During his corruption scheme, former congressman William Jefferson is thought to have hidden bribe monies in his refrigerator. He also apparently hid bribe monies by using shell companies formed in Delaware, Nigeria and other places. U.S. law enforcement officers were able to search for these illicit assets through search warrants and a letter rogatory seeking
Mr. Pascal Gossin is the head of Switzerland’s Mutual Legal Assistance Unit, (“the Unit”), which is part of the Federal Office of Justice. Mr. Gossin was a fellow speaker at the Carmelite Chambers International Fraud & Asset Recovery Conference, which I attended last month.
If the Unit suspects a dictator or other Politically
This is the first post in the “Divorce & Hidden Money” series:
During ultra-high net worth divorces, one party can conceal vast sums of money from the other by going offshore. Stated differently, divorcing spouses may hide their wealth by utilizing cross-border elements, as money launderers do. The Financial Action Task Force
Seizing mob assets and tipping the SEC:
As a DEA Special Agent, Donnie worked in Bolivia, Puerto Rico and Peru. He had also been a liaison with the Mexican Federal Judicial Police. After retiring from the DEA, Donnie taught Iraqi border policeman a variety of things, including how to detect cash and drugs hidden through smuggling. Through his work, Donnie became highly
The article “Wirapol Sukphol, Jet-Set Buddhist Monk Shocks Thailand With Religious Scandal” discusses a Buddhist monk in Thailand suspected of misappropriating charitable donations to support his life of luxury. This article indicates that the now former monk Wirapol Sukphol, may have collected charitable donations by swindling donors, to whom he reportedly once said:
International asset recovery and suspected trade-based money laundering:
U.S. prosecutors issued a press release yesterday announcing the extradition of former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo. Mr. Portillo’s extradition to the United States was based on his alleged money laundering.
Yesterday, Mr. Portillo was also arraigned in federal court in Manhattan. Although Mr. Portillo was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal, the
The ACAMS / MoneyLaundering.com article “FATF’s Focus on Asset Forfeiture Could Challenge Some Nations”, especially raises the issue of recovering corruption proceeds. Near the end of this article, I am mentioned as saying that as part of their effort to crack down on corruption, Financial Action Task Force examiners may expect jurisdictions to track bribes paid by local companies to foreign governments:
October 31, 2012, By Brian Monroe
An intergovernmental group’s revised expectations of how countries should seize looted assets may prove difficult to meet, and could lower the mutual evaluation scores nations receive for their anti-money laundering controls.
Earlier this month, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) outlined in guidance how jurisdictions should best assist one another with asset forfeitures, calling for the implementation of formal and informal mutual legal assistance arrangements and the creation of specialized units to expedite responses to intergovernmental inquiries.
How willingly nations cooperate with one another will be an important factor in how FATF evaluates their anti-money laundering (AML) and counterterrorism financing regimes going forward, according to an individual familiar with high-level discussions within the intergovernmental group.
“Asset confiscation and recovery is a very important objective and an indicator of the success of the overall regime,” said the person, who asked not to be named. The issue is linked to FATF’s increased focus on fighting corruption, the individual said.
In February, individuals involved in FATF talks told ACAMS MoneyLaundering.com that the group was revising how it scored regimes to emphasize efficacy, and would consider forfeiture sizes, conviction rates and other factors. The shift follows FATF’s decision to streamline its AML and counterterrorism financing standards earlier this year.
As part of that effort, the group plans to grade countries on both technical compliance and how effectively they implement financial crime controls, including asset forfeitures, sources said this month. The two separate grades will be combined in an overall score included as part of each mutual evaluation.
But meeting FATF’s asset forfeiture standard, as outlined in its Oct. 19 best practices, will be challenging for nations of all stripes, according to Tom Lasich, a former head of training at the Switzerland-based International Centre for Asset Recovery and a former Internal Revenue Service criminal investigator.
Continue Reading Recovering Assets By Cracking Down On Corruption Proceeds
Peter Madoff’s $4 million dollar co-op and the effort to recover assets from Peregrine Financial Group, Inc.