A leading payments industry news source for more than 17 years. Glenbrook curates the news and keeps you abreast of the important daily headlines in payments.

Search Payments News

July 9, 2021

On the wires

Head Of Telemarketing Operation Charged In $19 Million Credit Card Laundering Scheme

“Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the arrest today of STEVEN SHORT, the former head of E.M. Systems & Services, LLC, and affiliated companies (“E.M. Systems”), on charges of fraudulently obtaining credit card processing services for his deceptive Florida-based telemarketing operation.”

May 14, 2021

On the web

Binance Faces Probe by U.S. Money-Laundering and Tax Sleuths

Bloomberg

Binance Holdings Ltd. is under investigation by the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service, ensnaring the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange in U.S. efforts to root out illicit activity that’s thrived in the red-hot but mostly unregulated market. As part of the inquiry, officials who probe money laundering and tax offenses have sought information from individuals with insight into Binance’s business, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named because the probe is confidential.”

March 24, 2021

On the wires

Crypto-Friendly Fintech Wirex Temporarily Pauses Recruiting New UK Customers

“The Fintech company Wirex has announced its decision to voluntarily pause new UK customers of its popular app as of 24th March 2021. The pause is a temporary measure and follows constructive dialogue with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK regulator.  From this date, Wirex will temporarily pause accepting new clients who are resident in the UK. The company – which serves nearly 3.5 million customers worldwide – will dedicate resources to further strengthen its 5AMLD (Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive) compliance protocols, conforming with the updated best practice guidelines set by the UK regulator.”

January 19, 2021

On the web

Capital One Fined $290M for ‘willful’ Anti-money-laundering Failures

American Banker

“Capital One Financial has been hit with a $290 million penalty after admitting to the U.S. Treasury Department that it willfully violated anti-money laundering requirements between 2008 and 2014. The problems, which involved a unit that served cash-checking businesses and has since been shut down, were first revealed years ago. But documents released Friday by Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network contained new details, including Capital One’s admission that it failed to file suspicious activity reports even when it knew about criminal charges against specific customers.”

January 6, 2021

Top Post

Money Laundering Via Author Impersonation on Amazon?

KrebsOnSecurity

“Patrick Reames had no idea why Amazon.com sent him a 1099 form saying he’d made almost $24,000 selling books via Createspace, the company’s on-demand publishing arm. That is, until he searched the site for his name and discovered someone has been using it to peddle a $555 book that’s full of nothing but gibberish.”

December 14, 2020

On the web

U.S. Congress bans anonymous shell companies

Reuters

“The U.S Senate on Friday passed a bill overhauling anti-money laundering rules and banning anonymous shell companies, a victory for law enforcement and rights groups which have long sought changes to make it easier to police illicit money flows. The bill requires most companies to report their true beneficial owners to the government, allows greater information sharing between law enforcement and regulators, and authorizes the use of new suspicious activity monitoring tools.”

December 10, 2020

On the web

Criminals getting smarter in use of digital currencies to launder money

Reuters

“Criminals are becoming more sophisticated in their use of cryptocurrencies to launder money, with hundreds of millions of dollars of dirty funds last year flowing through digital wallets that allow users to hide their trail, according to Elliptic. At least 13% of all criminal proceeds in bitcoin passed through privacy wallets – which make it harder to track cryptocurrency transactions – in 2020, up from 2% in 2019, according to a study by the digital currency forensics firm.”

November 19, 2020

On the wires

Nasdaq to Acquire Verafin, Creating a Global Leader in the Fight Against Financial Crime

Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ), a global technology company, and Verafin , an industry pioneer in anti-financial crime management solutions, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Nasdaq to acquire Verafin for US$2.75 billion in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The agreement will combine Verafin’s comprehensive suite of anti-financial crime management products with Nasdaq’s reach and established regulatory technology leadership to create a global SaaS leader in the fight against financial crime, a worldwide problem that demands innovative action.”

November 18, 2020

On the web

October 2, 2020

On the web

BitMEX Founders Charged With Failing to Prevent Laundering

Bloomberg (paywall)

“Founders of the pioneering crypto-derivatives exchange BitMEX were charged with skirting U.S. laws preventing money laundering and hit with civil sanctions as well, abruptly sending the price of Bitcoin down.    Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed were indicted in New York, where federal prosecutors claim the digital-asset exchange served American customers while flouting U.S. banking laws.”

September 17, 2020

On the web

Nasdaq Makes Push Into Anti-Money Laundering Tech with New AI-Based System

Reuters

“Exchange group Nasdaq said on Wednesday that it is launching AI technology to help retail and commercial banks automate anti-money laundering (AML)investigations, as it expands into the financial crime software market. The company hopes the system can make it quicker and cheaper for banks and other financial institutions to sift through the deluge of alerts flagging possible cases of money laundering generated by bank transaction monitoring systems.”

September 16, 2020

On the web

Money-Launderers Use Chinese Online Shopping Sites to Funnel Cash Offshore

Financial Times

“Money launderers have used some of China’s leading online shopping sites to transfer billions of dollars to offshore gambling sites, police raids have revealed.  People wishing to evade China’s strict capital controls, for example to gamble on offshore websites, have been placing fake orders on the shopping sites, including on Pinduoduo, China’s second-largest platform by users. A corresponding sum is then credited to their gaming account.”

July 1, 2020

On the wires

Credorax Partners With Feedzai for Innovative Anti-Money Laundering Solution

“Today, licensed bank and smart payments provider, Credorax, and risk management platform Feedzai announced a new partnership to provide Credorax merchants with advanced anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-fraud capabilities, leading to increased payment security, reduced operational costs and an improved customer experience. The partnership between Credorax and Feedzai first began in 2018, when Credorax elected to combine its merchant acquiring technology and services with Feedzai’s advanced machine learning capabilities to protect its customers from fraud. Since then, Credorax’s merchants have been protected in real-time from threats, while improving the overall customer experience.”

August 12, 2019

On the web

Mexico Considers Banning Cash for Gasoline Purchases, Highway Tolls

Bloomberg

“Mexico is considering a ban on the use of cash for purchasing gasoline and to pay for tolls as a way to fight tax evasion and money laundering, according to people with direct knowledge of the discussions. The plan, which has been discussed between the banking industry and the government, hasn’t been fully approved. A final decision may not be taken until after the central bank rolls out its digital payments platform known as CoDi next month which is part of a broader government program to push more Mexicans into the banking system and cut down on cash, said the people who asked not to be named, since the plan isn’t public.”

May 2, 2019

On the web

$356 Million in Cryptocurrency Stolen in First Three Months of 2019

Hard Fork | The Next Web

“Cryptocurrency thieves earned at least $356 million in the first quarter of 2019, which could see the industry face a billion-dollar money laundering problem by year’s end. Payments from US-based exchanges to offshore cryptocurrency wallets also increased 46 percent over the last two years, analytics firm CipherTrace reports with new research . “Once these payments reach exchanges and wallets in other parts of the globe, they fall off the radar of US authorities,” said CiperTrace. “This highlights a major regulatory blind spot for the US.””

March 28, 2019

On the web

Swedbank Fires CEO Over Money Laundering Allegations

Bloomberg

“Swedbank AB has fired its chief executive officer, Birgitte Bonnesen, amid allegations the bank was used to launder billions of dollars in Russian money on her watch.    Bonnesen, 62, will be replaced on an interim basis by Chief Financial Officer Anders Karlsson, the bank said on Thursday as the board prepared to face shareholders at an annual general meeting in Stockholm. The announcement came just moments after three of Swedbank’s biggest investors made clear they’d lost confidence in Bonnesen, after she appeared to mislead the public about the seriousness of the laundering case.”

February 4, 2019

On the web

October 5, 2018

Top Post

September 20, 2018

On the web

Goodpods Top 100 Payments Podcasts

Listen now to Payments on Fire™ podcast

Payments News

Stay on top of the rapidly evolving payments world with Glenbrook’s free curated news feed, delivered daily to your inbox.

Payments Views

Read our commentary and opinion blog written by members of the Glenbrook team on payments industry topics, large and small.

Glenbrook’s live and on-demand workshops help you understand and apply the innovations shaping the payments industry. Register today or schedule a custom workshop for your team.