Financial Crime Online

In June 2008, four major airlines, including Air France-KLM, Martinair and Cathay Pacific Airways, have agreed to pay US criminal fines totalling 504 million dollars to settle charges they conspired to fix air cargo prices. Air France-KLM will take the largest fine among these four airlines charged, totalling 350 million dollars. Officials said the penalty was the second [...]

Late December 2005 the Northern Bank in Belfast (Ireland) was robbed. Modus Operandi: Tiger Kidnap (see earlier posts). The criminals, some dressed as police officers, entered houses of bank employees and held their families at gunpoint, demanding that the employees assist them in the crime. The bank employees worked in cash centers of the bank and [...]

For the non Latin readers: “Money does not smell”. In the Roman empire a urine tax was introduced for public toilets in Rome. When critics laughed at the idea the emperor mentioned that the coins did not smell, even though they originated from urinating. Money launderers seem to live by that phrase and do not care/do not [...]

Even deeper in the crisis? Whilst in Honolulu? Easier said than done? Think about it. What would be the average reason for companies to help you out of your financial trouble? The guarantee of eternal blessing? A picture on the frontpage of the local newspaper? A medal or scout’s honor? We guess it is just [...]

In the end he did it himself. An US attorney announced an indictement charging Okaloosa County Sheriff Charles “Charlie” W. Morris and his administrative director, Adams, with fraud. His own staff went to the FBI to talk about what was really going on in the Sheriff’s department after the sheriff and the administrative director were not completely [...]

An Italian cruise ship with some 1,500 passengers got rid of a bunch of pirates today by shooting back at them while they approached in a rubber boat in waters around the Seychelles.. Pirates still keep pirating, even though the recent tough approach to pirating displayed by a US Navy SEAL team suggest that all understanding [...]

What better way to understand how criminals work than to have a honest chat with them? Small problem; not a lot of people with that shady profession will share intimate details on how they run their businesses. Every now and then we hear it from the horse’s mouth, whether it is through an interview, confession, [...]

In its 2004 ‘Global Corruption Report’, Transparency International ranked Ukrainian former prime minister Lazarenko eighth out of the world’s 10 most corrupt politicians in the previous two decades. Yesterday a federal appeals court upheld his earlier conviction in the US. He was sentenced to nine years in prison in August 2006 and he will need to [...]

The Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) issued a report that focuses on the vulnerabilities of the gambling and gaming sector. Although the report does not bring new insights to the problem it is a solid description of the money laundering risk of the industry and the current state of anti money laundering efforts. [...]

This can not be right?  But it is. Perhaps a little bit off topic but for sure very interesting. In Finland fines are issued according to your salary. The more you make, the more you pay. Fair? Exceeding the speedlimit by 22 km/h will cost you 6 days of income. If you are a high rolling [...]