Naughty naughty... Michelin, Adidas and French oil company, Total are suspected of making use of Liechtenstein's noted tax haven status. French authorities are expected to commence a probe into these matters in the coming weeks, spinning out of their ongoing investigation into 60 other some-odd firms.

All three firms have previously denied having accounts with LGT, the Liechtenstein-based bank that has faced intense scrutiny since former employee, Heinrich Keiber turned whistleblower and spread the bank's business across law enforcement agencies of most of the world's developed countries.

More on the pending investigation right here.

And check out this piece from The Guardian on the changing regulatory scene in Liechtenstein.

-- MDT

Labels: Adidas, Heinrich Kieber, Michelin, money laundering, tax evasion, Total

An object less from Louis Posner - lawyer, humanitarian and owner of New York's esteemed Hot Lap Dance Club.

-- MDT

Labels: Louis Posner, money laundering

This is decidedly not just about a fella caught with cash hidden in his car trying to cross the U.S. Mexico border. See why at The Christian Science Monitor.

-- MDT

Labels: money laundering, Supreme Court

Well, they're denying it... But the WSJ says that Wachovia at least discussed it with the DOJ.

-- MDT

Labels: drogas, money laundering, Wachovia

You know what they day - lay down with dogs and you end up with fleas. Launder drug money and have the Feds come calling. Same difference.

-- MDT

Labels: drogas, money laundering, Wachovia

Down Texas way, Harris Dempsey "Butch" Ballow spent the years immediately preceding and following the turn of the millennium swiping millions from unsuspecting investors and investment banks who probably should have known better (a little due diligence would have turned up Ballow's wife's felony conviction).

The generally good news is that the faux-pious Butch, who used to drumb up his best marks at church, was actually busted in 2003 and prosecuted on one count of money laundering (a good start, at least). However, just before he was to be sentenced in December 2004, Butch bailed. He lit out for the territories and hadn't been seen since.

It was assumed after his disappearance that Butch continued his stock swindles in sunnier climes outside the continental U.S. Prosecutors were even able to determine that the unrepentant Ballow had started up a new scam between the time he was convicted and his sentencing date. Big brass ones - he's got em. And I do not mean candlesticks.

Houston area private investigator, John A. Moritz recently tracked Ballow down to an office in Merida, Mexico. Moritz was acting on behalf of former Ballow investor, Abilene-based businessman Jakie Sandefer. who has an $8.5 million judgment on the books against Ballow and is, quite intently, looking to collect.

Unfortunately, once tipped off the FBI was unable to capture the gift-wrapped Ballow, who remains at large. You can get all the gory details via the Houston Chronicle, which also helpfully provides a link to Ballow's FBI wanted sheet. If you happen to meet this man a la iglesia en Guadalajara do not loan him money.

-- MDT

Labels: Butch Ballow, Harry Dempsy Ballow, John A. Mortiz, money laundering, pump and dump

Very cool look at the nuts and bolts of money laundering software.

--MDT

Labels: Eliot Spitzer, money laundering

We've written a few times in this space about increasing calls for business regulation in the United Kingdom. New regulations approved in the last week have strengthened penalties and oversight relating to money laundering in the UK. These regs come as a response to an EU-wide money laundering directive.

While not everyone is buying the utility of new regulations, the new laws should come as a boon to the corporate investigative set, who will benefit from any new due diligence requirements. The London Stock Exchange discusses this very issue with investigator Kenn Griffiths of Spring Garden Consultancy.

-- MDT

Labels: money laundering, UK

As you'll read in this Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article, some are saying that the BNY / Russia money laundering litigation is a serious enough concern that it could disrupt the planned merger of these two financial heavyweights.

We'll know soon enough what the impact will be, as Mellon shareholders are set to meet this very morning in the 'Burgh. The $17 billion merger with BNY was expected to be complete in July.

We'll see if that timeline holds...

-- MDT

Labels: Bank of New York, Mellon, money laundering, Russia

J. Turquey, whose blog covers "Ethics and governance in the European Financial Centers" runs down the top spots to swap your dirty cash for the clean stuff. This post lays out the top ten based on their potential harm to the world community. Interesting stuff.

-- MDT

Labels: J Turquey, money laundering, tax havens

In a suit filed on Thursday, Russia alleges that between 1996 and 1999 Bank of New York took part in a money laundering scheme that cost the Russian federation $22.5 billion dollars. This is not exactly a new story for Bank of New York, which has seemingly been involved in one Russian money laundering scandal or another for most of the last decade. Forbes provides a quick list of these past issues and the AFP offers a response to the case from BNY.

For a thorough run down of the intersection of BNY, Russia and scandal, try Russianlaw.org, which seems to relish these things.

-- MDT

Labels: Bank of New York, lawsuit, money laundering, Russia

79 year old Seymour Lazar was indicted in June 2005 by federal prosecutors in hot pursuit of class action giant Milberg Weiss. Lazar was accused of receiving kickbacks from Milberg in exchange for serving repeatedly as lead plaintiff in the law firm's class action suits.

Unlike others in similarly uncomfortable positions, Lazar steadfastly refused to deal or talk. Now, as Lazar's trial is gearing up a series of hearings have been scheduled, and the first already concluded, to determine whether the ailing almost-octogenarian can reasonably withstand the rigors of the courtoom.

For further details on the Lazar trial, check out the New York Sun.

In related news, former Milberg partner and one of the individuals named in the firm's "kickback" indictment, Steven Schulman, has asked that the charges against him be dismissed. Schulman, along with former Milberg partner David Bershad faces charges including conspiracy, mail fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and tax violation . Schulman requested the dismissal of charges based on the claim that shareholders in lawsuits where lead plaintiffs received kickbacks suffered no actual harm.

For background on all of the above shenanigans, check out the tags below, which will take you to The Daily Caveat's past coverage of the long in coming Milberg indictment and all the colorful players it involves...

-- MDT

Labels: David Bershad, kickbacks, Melvyn Weiss, Milberg, Milberg Weiss, money laundering, Seymour Lazar, Steven Cooperman, Steven Schulman

You may have seen the recent page one Wall Street Journal article describing how DC powerbrokers are now using their contacts and influence to flog the interests of some decidedly dodgy characters from the former Soviet Union.

Buried in this can of worms is an interesting connection to a former executive of a DC-area investigative firm. One of the DC power brokers listed as a door-opener for the dubious is Neil C. Livingstone, security expert, founder and former chief executive of investigative firm, GlobalOptions (Livingstone departed GlobalOptions in January '07).

Livingstone is mentioned in the article as being a key individual who helped arrange high-powered counsel (former FBI Directory William Sessions) and broker a potential deal for Semyon Mogilevich, whereby the notorious Ukrainian organized crime figure might be able to avoid prosecution in exchange for offering helpful information to the U.S. government.

Such a deal has, so far, been rejected, given the pending 45 counts of racketeering and money laundering Mogilevich is facing in Philadelphia - not to mention the Justice Department's ongoing probe of billions of dollars worth of questionable oil and gas deals...

The ties between Livingstone and Mogilevich apparently go back several years. Records would seem to indicate that GlobalOptions, under Livingstone did some work for a Cyprus-based firm called Highrock Holdings, of which Mogilevich was a major shareholder. Exactly what kind of work is disputed, but it is known that GlobalOptions later filed suit in DC District Court over unpaid bills (the suit was abandoned, but not withdrawn when the bill was paid).

An intriguing thread to tease out of a very interesting story.

If you want to know what you government officials are up to you can check out the WSJ article here (with subscription) or via Eurasia.org.

Labels: Former Soviet Union, GlobalOptions, influence, lobbying, money laundering, Neil C. Livingstone, organized crime

Tone Grant, former owner of Refco, plead not guilty in January to charges of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. Grant stands accused to of helping to hide the collapsed derivatives trading firm's enormous losses and assisting those who wanted to pass off the company to unwary investors.

The activities that lead to Refco's final, scandal-ridden explosion weren't exactly uncharted territory for a company that had for years walked close to the edge. According to the Chicago Tribune:

Refco was the subject of 142 regulatory actions, the most of any futures trading outfit, according to a Bloomberg News analysis. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission came after it repeatedly, in some of its most prominent administrative cases of the 1980s and 1990s.

Fellow trading executives say Refco flouted industry standards like no other firm, tossing aside the rulebooks, taking on the diciest accounts and fighting back against regulators that tried to intervene.

Refco traces its origins to a one-time poultry wholesaler who served time in prison for selling substandard chickens to the military. Ray Friedman eventually won a pardon and with his stepson, Thomas Dittmer, opened the forerunner of Refco around 1969.

For a full accounting of Tone Grant's tenure at Refco (1981-1998), his legal woes and how he fits into the scandal that followed the company's demise, check out the full article from the Tribune.

Grant was followed at Refco by Phillip Bennett, who managed to convert the $300 million in losses under Grant's tenure into $720 million in debt, which he managed to hide rather effectively for a time. In 2005, Refco actually seemed poised to go public with an enormous public offering, but reality intruded. The gig was up and the house of cards came crashing down.

-- MDT

Labels: Fraud, indictment, money laundering, Phillip Bennett, Refco, Tone Grant

Charles Elliott Fitzgerald has been on the run since 2003, when he disappeared from California along with $550 million dollars he swindled from mortgage lenders in phoney real estate deals. It was known all along by authorities that Fitzgerald had family in the pacific islands but for several years his location remained unknown.

Fitzgerald (an extremely odd duck) probably would have remained free indefinitely were it not for Trever Morley, a Wellington, New Zealand based private investigator. Morely was hired by an American client to track down Fitzgerald and the former police inspector managed to do that very thing. He found Fitzgerald in Samoa and informed his client who notified the FBI.

Fitzgerald was deported and is now back in California awaiting trial on bank fraud and money laundering. Kudos Morley!

Several Fitzgerald accomplices have already plead guilty and are awaiting sentencing, including:

Mark Abrams, 45, of Long Beach, CA
Nicole LaViolette, 37, of Palm Springs, CA
Jamieson Matykowski, 33, of Laguna Niguel, CA
Timothy Holland, 35, of Santa Ana, CA

Further details on Fitzgerald's scam and the current case, check out this December 13th post from RealBlogging.

-- MDT

Labels: Charles Elliott Fitzgerald, FBI, fugitive, money laundering, New Zealand, Samoa, Trevor Morley

And conveniece stores all over the north-eastern part of the state have been put on notice, including in The Daily Caveat's sleepy hometown of Ruston, LA. Not a lot of details in the New Star World piece, but the local U.S. Attorney has this to say:

U.S. Attorney Donald W. Washington said the charges included trafficking in counterfeit goods, money laundering, making false statements to a federal agent, false representations and use of a Social Security account number, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and forfeiture.

More here.

-- MDT

Labels: Louisiana, money laundering

Diligence, LLC. has apparently settled charges that the firm interfered in a corruption probe conducted by the Bermudan government and KPMG FAS into the activities of the Bermuda-based IPOC International Growth Fund. (Read a little background).

KPMG brought their suit in DC District Court last year, alleging that Diligence had used bribery, deception, and computer hacking in order to get their hands of confidential information about an ongoing government inquiry into possible money laundering by the IPOC.

Another related civil action had also been filed against Diligence and law firm, Barbour Griffith & Rogers, which purportedly hired Diligence to do the snooping on behalf of LV Finance Group, a Russian firm that had been engaged in a long legal battle with IPOC.

According to that complaint, private investigators from Diligence posed as intelligence agents for the US and British governments (bit of a no-no, there) in order to convince KPMG FAS employees to turn over information regarding the ongoing IPOC money laundering investigation.

While the ongoing legal maneuvering had been held very close to the vest, according to KYCNews and the Bermuda Royal Gazette, it appears that Diligence has settled its way out of trouble for $1.7 million.

-- MDT

Labels: bribery, KPMG, money laundering

The Milberg kickback probe continues, this time court-side. Milberg partners, currently on leave, David J. Bershad and Steven G. Schulman both made their first appearance in an L.A. court room on Friday. Each was released on $1million bail and scheduled to appear on Monday to enter their respective pleas. Details follow on yesterday's L.A. court proceedings from The Mercury News. The article is also a decent summary of the happenings to date in the Milberg kickback probe:

Law firm, partners, plead not guilty to federal charges in LA

ERIC BERKOWITZ
Associated Press
July 17, 2006

A top class-action law firm and two of its partners pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of secretly paying more than $11 million in kickbacks to get people to take part in shareholder lawsuits. Also pleading not guilty in federal court were Seymour M. Lazar, who is accused of acting as a paid plaintiff in some of the firm's cases, and Paul T. Selzer, who is charged with laundering money on Lazar's behalf.

In a 20-count indictment handed down in May, prosecutors alleged that Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, along with partners David J. Bershad and Steven G. Schulman, secretly paid Lazar and others since 1984 to act as plaintiffs in class-action suits against major corporations.

Federal prosecutors alleged that secret kickback arrangements allowed the firm to be among the first to file lawsuits on behalf of shareholders and secure the lucrative position as lead plaintiffs' counsel. The indictment also alleged that "the paid plaintiffs purchased the securities at issue anticipating that the securities would decline in value, in order to position themselves to be named plaintiffs in securities fraud class actions and to obtain kickbacks" from the firm and others.

All the individual defendants were in court to enter their pleas except Lazar, who was unable to attend for medical reasons. Bershad and Schulman are on leave from the firm.

The case, which is the result of an ongoing federal investigation, has already resulted in plea deals with two people allegedly involved in the payoff schemes. Retired real estate mortgage broker Howard Vogel agreed in April to plead guilty to one count of making a false declaration before a court and admitted to receiving $2.5 million in kickbacks from Milberg Weiss in connection with class actions in which he was the plaintiff.

Los Angeles attorney Richard Purtich agreed in May to plead guilty to a federal tax offense by acting as an intermediary through which Milberg Weiss paid his former client Steven G. Cooperman more than $2.5 million in fees for acting as plaintiff in several class actions.
The firm denies any wrongdoing. In a statements released after Monday's arraignment, Bershad's attorney, Robert Luskin, said the indictment "is a disgrace and the charges are utterly baseless," and the firm said it is "confident that we will be fully vindicated"...

Read the full Mercury News article here. And if needbe, catch up on the story by reading some of our past coverage.

-- MDT

Labels: David Bershad, Howard Vogel, hulman, kickbacks, Melvyn Weiss, Milberg, Milberg Weiss, money laundering, Steven Cooperman

You think the Enron scandal has dragged on? Try BCCI. More than a decade since the demise of "terrorists' favorite bank" some of those responsible remain out of reach of law enforcement.

Case in point: 65-year-old multi-millionaire, Ghaith Rashad Pharaon has been on the run from U.S. authorities since the 1991 collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International of which he was a major shareholder. Pharaon, who continues to live in fine jet-set style is seen by the U.S. as the frontman for BCCI, which came under investigation for laudering money on behalf of a variety of unsavory types: terrorists, drug cartels, arms traffickers, black market nuclear weapons dealers and smugglers.

Apparently this past Friday Pharaon neatly evaded capture once again, this time in Sicily where he had been luxuriating on his 60 foot super-yacht moored at the island of Pantelleria. Sicilian paramilitary troops raided the yacht but found that Pharaon had already moved on. Meanwhile charges of fraud, money laundering and racketeeing againts Pharaon are, to date, unprosecuted he recently paid $175 million to the liquidators of BCCI to settle civil charges against him relating ot the bank's collapse.

More on the details of the recent raid from the Khaleej Times.

-- MDT

Labels: Enron, money laundering

Will they never learn. Crime pays, to be sure, but not for long (via the Cleveland Plain Dealer):

BWC's financial chief lived in high style - Prison sentence now looms in wake of Gasper's guilty plea

Sunday, June 11, 2006
T.C. Brown and Sandy Theis
Plain Dealer Reporters

Terry Gasper lived the high life on a civil servant's salary. He financed his fine living through the generosity of others - brokers and dealers eager to feast at the in vestment trough he man aged at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Com pensation. Overflowing with billions of dollars, it is one of the state's largest investment pools.

Those indebted to Gasper for lucrative state investment contracts gave him unfettered access to a luxurious $485,000 condo in the Florida Keys at the Coral Harbour Club, a condo complex with deep-water docks, a heated swimming pool, lighted tennis courts and an oceanfront Tiki hut.

They also wined and dined him at some of the top restaurants in Cleveland and Columbus. A marketer whom prosecutors have yet to identify provided $9,000 in college tuition for his son. And he got a $25,000 investment in a limited partnership and many thousands of dollars in meals, concert and sporting event tickets and other gifts.

But the good life came crashing down around Gasper's ears this past week, when the 59-year-old pleaded guilty in federal and state courts to racketeering, money laundering and ethics violations. Prosecutors estimate that Gasper's quid pro quo manner of doling out state investment business has cost taxpayers $20 million to $50 million...

Gasper is facing a potential 20 year prison sentence. More from the Plain Dealer here.

-- MDT

Labels: money laundering