U.S. Treasury Warns Banks of Covid-19 Vaccine Fraud
The Treasury Department alerted financial institutions to fraud related to Covid-19 vaccines, warning of ransomware attacks that target vaccine delivery operations and supply chains. The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network cautioned on Monday of an array of vaccine-related crimes, including the sale of unapproved, counterfeit or illegally marketed vaccines. In… Read More
Swedbank freezes accounts of Belarusian spa in Lithuania due to EU sanctions
Swedbank has frozen the accounts of a Belarusian state-owned spa in Lithuania's southern town of Druskininkai. Ilya Epifanov, head of the Belorus sanatorium, says he has already turned to Lithuanian institutions, asking them for a possibility to pay his employees, the majority of whom are Lithuanian citizens. Epifanov told BNS… Read More
Malta: Satabank's €3.7m money laundering fine slashed to €851,000
The Appeals Court has reduced a €3.7 million fine imposed by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit on Satabank to €851,000 after it ruled that the fines had to be capped at 10 per cent of the bank's turnover. While the court acknowledged that the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding… Read More
How will Brexit impact sanctions and money laundering rules in the UK from 2021?
As the UK prepares for a future outside of the EU, one of the areas financial services companies in particular have to consider is sanctions. As of 11pm on the 31st December 2020, the UK will no longer subject to EU sanctions. It will also mark the introduction of the… Read More
Companies Need to Prepare for U.K. Sanctions Regime Rollout, Lawyers Say
Companies need to be aware of likely changes to the U.K.'s sanctions regime as the end of the Brexit transition period approaches, sanctions compliance attorneys said. During the transition period, which is set to end on Dec. 31, individuals and companies in the U.K. have been required to comply with… Read More
U.S. preparing new sanctions to impede Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline
The United States is urging European allies and private companies to halt work that could help build the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and is preparing wider sanctions on the Russian project in coming weeks, senior Trump administration officials said on Wednesday. The outgoing Trump administration is readying a… Read More
U.S. Senator Asks Treasury for Sanctions Briefing on Deripaska
The top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, Sherrod Brown, has asked the U.S. Treasury Department for a briefing about allegations that Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska continued to influence day-to-day activities of United Co. Rusal International PJSC and whether those activities would violate a 2018 sanctions relief deal. Read More
US rolls out new Syria sanctions that hit Syrian first lady and her family
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is imposing sanctions on 18 individuals and entities — including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's wife and some of her immediate relatives, the commander of the Syrian military intelligence, the Central Bank of Syria and close advisers to Assad — in an effort to… Read More
US sanctions Nicaraguan officials, Cuba-related companies
The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on three Nicaraguan officials over their support for left-wing President Daniel Ortega's government. President Donald Trump's administration has kept up a steady stream of sanctions announcements since the November election that handed Democrat Joe Biden a win. President-elect Biden is to be sworn… Read More
Biden chief of staff says hack response will go beyond 'just sanctions'
The incoming White House chief of staff said on Sunday that President-elect Joe Biden's response to the massive hacking campaign uncovered last week would go beyond sanctions. Ron Klain said Biden was mapping out ways to push back against the suspected Russian hackers who have penetrated half a dozen U.S. Read More
ABN Amro money laundering probe close to settlement
Leaked Affidavit Implicates Namibian President in Fishrot Scandal