Financial Transparency Coalition

This is the current message that the EU’s current anti-money laundering rules send to those in a position to launder the proceeds of tax evasion. It is a crime to launder the proceeds of tax evasion if the tax evader you help, gets caught and goes to prison for more than a year, 11months and its fine. For those considering whether or not tax evasion is a serious crime, it is worth pointing out that a Christian Aid study found that even with a very conservative estimate the money lost by developing countries to tax evasion by multinational companies...

Reuters’ published a fascinating report today, ‘Out of Control at HSBC’. It draws on leaked documents from a number of criminal investigations into the bank that assert the bank violated U.S. anti-money laundering laws. The report confirms what Global Witness has been saying for several years: despite a global system of anti-money laundering laws, banks in practice fail to carry out their obligations to combat financial crime.

LONDON - Global Witness calls for a thorough investigation into HSBC, Citibank and Abbey National (now owned by Santander) for their roles in the laundering of millions of pounds by James Ibori, former governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta State. Ibori pleaded guilty to ten counts of money laundering and fraud in relation to an estimated $250 million of stolen state assets on 27 February; today was the first day of his sentencing hearing.

Last week Coutts, banker to the Queen, was fined £8.75 million for failing to take corruption risk seriously enough. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) found problems with over 70 percent of the client files they reviewed; in some cases, allegations that customers were involved in looting state funds were brushed aside by bankers keen to increase the bank’s profits - and presumably their own bonuses.