PEP ALERT ... FORMER PRESIDENT RESIGNS FROM PARTY

Earlier this month the former President of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bien (UID 4032) resigned from the Democratic Progressive Part (DPP). Authorities have reportedly launched an investigation into alleged money laundering activities concerning Chen and his family. This follows on the heels of the Swiss authorities taking similar action. In a separate case Chen is reportedly already under investigation for alleged embezzlement and his wife Wu Shu-chen (UID81027) is currently charged with corruption and document forgery. Check out the Display Graph on Chen's profile to see the network of family members and access their profiles to see who else is implicated.

The Italian authorities have reportedly seized assets worth more that 25 million euros from two Sicilian brothers. A probe by the anti-mafia police is already in progress against Palermo based Giovanni lo Cicero (UID 927065) and his brother Salvatore lo Cicero (UID 927066). They are both suspected of mafia association, money laundering, narcotics trafficking and extortion as well as bribing public officials.

GUN RUNNER JAILED

Kaleem Akhtar (UID 866863) was jailed this month along with six others for being part of an illegal gun-distribution network in the United Kingdom. Reportedly the gang supplied some of the most violent crime syndicates in the country with Russian made Bail pistols. Ahktar was jailed for twenty years. Other members of the gang were jailed from between five to twenty years. The presiding judge said, “The pursuit of profit or glory from a business in which it was an inevitable consequence — and intended — that lives would at least be put in danger whilst its customers sold drugs, ran protection rackets, committed robberies and sought to put themselves above and beyond the law mark the offences among the most serious.” Check out the linked individuals on Akhtar's profile and see the sentences meted out by the judge.

GANG WHO STOLE FROM STATELY HOMES SENTENCED

Members of a family run crime enterprise who robbed a number of Britain's stately homes and mansions of the wealthy, are now safely behind bars. The Johnson family, which includes father Ricky Johnson (UID 926692) and his two sons Chad Johnson (UID 926691) and Albi Johnson (UID 926690) as well as more distant family members and their partners were this month sentenced to between eight and eleven years. Their arrest in 2007 followed combined police force action in 'Operation Haul'. The Johnsons were responsible for Britain's biggest domestic robbery in February 2006 when antiques worth approximately £80 million were stolen from a Wiltshire home.

ACCOUNTANT CHARGED IN PACIFIC TAX SCHEME

This month Robert Agius (UID 856066) has appeared in court in Sydney accused of running an overseas money laundering scheme with the intention of defrauding the Commonwealth and the Australian Tax Office. The amount of money in question is reported to be in the vicinity of $100 million. Agius is currently on bail but is required to return to court in October.

ARMY CAPTAIN'S RELATIVES INDICTED

Relatives of former army captain Quirino Paulino (UID 276081) who was extradited to the United States in March 2005, on drug trafficking charges have been indicted in the Santa Domingo First Collegiate Court on money laundering charges. They are accused of using the proceeds of drug trafficking. Paulino's wife Diomaris Marmolejos (UID 363132) reportedly purchased properties with a portion of the money whilst her husband and his sister Yudelka Encarnacion (UID 783703) are said to have bought shares in a company as well as in various other assets.

The Financial Services Commission of Jamaica has issued a Cease and Desist Order against World Wise Partners Ltd., requiring the firm to immediately stop conducting securities business including soliciting and accepting funds from the investing public. The FSC Order recited that the company is not a licensed securities dealer, and its investment contracts have not been registered with the SEC. …read more

A court case brought by Danish authorities against two suspected terrorists is currently taking place in Copenhagen. The two individuals were arrested in September 2007 and are charged with preparing a bomb attack. The older suspect is believed to have visited an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan. The two were shown on video preparing explosive materials in an apartment in Copenhagen. The World-Check Terrorism and Insurency Research Unit will be monitoring the case closely.

This month British courts found Aabid Hussain Khan (UID 455036), Sultan Muhammad (UID 463192 ) and Hammaad Munshi (UID 884387) guilty of terrorism offences. Khan was reported to have been the leading figure and had actively promoted al-Qaida ideology, using the Internet to recruit indidivuals. Detective Chief Superintendent John Parkinson, head of the Leeds Counter Terrorism Unit, said "They are the actions of people who pose a very real threat to our communities...Let there be no doubt, these are dangerous individuals." Check out the verification hyperlink sources on Khan's profile to read about the case in more detail.

CHANNEL ISLANDS

If you are a resident of either Jersey or Guernsey World-Check is visiting the islands on the 4th and 5th September. Check out the Seminars page for more details of the events including venues, times and programme.

For readers based in Europe, please note that World-Check is holding a week of AML seminars in key cities from 22-26 September inclusively. Don’t miss this chance to hear industry specialists share their expertise on a number of critical issues facing compliance and MLRO officers. There is no better way to get up to speed after the summer break. Full details of venues, dates and topics are all available on the World-Check Seminar page. Why not book now to avoid disappointment.

World-Check is hosting AML Seminars in Cyprus in early December. On December 1 the World-Check team will be in Nicosia conducting both a morning and an afternoon AML seminar. The next day December 2, the team will visit Limassol, once again conducting both morning and afternoon sessions. More details of topics and speakers will follow in due course.

WORLD-CHECK IN INDIA

Details of Seminars in November in India will be available soon. Watch this space!

Make a point of visiting our regularly updated World-Check Seminars page to obtain more information on upcoming World-Check events.

Take time to visit the Industry Voices section of the World-Check website to read a collection of articles and critical papers penned by industry experts which discuss common issues and challenges faced by the compliance community.

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