network busted -- USA Today
Liberty Reserve founder arrested in Spain -- The Guardian

How To Hinder Money Laundering

How To Halt The Terrorist Money Train -- Robert Mazur, New York Times

LAST month, HSBC admitted in court pleadings that it had allowed big Mexican and Colombian drug cartels to launder at least $881 million. The bank also admitted to using various schemes to move hundreds of millions of dollars to nations subject to trade sanctions, including Iran, Cuba and Sudan, in violation of the Trading With the Enemy Act. “On at least one occasion,” according to a statement by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer, “HSBC instructed a bank in Iran on how to format payment messages so that the transactions would not be blocked or rejected by the United States.”

Read more ....

My Comment: I agree with Robert Mazur's solution ... putting bankers in jail for long periods of time (plus heavy fines) will severely hinder this trade.

Money Continues To Pour Out Of Afghanistan

Idle bulk-currency counters at Kabul International Airport. SIGAR

Vast Sums Of Aid Continue To Be Stolen In Afghanistan -- Christian Science Monitor

Despite years of supposed effort to stop money laundering out of Kabul airport, billions continue to flow from the country unchecked.

In the summer of 2010, the US decided to do something about the enormous sucking sound being generated by the bulk cash shipments funneling through Afghanistan's Kabul airport and on to Dubai, Zurich, and London – every point of the compass, really.

With Afghanistan's two principal cash crops being opium and slicing chunks off the top of international aid, there were no prizes for guessing where the tens of billions of dollars transferred from Afghanistan since the US-led war began in 2002 came from, or how the luxury villas of so many Afghan officials in the United Arab Emirates had been paid for.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan's Problem Of Corruption

Kabul Is The Best Place In The World To Move Boatloads Of Unmarked Cash -- Business Insider
U.S. report: Afghans still funneling cash out of country -- Washington Times
Despite U.S. aid, little progress in monitoring Kabul airport cash flow -- Reuters
US report says Kabul airport not using its currency counters to track cash leaving Afghanistan -- Washington Post/AP
Watchdog: Kabul airport still not counting cash -- Foreign Policy
Elites Still Bypassing Measures to Combat Money Laundering -- Time
U.S. finds Afghan anti-corruption efforts ‘deeply troubling’ -- Washington Post

Standard Chartered Reaches $340 Million Settlement With The US For Laundering Iranian Funds

Standard Chartered Reaches $340 Million Settlement Over Iran -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Standard Chartered Plc will pay $340 million to New York's bank regulator over transactions linked to Iran, in a speedily arranged deal likely to cheer its shareholders.

The deal with New York Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin Lawsky still left the British bank facing a separate probe of Iran-linked transactions by other U.S. authorities.

The deal on Tuesday capped a week of transatlantic tension and a furor over why a state agency had upstaged the other authorities.

The resolution also averted a hearing on Wednesday at which the bank had been called to demonstrate why its license to do business in New York should not be revoked.

Read more ....

More News On Standard Chartered Reaching A Settlement With New York For Laundering Iranian Funds

British Bank in $340 Million Settlement for Laundering -- Wall Street Journal
Bank Settles Iran Money Case -- Wall Street Journal
Standard Chartered to pay $340 million to settle with N.Y. over Iran charges -- Washington Post
Bank settles Iran money probe in NY for $340M -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP
N.Y. Settles Standard Chartered Probe For $340 Million -- Bloomberg
Standard Chartered pay $340m fine to New York bank regulator -- The Guardian
Standard Chartered to pay $340m settlement over Iran investigation -- The Telegraph

My Comment: This is outrageous. People should be going to jail for this, and Business Chartered should have it's US license canceled.

Mexico's Drug Cartels Transfer $40Billion A Year

Mexico’s Cartels Transfer $40B Yearly From U.S.: Report -- Toronto Star/Bloomberg

Mexico’s drug trafficking cartels repatriate almost $40 billion every year after laundering the money in the U.S., newspaper El Universal reported Wednesday, citing an interview with retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey, the White House’s anti-drug czar from 1996 to 2001.

The criminals use 10 highways in the U.S., particularly in Texas, to transfer the money in cash to Mexico, McCaffrey said, according to the newspaper.

Read more ....

My Comment: Only $40 billion?

HSBC Permitted Drug Kingpins And Rogue Nations To Use Their Bank Services

HSBC apologised for its lapses, said reforms had been put in place, and admitted it was 'horrified' by what it found. Photograph: Gary Cameron/Reuters

HSBC Used By 'Drug Kingpins', Says US Senate -- BBC

HSBC provided a conduit for "drug kingpins and rogue nations", according to a US Senate committee investigating money laundering claims at the bank.

Its report said suspicious funds from countries including Mexico, Iran and Syria had passed through the bank.

The president and chief executive of HSBC Bank USA, Irene Dorner, apologised to the committee for the behaviour which she said deeply regretted.

Earlier, HSBC's head of compliance, David Bagley, resigned at the hearing.

Read more ....

More News ON HSBC Link To Drug Kingpins And Rogue Nations

HSBC 'sorry' for aiding Mexican drugs lords, rogue states and terrorists -- The Guardian
HSBC contrite as senators hammer money-laundering lapses -- Reuters
HSBC accused by Senate of allowing billions in Mexican drug cartel cash to be laundered -- CBS/AP
HSBC linked to drug lords and terrorists, Senate report alleges -- L.A. Times
HSBC Allowed Laundering, U.S. Probe Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
HSBC’s U.S. Bank Regulator Was ‘Lapdog,’ Senator Coburn Says -- Bloomberg
Regulators and HSBC Are Faulted by Senate -- Dealbook/New York Times
HSBC's Laid Back Ways Lead to Money Laundering, Report Says -- Fox News/AP
HSBC head of compliance stepping down; executives apologize for lapses -- Washington Post/AP
HSBC compliance boss quits during hearing -- Financial Times
HSBC's Compliance Chief to Step Down -- Wall Street Journal

My Comment: Bank officials should be going to jail .... for a long time .... and government bank regulators should be fired and barred from working in the financial field. But .... do not be surprised if nothing will happen ... such is the deep corruption in our government and financial institutions.

Report: Lebanon's Banks Used By Iran To Evade Sanctions

Beirut Banks Funneling Illicit Funds For Hezbollah -- Jerusalem Post

Report says Hezbollah using Lebanon’s banks in money-laundering scheme, calls on firms to dump Lebanese debt.

In a move that could destabilize Beirut’s financial position, a US pressure group urged international financial firms on Tuesday to ditch Lebanese debt and securities, saying that Hezbollah is using Lebanon’s banks in a large scale money-laundering scheme that is also helping Iran evade banking sanctions.

Read more ....

My Comment: If this report is true .... and if Iran is involved .... this case would make it to be one of the world's largest laundering schemes ever.

Legitimate Trade Is Being Used To Launder Cartel Money, U.S., Mexico Say

(Click on Image to Enlarge)
( Paul Duginski, Los Angeles Times / November 26, 2011 )

Cartels Use Legitimate Trade To Launder Money, U.S., Mexico say -- L.A. Times

Fruit, fabric and toys are purchased and then exported south, generating paperwork that gives drug money the appearance of lawful proceeds from a transaction, authorities say.

Reporting from Mexico City — It's fast becoming the money-laundering method of choice for Mexican drug traffickers, U.S. and Mexican officials say, and it involves truckloads not of cash, but of fruit and fabric.

Faced with new restrictions on the use of U.S. cash in Mexico, drug cartels are using an ingenuous scheme to move their ill-gotten dollars south under the guise of legitimate cross-border commerce.

Read more ....

My Comment: The money has to go somewhere.

Is Hezbollah Working With International Cocaine Cartels?

The LCB headquarters in Beirut. The Daily Star

Beirut Bank Seen As A Hub Of Hezbollah’s Financing -- New York Times

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Last February, the Obama administration accused one of Lebanon’s famously secretive banks of laundering money for an international cocaine ring with ties to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Now, in the wake of the bank’s exposure and arranged sale, its ledgers have been opened to reveal deeper secrets: a glimpse at the clandestine methods that Hezbollah — a terrorist organization in American eyes that has evolved into Lebanon’s pre-eminent military and political power — uses to finance its operations. The books offer evidence of an intricate global money-laundering apparatus that, with the bank as its hub, appeared to let Hezbollah move huge sums of money into the legitimate financial system, despite sanctions aimed at cutting off its economic lifeblood.

Read more ....

More News On Allegations That Hezbollah Is Involved In The Cocaine/Money Laundering Trade

Hezbollah Allegedly Helps Cartels Launder Coke Money -- Danger Room
US Charges Lebanese National With Ties to Hezbollah Financing -- Voice of America
Hezbollah's Alleged Ties To South American Cocaine Trade Detailed --
Bank ledgers reveal Hezbollah drug racket -- Sydney Morning Herald
Lebanese Drug Lord Charged in US: Links to Zetas and Hezbollah -- ABC News
NYT: Hezbollah used LCB to launder money -- Daily Star
Report: Lebanese bank laundered drug money -- UPI
Hizbollah accused of being funded by drug traffickers -- The National
New insights into the sources of Hezbollah's money -- Jo Becker, The Hindu

International Banks Help Mexico's Drug Gangs Launder Their Money

International Banks Have Aided Mexican Drug Gangs -- L.A. Times

Despite strict rules, some banks have failed to 'know their customer' or ask about the source of large amounts of cash, allowing billions in dirty money from Mexico to be laundered.

Reporting from Mexico City — Money launderers for ruthless Mexican drug gangs have long had a formidable ally: international banks.

Despite strict rules set by international regulatory bodies that require banks to "know their customer," make inquiries about the source of large deposits of cash and report suspicious activity, they have failed to do so in a number of high-profile cases and instead have allowed billions in dirty money to be laundered.

Read more ....

Previous Post: Hitting Mexico's Drug Lords Where It Hurts

My Comment: Nothing is going to change this .... there are too many hands in the pie that changing this will be a Herculean effort .... that will fail.

Hitting Mexico's Drug lords Where It Hurts

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Mexico Seeks To Fill Drug War Gap With Focus On Dirty Money -- L.A. Times

The evolving anti-laundering campaign could change the tone of the Mexican government's battle by striking at the heart of the cartels' financial empire, analysts say.

Reporting from Mexico City — Tainted drug money runs like whispered rumors all over Mexico's economy — in gleaming high-rises in beach resorts such as Cancun, in bustling casinos in Monterrey, in skyscrapers and restaurants in Mexico City that sit empty for months. It seeps into the construction sector, the night-life industry, even political campaigns.

Piles of greenbacks, enough to fill dump trucks, are transformed into gold watches, showrooms full of Hummers, aviation schools, yachts, thoroughbred horses and warehouses full of imported fabric.

Read more ....

My Comment: The only way to have an impact on Mexico's drug cartels is to hit them where it hurts .... their pocketbooks.