Monthly Archives: July 2012

God as money launderer

Posted on July 30, 2012 by

Every week we get two magazines: The Economist and The Spectator.  I know you should be able to tell my political affiliations from that, but don’t bother trying: even I don’t know what they are.  And if I tell you … Continue reading →

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A Hail Mary pass

Posted on July 27, 2012 by

(The opportunities for puns in this post are almost endless, so I will try to contain myself.)  On 4 July 2012, MONEYVAL published its first evaluation of the AML/CFT regime of the Holy See.  (I’ve always called it the Vatican, … Continue reading →

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Orange jumpsuits all round

Posted on July 25, 2012 by

Did anyone else hear Jeffrey Robinson on “Today” on Radio 4 on Saturday 21 July?  I was trimming the bacon ready for my sarnie (we know how to live at the weekend in our house) when I thought, “I recognise … Continue reading →

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Modern-day slavery

Posted on July 23, 2012 by

That’s what my grandma used to say when my uncle brought home yet another bag of dirty laundry for her to wash – but she didn’t really mean it, any more than she minded getting up at 5am to make … Continue reading →

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Keeping it in the family

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

I think much of the fascination of the mafia comes from the fact that they are so often genuine families, both in real life and in fiction (the “Godfather” films, “The Sopranos” on telly).  Although many mafia groups actually have … Continue reading →

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Ruhm endlich!

Posted on July 18, 2012 by

(That’s German for “Fame at last!”)  I’ve been a bit quiet this morning – someone even emailed to ask whether I was stuck under a large piece of furniture, preventing me from having my say on HSBC.  But no: I … Continue reading →

Posted in Money laundering, Organised crime | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Hooray, hooray – ten thousand hits today!

Posted on July 16, 2012 by

I started this blog back in July 2011, so this is sort of my bloggiversary – and to celebrate, I can report that this very morning I had my 10,000th hit on the blog.  That’s more exciting for me than … Continue reading →

Posted in Money laundering, Training | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The law of unintended laundering

Posted on July 13, 2012 by

For some reason, the BBC has recently been running a series of radio and television programmes on the theme of aging and the elderly – for instance, in “When I Get Older”, four “famous pensioners” were sent to live first … Continue reading →

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Coincidence and serendipity

Posted on July 11, 2012 by

I am a great believer in “thought waves”.  I don’t mean this in the sense of Mystic Meg or even (for the more modern reader) Derren Brown, but it’s simply that I have observed on many occasions that if you … Continue reading →

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Sunlight is the best disinfectant

Posted on July 9, 2012 by

So said US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.  He was talking about the benefits of openness and transparency, with which I also agree, but today I am thinking about the sunlight itself, and how important it is to our mood and … Continue reading →

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