State Street Accused Of Aiding Alleged Ponzi Schemers

Reported by Julie Manganis State Street Bank and Trust Co. willfully ignored red flags and violated anti-money laundering requirements to allow the transfer of $8.3 million worth of securities into an account controlled by a man later charged in an alleged $155 million Ponzi scheme, a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts state court alleges. The complaint, […]

Sanctions are failing to turn Putin’s oligarchs against him

Reported by Mark Galeotti When personal sanctions on Russian oligarchs and officials were imposed by the UK, US and EU after Putin’s invasion, the rationale was that this would undermine the Kremlin. In the main, this has failed – and there is still no coherent strategy to encourage those Russians willing to turn against the regime. Wider economic sanctions are slowly […]

AI Deepfake Imposter Scams Are Driving a New Wave of Fraud

Reported by Nabila Ahmed, Adam Haigh, Ainsley Thomson, and Ellie Harmsworth Computer-generated children’s voices so realistic they fool their own parents. Masks created with photos from social media that can penetrate a system protected by face ID. They sound like the stuff of science fiction, but these techniques are already available to criminals preying on everyday […]

The Ghost Fleet Helping Russia Evade Sanctions

Reported by Jared Malsin Istanbul — In a gray four-story office building above a nightclub with a black door here, a company founded by a Turkish sock and underwear magnate has transformed into one of the world’s largest shipowners transporting Russian oil. The firm, Beks Ship Management, has bought 37 ships since 2021, many of […]

Why are money launderers leaving Singapore?

Reported by Shawkat Hossain Singapore is dubbed ‘Asia’s business district’. It has also earned the dubious epithet of a ‘tax haven’. Singapore tops the choice list of many money launderers to stash their illegal money. That Singapore, for many of these launderers, is behaving a bit strangely. Many feel Singapore is no more a place […]