PEP ALERT ... FORMER EADS CEO INVESTIGATED

French authorities and financial regulators have questioned the former co-Chief Executive Officer of EADS – the European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co - Noel Forgeard (UID 466107). Reportedly Forgeard is being interviewed regarding alleged insider trading. He is accused of selling a large number of shares just days before the announcement that there was a severe delay on the delivery of the Airbus 'Superjumbo' A380 airplane. It is reported that the AMF (French stock market authority) has initiated sanctions against Forgeard and a number of other individuals in EADS management.

A raid on a company which hires out security boxes has produced interesting finds, including gold dust worth £8 million , 17th century masterpieces and more than £30 million in cash, mainly in foreign currency and in large denomination notes. UK authorities swooped on the three London premises of the Safe Deposit Centres Limited and later arrested the three directors Leslie Sieff (UID 887026), Jacqueline Swan (UID 887025) and Milton Woolf (UID 887031). Reportedly the company executives had breached anti money laundering legislation by not registering with the Financial Services Authority. They had also failed to conduct identity checks on prospective depositors and in addition they had failed to file reports of suspicious activity to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) as required by law. All three have been released on bail until September. A police commander reportedly said: 'This is all about criminal networks using alternatives to the usual banking system and they have been assisted by people willing to turn a blind eye.' Is your organisation up-to-date on the latest reporting requirements, KYC and AML legislation, shouldn't you also be checking your customer base on a routine basis?

MERCENARY TRIAL COMMENCES IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA

This month British mercenary Simon Mann (UID 219103) has gone on trial in Equatorial Guinea. In 2004 Mann was convicted and imprisoned in Zimbabwe for trying to purchase weapons without a licence. Reportedly he was the 'manager’ of a 2004 planned coup to replace the incumbent President of Equatorial Guinea. In January 2008 Mann was extradited to face trial in the central African country. Eleven others have already been tried and sentenced for their part in the attempted coup. Reportedly they were to replace Obiang with opposition leader Severo Moto (UID 11903). Moto was tried and sentenced in absentia. Take a look at Mann’s profile to reveal his associates, which span political figures as well as his soldiering counterparts.

COURT JAILS THREE FOR £340 MILLION FRAUD

Virenda Rastogi (UID 62468) was jailed for nine and a half years in Britain after he was found guilty of an international conspiracy to defraud. Rastogi, together with co-convicted Anand Jain (UID 216206) and Guantam Majumdar (UID 216205), reportedly ran a £340 million metal trading scam over six years which spanned three continents and used more than 300 fictitious companies. They borrowed funds from banks stating that they were ordering metal from the US, UAE and Asia through Rastogi’s company RBG Resources (UID 62469). The judge estimated that the loss to the banking system could be as much as US$500 million. Jain received eight and a half years in jail and former bank executive Majumdar seven and a half, in addition they were all disqualified from holding directorships in the United Kingdom.

ITALY ARRESTS DOCTORS FOR FRAUD

This month more than a dozen doctors from a private medical clinic in Milan were reportedly arrested for a more than Euro 2.5 million alleged aggravated fraud against the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN), Italy’s National Health Service. Two of the doctors Pierpaolo Brega Massone (UID 883936) and Pietro Fabio Presicci (UID 883940) were placed in detention, the remaining twelve were placed under house arrest. The accused allegedly performed unnecessary surgery, and falsified medical files. To get further details of who was involved in this alleged fraud check out the associates’ link on Massone’s profile.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has named two Venezuelan nationals, and their two controlled businesses, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, alleging that they are fundraisers and facilitators for Hizballah, and that one of the individuals named has travelled to Iran, whilst the other has been a diplomat in Syria and Lebanon. This is understood to be merely the first recent OFAC designation of Venezuelan nationals and entities. …read more

Abu Qatada (UID 38714) has been released from prison in Britain. Qatada was released following a decision by the Court of Appeal to deny the Government the ability to deport the cleric to Jordan on human rights grounds. As part of his strict bail conditions Qatada will be required to wear an electronic tag and is on a 22 hour curfew, he is forbidden from contacting his alleged associates; he is also barred from using mobile phones and the internet. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission described Qatada as "a truly dangerous individual … heavily involved, indeed at the centre of terrorist activities associated with al-Qaida".

This month Victor Tejedor Bilbao (UID 639934) was deported from Vancouver, Canada to face charges in Spain. Bilbao was initially arrested in Canada in 2007 he had been living in Canada for eleven years under an assumed name. His attempt to gain refugee status failed and he was ordered to be deported back to Spain late last year. Spain accuses Bilbao of being a member of ETA and of taking part in the bombing of power stations.

WORLD-CHECK RETURNS TO BUENOS AIRES

World-Check returns to Buenos Aires on the 27th June in an event organized by Camara Argentina de Casas y Agencias de Cambio. Please visit here for more details.
Please note that their will be a simultaneous translation into Spanish.

World-Check is hosting two Power Breakfasts in Singapore on the 29th and 30th July. Kenneth Rijock will be presenting on “A Former Money Launderer tells how it's done" and “Emerging fraud and money laundering threats in 2008.” Full details of the Singapore leg are available on the website. During his time there he will also be presenting at the STEP Singapore Conference and the ABS Financial Crime Seminar.

MORE WORLD-CHECK SEMINARS SCHEDULED FOR EUROPE LATER THIS YEAR

World-Check will be returning to Europe in September 2008 to present a number of seminars in key cities.
On 22 September we will be in Geneva, on 23rd September we visit Zurich and then it is across the border into Austria where the seminar will take place in Vienna; the following day 24th September. Paris, France is the next stop on 25th September, before rounding off the European tour in Rome on the 26th.
If you live in or around these European cities make a note of the dates in your diaries.
See the here for full details.

World-Check has recently launched a new section on its website entitled Industry Voices - which serves as an opinion maker’s platform for sharing expertise on combating financial crime. Read the press release here or visit the Industry Voices index.

Keep an eye on our website in the next few days as World-Check will be releasing another exclusive, insightful and thought provoking article very soon.

For information and frequently asked questions please visit our web site by clicking here.