Monthly Archives: March 2012

Investment banks don’t yet know their ABC

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Susan Grossey author

One of the most important lessons in life is how to prioritise things – how to spend your limited time, energy, money and other resources on the things that matter.  It’s the bedrock of the risk-based approach beloved (-ish) of … Continue reading →

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PEPs cost Coutts dear

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Susan Grossey author

In its largest-ever financial penalty levied for AML failings, the FSA has fined Coutts & Co £8,750,000 for AML failings.  The full FSA notice is here, and it makes depressing reading – one might have hoped that the banker to … Continue reading →

Posted in Due diligence, Money laundering | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

If only he’d been called Charles Dodgi

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Susan Grossey author

(Just before I start – over 6,000 hits on this blog!  Woo-hoo!) Anyway, back to the serious matter in hand.  There has been such a lot in the news recently about Ponzi schemes, what with Allen Stanford, Kautilya Pruthi and the … Continue reading →

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The black art of sentencing

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Susan Grossey author

For various reasons too complicated to explain – oh, go on then, I’m researching material for a new workshop for MLROs – I have been reading about the case of Roger Taylor.  In essence, this gentleman was a director of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legislation, Money laundering | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Our domestic PEPs don’t know they’re born

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Susan Grossey author

I don’t know much about South Sudan.  I’m guessing that it’s south of Sudan, and a quick Wiki-search tells me that the capital is Juba, that the whole country is pretty swampy, and that little is known about its fungi. … Continue reading →

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Judge not lest ye be judged

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Susan Grossey author

I was in Barcelona for the weekend, and between gasping at Gaudí and marvelling at the other wonders of a city that has a chocolate museum, I found myself thinking quite a bit about Baltasar Garzón.  In case you’re not … Continue reading →

Posted in Legislation, Money laundering | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

My e-publishing adventure – part 9

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Susan Grossey author

Just a quick update, because I know you all love to hear how Edward’s sales figures are going.  (For new readers, that’s “Suspicious Activity: The Adventures of An MLRO – Part 1”, “Part 2” and “Part 3” – which all … Continue reading →

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Straight from the horse’s wallet

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Susan Grossey author

The Cheltenham Gold Cup steeplechase takes place at 3.20pm today, and it seemed an auspicious day on which to raise a long-standing question of mine: why are bookies not covered by the Money Laundering Regulations?  I know that if you … Continue reading →

Posted in Money laundering, Organised crime, Supervision | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Setting a good example

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Susan Grossey author

A while ago I read an interesting book called “Nudge” by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein – it’s all about improving your decision-making skills, which appealed to me (as someone who has turned dithering into an art form).  Regular readers … Continue reading →

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Keeping it in the family

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Susan Grossey author

A man in Colorado has been sent to prison for 405 months (that’s 33 years and eight months, to save you the trouble) for investment fraud and money laundering.  Sitting in the cell next to him, so to speak, will … Continue reading →

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