FORMER UKRANIAN PM GIVEN REDUCED SENTENCE

Pavel Lazarenko (UID 5781), convicted in 2004 of money laundering, was this month resentenced in a federal court in San Francisco. Lazarenko was Prime Minister of the Ukraine from 1996 until 1997. The federal appeals court last year overturned six of the fourteen money laundering counts. Lazarenko's sentence was reduced to eight years and one month from nine years.

MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES LEVELLED AT FORMER BANK DIRECTOR

The Swiss prosecutor's office has levelled charges of money laundering against a former director of a Geneva based private bank. The former director is reportedly accused of attempting to transfer millions of francs out of the country. According to reports the bank did not follow his instructions to transfer and informed the authorities. The examining magistrate in Geneva reportedly froze the assets of all the bank's directors.

A Briton who faces drug trafficking and money laundering charges in Australia is to be extradited from Thailand. The individual who goes under a number of aliases was detained in May 2008 by authorities in Bangkok in an Australian led operation called "Operation Octans". Authorities in the Netherlands, Thailand, Pakistan, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Australia were said to have been involved.

MEDICARE FRAUD IS A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS

According to a Justice Department Criminal Division representative, three to ten percent of the US$800 billion spent on Medicare and Medicaid in the US each year is "lost to waste, fraud and abuse". He went on to say that "criminals are devising more sophisticated ways of stealing billions of dollars from federally administered health-care programs, and they are stealing it faster now than ever before." .

FINANCIAL ADVISER PLEADS GUILTY TO MONEY LAUNDERING

Maxwell B Smith III (UID 1069873) pleaded guilty to operating a fake investment scheme between 1992 and March 2009. Smith is reported to have collected approximately $10 million from investors after he promised semi-annual interest payments of 7.5 percent to 9 percent. Instead of investing his clients money he used the funds to enrich himself, and on such activities as travelling, shopping and gambling. You can read the SEC complaint and relevant documentation on Smith profile.

SANCTIONS REPORTEDLY NOT WORKING IN DRC

In a recently published article it was revealed that rebels situated in the DRC have expanded their criminal network into a worldwide crime ring, which is able to fund the conflict. Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) (UID 294054) is reportedly selling minerals to markets in Russia and China. Authorities in the Congo state that as much as US$1 billion's worth of gold alone is illegally smuggled out of the country each year. World-Check's jurisdictional risk index Country-Check can give your company insight into the risk associated with any country that you would consider doing business with.

Countries where major financial institutions have billions of dollars outstanding in loans to government-controlled entities, and affiliates, in Dubai, UAE, will bear monitoring. The current default in Dubai could actually prompt re-examination of their country risk levels, unless a bailout of Dubai's debt service by Abu Dhabi occurs. …read more

A Lebanese financier and his business partner are reportedly on trial for allegedly fraudulently obtaining investments. According to reports the financier is said to have links with Hezbollah, although the organisation denies such links. The party's leader is reported to have said it had launched an investigation, but that only a small number of party officials had invested in the financier's scheme. The financier purportedly offered high returns on individuals investments.

MALAYSIA SET TO STRENGTHEN AML UNIT

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is to improve its Anti Money Laundering division by strengthening its investigation procedures and processes. In addition to employing more officers an official stated that, "the division will liaise directly with statutory bodies such as Securities Commission, Bank Negara, Companies Commission of Malaysia and commercial banks, and will operate with greater level of powers."

INDIA'S COMMODITY TRADERS UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

Although not covered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) of 2002, India's commodity exchanges have asked the trading members, dealers and brokers to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering laws enacted by the federal government. According to reports the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) has brought traders under the ambit of the Act by issuing guidelines, as the regulator has the power to frame rules governing the sector. Going forward commodity brokers have to provide the information of all cash transactions over Rs 10 lakh, or its equivalent in foreign currency, to the designated authority as is being done by stock brokers under the PMLA.

EVENTS

Alerting all compliance professionals situated in the United Kingdom World-Check is hosting a UK Bribery Act and FCPA Seminar in Central London on 9 December 2009. More details, including the venue, speakers and topics are available on our website. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

In addition if you have any queries concerning World-Check events or would like more information on upcoming Seminars. please contact us at events@world-check.com. Our team will be happy to assist you.

Delivered by experts in their respective fields World-Check Seminars offer compliance professionals across all industries the opportunity to get insight into topical and relevant issues.

If you are interested in finding out more about country risk you can read about our jurisdictional risk index Country-Check on the website by clicking here or alternatively visit Country-Check for a more comprehensive overview.

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