Attempts by foreign criminal organisations to launder illicit earnings through Malta in a variety of complex ways is seen to be on the rise, according to the annual report of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU). Criminals seem to be creatively trying to explore and exploit newer areas of business in a growing financial centre. FIAU Report 2012

Illicit arms trade is a major source of income for TOC (Transnational Organized Crime) that has to be be laundered eventually.

The clear connection between organised crime and illicit arms trafficking can be extended to conflict situations, where inevitably criminal groups are active, supplying parties with contraband military equipment and ammunition.

The trend of ‘military commercialism’ can be seen as organised crime flourishes in the conditions of weak law enforcement, violence and legitimate trade restrictions that accompany conflict, perpetuating devastating war economies and the conflicts themselves.

Between 40 percent and 70 percent of female murder victims are killed by an intimate partner, often with a gun. Around 66,000 women are killed violently each year around the world – equivalent to 17 percent of all intentional homicides – usually by a current or former partner…Report  SAS – Small Arms Survey 2013 – Everyday Dangers 

A politically exposed person (PEP) is an individual who is or has been entrusted with a prominent function. Many PEPs hold positions that can be abused for the purpose of laundering illicit funds or other predicate offences such as corruption or bribery. Because of the risks associated with PEPs, the FATF Recommendations require the application of additional AML/CFT measures to business relationships with PEPs. These requirements are preventive (not criminal) in nature, and should not be interpreted as meaning that all PEPs are involved in criminal activity.

The FATF has developed guidance which will assist in the effective implementation of these additional measures for foreign, domestic and international organisation PEPs, their family members and close associates, as set out in Recommendations 12 and 22.

Key to the effective implementation of Recommendation 12 is the effective implementation of customer due diligence requirements: for financial institutions to know who their customers are. External sources of information for determining PEPs exist, such as commercial and other databases, and the paper provides some guidance on the use of these, and other, external sources of information. However, these databases are not sufficient to comply with the PEPs requirements, nor does FATF require the use of such databases.

The annex to the guidance sets out a collection of red flags and indicators for suspicion that can be used to assist in the detection of misuse of the financial systems by PEPs during a customer relationship. Examples of such red flags are the use of corporate vehicles to obscure ownership by PEPs, information being provided by the PEP being inconsistent with other publicly available information (such as asset declarations and published official salaries), or doing business with PEPs that are connected to higher risk countries (such as those for which FATF issues public statements) or high risk industries or sectors.  FATF GUIDANCE TO PEP’s

Karen Hudes talks about World Bank Money Laundering Criminals:

former senior executive at the World Bank discusses her experience whistle blowing on corruption at the highest levels of the international financial system.

Her censored story is now coming to light.

The network of global corporate control
ETH Zurich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
The Network of Global Corporate Control Supporting Information
ETH Appendix_19.11.11
More on the German site.

U.S. regulators are considering doubling a minimum capital requirement for the largest banks, which could force some of them to halt dividend payments.

The standard would increase the amount of capital the lenders must hold to 6 percent of total assets, regardless of their risk, according to four people with knowledge of the talks. That’s twice the level set by global banking supervisors…article