Monthly Archives: December 2015

2015 in review

Posted on December 30, 2015 by

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 25,000 times in 2015. If it were a … Continue reading →

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All the money in the world

Posted on December 24, 2015 by

I spend most of my time thinking about scuzzy criminals and their dastardly deeds, but for my last post before Christmas, I thought I would spread a bit of seasonal goodwill by focussing instead on those items that even the … Continue reading →

Posted in Money laundering, Organised crime | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

See no evil

Posted on December 22, 2015 by

I was talking recently to a new client about some training that they had commissioned from me for their staff.  I put together an outline of what I thought I should and could cover in the time, including the topics … Continue reading →

Posted in AML, Money laundering | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Papa don’t preach

Posted on December 17, 2015 by

Thomas Fabius was three years old when his father Laurent was elected prime minister of France, so it is safe to say that he had something of a privileged childhood – notwithstanding the socialist politics of his father.  (Although it … Continue reading →

Posted in Bribery and corruption, Money laundering | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A (rotting) rose by any other name

Posted on December 14, 2015 by

You’ve all heard me gripe about tax evasion – about how people seem to be able to perform all sorts of mental and financial gymnastics in order to convince themselves that it’s not really a crime, not like drug trafficking … Continue reading →

Posted in Money laundering, Publications, White collar crime | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Own goals

Posted on December 10, 2015 by

I have just watched a documentary on the investigation of corruption in FIFA (thanks, Jason, for recommending it) and I have to say that, even seasoned criminal-hater that I am, I was left speechless at the brazenness of the actions … Continue reading →

Posted in Bribery and corruption, Money laundering | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Exposed to scrutiny

Posted on December 7, 2015 by

As an author myself, desperate to understand the vicissitudes of the book-buying public, I devour any articles on the publishing industry.  In the Economist recently there was a piece about the growing demand for children’s books in China, now that … Continue reading →

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Has AML been ousted?

Posted on December 4, 2015 by

Last week, Barclays in the UK was fined £72,069,400 by the Financial Conduct Authority for “failing to minimise the risk that it may be used to facilitate financial crime” while processing a £1.88 billion “elephant deal” (i.e. stonking great deal) … Continue reading →

Posted in AML, Money laundering | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

One-stop knocking shop

Posted on December 1, 2015 by

Following a recent Financial Times article on money laundering through cash-intensive businesses in the UK (albeit in the “luxury sector”), a investigation in New Jersey is a timely reminder for us all about how useful to criminals are businesses that … Continue reading →

Posted in Due diligence, Money laundering | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments