United Against Corruption – Anti-Bribery Convention Paris

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LIVE:  OECD
20 Years of the Anti-Bribery Convention:
Successes and Challenges
The-Detection-of-Foreign-Bribery

The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention focuses on enforcement through the criminalisation of foreign bribery but it is multidisciplinary and includes key requirements to combat money laundering, accounting fraud, and tax evasion connected to foreign bribery.

The first step, however, in enforcing foreign bribery and related offences is effective detection. This study looks at the primary sources of detection for the foreign bribery offence and the role that certain public agencies and private sector actors can play in uncovering this crime. It examines the practices developed in different sectors and countries which have led to the successful detection of foreign bribery with a view to sharing good practices and improving countries’ capacity to detect and ultimately step-up efforts against transnational bribery.

This study was undertaken by the OECD Working Group on Bribery which brings together the 43 countries party to the Anti-Bribery Convention.  

The report was launched on 12 December 2017 at a Roundtable on 20 years of the Anti-Bribery Convention.

Anti-Bribery-Convention-Timeline-2017

Bitcoin Price Fluctuates

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Why bitcoin reminds a former Skype exec of tech giant’s ‘beginnings’

“We’re seeing this tremendous interest from the rest of the world which is, for normal people, beginning to get terribly interesting,” Michael Jackson, Skype’s former chief operating officer, told CNBC. Jackson said that bitcoin’s surge is “great” but added that it was difficult to tell what the future holds for the digital currency.

“I bought a fraction of a bitcoin in October, and my little investment has appreciated about 150% since then. But if I want to cash out, I might have a problem — because apparently it’s not so easy to sell.

I bought my bitcoin through Coinbase, the most popular mainstream exchange for bitcoin and two other cryptcocurrencies, ether and litecoin. That’s where my bitcoin resides. To my mind, it’s the same as buying a mutual fund or ETF at Vanguard or Fidelity, which would then hold the shares and maintain the account.

But the frenzied buying and selling of bitcoin during the last several weeks has caused repeat outages at Coinbase, as the firm’s servers get overloaded. I don’t really want to sell my bitcoin right now, but what if I did?

As a test, I tried to place a sell order for $10 worth of bitcoin. Here’s the message I got:” Sell failed….Bitcoin / Yahoo
Bitcoin price fluctuates wildly / Pressherald

CALL FOR PROPOSALS WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS FINANCE INITIATIVE

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WE-FI is open for Business: Octobre 12. 2017

The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) is pleased to announce its first call for proposals. Up to $150m of grant financing is available for this call.

The objective of the We-Fi is to address financial and non-financial constraints faced by women-owned/led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in IDA and IBRD eligible countries and territories. The We-Fi aims to achieve this by mobilizing more than $1 billion in commercial and international financial institution (IFI) finance for entities that provide women entrepreneurs with access to debt, equity, venture capital, insurance products, capacity building, networks and mentors, and opportunities to link with domestic and global markets; and for governments to improve the business environment for women-owned/led SMEs.
WeFi-CallforProposals-Oct17
Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative Statement
Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative- We-Fi

http://www.financialbuzz.com/we-fi-for-business-905256

All over the developing world, women have successfully made it in business. But they are a small group of women — only 30 percent of formal small and medium enterprises (SMEs) around the world are owned and run by women. Seventy percent of formal women-owned SMEs in developing countries are either shut out of financial institutions or can’t get the capital they need.

This results in a nearly $300 billion annual credit deficit for formal women-owned SMEs. It is nearly impossible to sustain a business without access to capital. Lack of networks, knowledge, and links to high value markets further limit female entrepreneurship in developing countries.

We-Fi intends to change those statistics. Its holistic approach will help women in developing countries gain increased access to the finance, markets, and networks necessary to start and grow a business.

Ivanka Trump involved in Russian Money Laundering?

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President Donald Trump made tens of millions of dollars in profits by allowing Colombian drug cartels and other groups to launder money through a Trump-affiliated hotel in Panama, according to a new investigation by the organization Global Witness.

How an alleged fraudster in Panama, working with Donald Trump’s daughter, helped make Trump’s first international hotel venture a success. The broker was in business with a money-launderer and two criminals from the former Soviet Union….
Globalwitness.org/ Corruption and Money Laundering
Reuters.com/Investigates/ Ivanka and the fugitive from Panama
Newsweek.com/
Money Laundering

Future of Financial and Monetary Systems

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The World Economic Forum (Wef) not only reports on: #MeToo, the most dangerous cities for women and other top gender stories of the week it also discussing: Balancing Financial Stability, Innovation, And Economic Growth in…

Shaping the Future of Financial and Monetary Systems:
Wef, in an effort to understand better the implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – a technology-led transformation that is fundamentally altering the way people work, live and relate to one another – the World Economic Forum has prioritized a review of the financial system through the launch of a new initiative: Balancing Financial Stability, Innovation, and Economic Growth.

This White Paper provides a summary of findings identified during the ongoing discussions and interviews, which at a very high level can be condensed in the following four points:

· Further major innovation-driven change is coming in financial services.

· Joint, concerted action is needed to enable the system to reap the benefits of innovation.

· Managing some systemic risks introduced by this wave of innovation poses challenges.

· The financial services system would benefit from certain tools to achieve greater enablement and risk management.

This whitepaper was prepared in collaboration with Oliver Wyman. WEF: (FSIEG)

Harm Bengen
www.w-t-w.org/en/harm-bengen
www.harmbengen.de

Wef Media

The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump/ Part 3

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The billion dollar fraud

Will Donald Trump go down due to his dubious ties to the former Soviet Union? The president seems to be getting in deeper and deeper. Special prosecutor Robert Mueller, who is investigating if Trump colluded with Russia in order to win the elections, is also digging into Trump’s past as a business man. In that past, one of Donald Trump’s business partners plays a crucial role, Felix Sater. A convicted felon who has ties with the Russian mafia. Last May, Zembla disclosed how an American real estate company, run by Sater, used Dutch mailbox companies within a network, which has been suspected of laundering money. Allegedly $1.5 million dollars had been diverted. Donald Trump developed hotels and apartment complexes with this suspicious company.

In the last few months ZEMBLA received indications of a greater fraud. A billion dollar fraud. And here Sater, Trump’s questionable business partner, shows up, as well. The money trail leads to Kazakhstan, to real estate projects in New York and again to the Netherlands. ZEMBLA investigates: How compromising is this case for the current president of America?

The Dubious Friends Of Donald Trump: Part Two: King Of Diamonds
The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump: Part One: The Russians

Statement on Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi)

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All over the developing world, women have successfully made it in business. But they are a small group of women — only 30 percent of formal small and medium enterprises (SMEs) around the world are owned and run by women. Seventy percent of formal women-owned SMEs in developing countries are either shut out of financial institutions or can’t get the capital they need.

This results in a nearly $300 billion annual credit deficit for formal women-owned SMEs. It is nearly impossible to sustain a business without access to capital. Lack of networks, knowledge, and links to high value markets further limit female entrepreneurship in developing countries.

We-Fi intends to change those statistics. Its holistic approach will help women in developing countries gain increased access to the finance, markets, and networks necessary to start and grow a business.
World Bank Statement on Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative We-Fi

Liza Donnelly

Notes to Worldbank Editors

  • The facility will be established as a Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) at the Bank, drawing on the Bank’s extensive experience housing such Funds.
  • The Bank and IFC will be Implementing Partners, as well as other Multilateral Development Banks that would propose private and public sector activities to be supported by the We-Fi facility.
  • While she helped initiate the idea for the facility and has been a strong advocate for the issue of women’s entrepreneurship, Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump will play no operational or fundraising role in the facility.

“There Are Crooks Everywhere You Look. The Situation Is Desperate.”

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Daphne Caruana Galizia leading journalist of the Panama Papers investigation in Malta was killed by a car bomb Galizia car exploded Monday afternoon as she left her home in a town outside Malta’s capital, Valetta.

Galizia had been leading the Panama Papers investigation into corruption in Malta, according to The Guardian, and was even described by Politico as a “one-woman WikiLeaks” who was “shaping, shaking and stirring” Europe with her reports.

The Panama Papers refer to the 11.5 million documents that were leaked from large offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca in 2015.  Galizia is survived by her husband and three sons, The Guardian reported.
Journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia Final Words

Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative- We-Fi

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New World Bank Group Facility to Enable more than $1 billion for Women Entrepreneurship.

To help unlock the potential of women entrepreneurs, the new Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative We-Fi will enable more than $1 billion in financing to improve access to capital, provide technical assistance, and invest in projects and programs that support women and women-led SMEs in World Bank Group client countries.

Women Entrepreneurs Face Many Challenges

  • It is estimated that women-owned entities represent just over 30 percent of formal, registered businesses worldwide.
  • Yet, seventy percent of women-owned SMEs in developing countries are either shut out by financial institutions or are unable to receive financial services on adequate terms to meet their needs. This results in a nearly $300 billion annual credit deficit to formal women-owned SMEs.
  • Lack of networks, knowledge, and links to high value markets further constrain female entrepreneurship.
  • Moreover, unfavorable business and regulatory environments are among the barriers that still impede women entrepreneurs from accessing finance.
  • The fact that many emerging markets financial institutions have yet to develop a sustainable strategy to address this significant market gap represents a missed opportunity and constrains private sector development.

The competent committee, which will determine the operational measures of the Facility and the award criteria, will meet for the first time this October.

Notes to Worldbank Editors

  • The facility will be established as a Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) at the Bank, drawing on the Bank’s extensive experience housing such Funds.
  • The Bank and IFC will be Implementing Partners, as well as other Multilateral Development Banks that would propose private and public sector activities to be supported by the We-Fi facility.
  • While she helped initiate the idea for the facility and has been a strong advocate for the issue of women’s entrepreneurship, Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump will play no operational or fundraising role in the facility.

    Cartoon courtesy of Peter Lewis and the Newcastle Herald
    www.livecaricatures.com.au

 

Accused Of Laundering Using Bitcoin

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The exchange BTC-e is alleged to have facilitated cybercrime, drug trafficking and payments to corrupt officials.

Bitcoin: A Russian man has been arrested in Greece on suspicion of laundering more than £3bn as part of a Bitcoin exchange allowing users to trade the digital cash…
Accused of Laundering 3bn in Bitcoin
Reuters.com

FinCEN fines BTC-e $110 million for violating anti-money laundering laws.
One of the largest digital currency traders in the world has been assessed a $110 million dollar civil money penalty by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of California.

BTC-e, or Canton Business Corporation (BTC-e), was the target of the Treasury’s first action against a foreign-located money services business for knowingly violating U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) laws, and was hit with a $110,003,314 penalty. The company was also complicit in their facilitation of digital transactions involving “ransomware, computer hacking, identity theft, tax refund fraud schemes, public corruption, and drug trafficking,” according to an official statement.

BTC-e is an online, foreign-based money transmitter that takes fiat currency and virtually all popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Namecoin, Novacoin, Peercoin, Ethereum, and Dash. The company processed over $300,000 in bitcoin stolen from Mt. Gox, one of the world’s largest bitcoin exchanges, from 2011 to 2014, and over $296 million in bitcoin in total. The company also facilitated at least $3 million in transactions related to ransomware operations dubbed “Cryptolocker” and “Locky”, in addition to sharing customers and conducting transactions with the since-dead money laundering website Liberty Reserve.

“We will hold accountable foreign-located money transmitters, including virtual currency exchangers, that do business in the United States when they willfully violate U.S. anti-money laundering laws,” said Jamal El-Hindi, Acting Director for FinCEN in the statement. “This action should be a strong deterrent to anyone who thinks that they can facilitate ransomware, dark net drug sales, or conduct other illicit activity using encrypted virtual currency.

The facilities of BTC-e were seized by various law enforcement agencies, including the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division, FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service. One of BTC-e’s operators, Russian national Alexander Vinnik, was also arrested in Greece this week and assessed a $12 million fine.

BTC-e’s transactions included funds sent and received domestically, despite the company being foreign-based and masking their geographic location and ownership.

The failure to comply with U.S. AML laws and regulations necessitated law enforcement action, and BTC-e’s civil money penalty represents “the second supervisory enforcement action FinCEN has taken against a business that operates as an exchanger of virtual currency, and the first it has taken against a foreign-located MSB doing business in the United States,” according to the statement.