buzzfeed--2020-09-23--How To Find A Company That Barely Even Exists

With a website claiming more than 200 employees and an office in a business complex in the middle of Singapore , Ask Trading — “ a trading and investment company focusing on the Russia/CIS market ” — might appear to be a thriving midsize business .
But actually it ’ s a mirage .
Under even the slightest scrutiny , it starts to disappear .
That office , BuzzFeed News discovered during a visit , is just a few sparsely populated cubicles .
The company ’ s current website is only one page , and photographs on it were lifted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And public records show Ask was not doing what it claimed to do .
Yet between 2001 and 2016 , it managed to move at least $ 671 million in transactions through Deutsche Bank , JPMorgan Chase , and Bank of New York Mellon , from sources no one at those banks ascertained , for purposes it never revealed .
Shell companies like Ask Trading keep a low profile , but they play an outsize role in the dark economy , the trillions of dollars of dirty money that course through Western banks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As documented in the FinCEN Files , thousands of secret government documents that BuzzFeed News shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 100 news organizations around the globe , these so-called shell companies can be a conduit for terrorist networks , narcotraffickers , and crime syndicates to launder the proceeds of their illegal activity .
The money goes into an account at a prestigious international bank , and when it emerges , cleansed of any taint , just a few more clicks can move it from one country to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
By law , banks are supposed to be on the lookout for transactions that bear hallmarks of money laundering or other financial misconduct , then report their concerns to the Treasury Department 's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network , or FinCEN .
Such reports can support investigations and intelligence gathering — but by themselves they are not evidence of a crime .
Banks have broad discretion to end their relationship with the customers whose accounts they find suspicious .
But in the FinCEN Files they rarely do .
Dozens of banks around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the network of companies connected to it .
Bankers documented their concerns , but still went on to process nearly a billion dollars ’ worth of their transactions .
And not just any transactions .
According to government documents , Ask used the banks to send $ 4 million to a United Arab Emirates–based company for what it said were construction materials .
The US government later said the company was part of an organization financing drug cartels and terrorist organizations such as the Taliban .
Ask received $ 17 million from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The story of how a venture as elusive as Ask could gain access to some of the world ’ s most powerful financial institutions is the story of how the entire elaborate system of safeguards fails , over and over again .
It ’ s the story of banks that don ’ t ask too many questions about the money flowing through their accounts .
And of a government oversight structure that lets banks profit off even the most suspicious transaction as long as they file the proper paperwork .
BuzzFeed News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what was apparently too great a challenge for huge international banks : figure out what the Ask network is and who ’ s behind it .
That could have been all the information needed to stop these suspicious transactions , if anyone were so inclined .
Banks are supposed to make sure they know their customers .
The requirements are a lot lower when a customer , like Ask , comes through what 's known as a correspondent bank — a smaller , local bank that partners with a big institution in order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ institution may rely on outdated or shoddy information .
That ’ s how Deutsche Bank came to believe that Ask Trading ’ s networks were run by a man named Yeo Tiam Chye , records show .
Anyone who checked the public database in which all Singapore ’ s corporations must register could have seen that in June 2014 , the director of the company was changed to a man named Heng Boon Liang .
A little digging shows that Heng , who goes by Daniel , lives in Yishun — a residential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and on LinkedIn says he works for a shipping logistics company .
On his Facebook page , he has shared photos of his time spent golfing and umpiring softball games .
The internet has few traces of anyone else working at Ask Trading .
The only person clearly associated with the company online is its original founder , a Russian-born entrepreneur named Maxim Glazov .
On social media , he and Heng have shared photos of their activities together throughout the years , such as attending a mixed martial arts competition in 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trading ’ s success to promote other ventures .
On F6S , a website for startup founders , there ’ s a section titled Amazing Things Maxim ’ s Made : “ A group of companies in logistics and trade finance in Singapore with $ 800M combined yearly turnover.
” It ’ s unclear exactly how bank officers conducted their due diligence .
But if they had checked the various addresses they had on file for Ask , they would have found locations unlikely to be headquarters for a company moving hundreds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the globe .
One address was Glazov ’ s apartment .
Two others were offices registered to Yeo , who goes by Henry , and who turns out to be the person who filed the government paperwork for the companies .
Without digging even this deep , banks still were aware that something seemed fishy about Ask .
Suspicious activity reports , or SARs , filed by BNY Mellon , flagged hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions — in particular , 50 payments totaling $ 27 million , from a Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of those 50 payments referenced a single invoice for fluorescent lamps and included improbably neat round-dollar amounts — amounts that would almost never show up in actual invoices for products that are valued down to the last penny .
In addition , a SAR noted that the payments were “ frequently sent on consecutive days or only a few days apart , ” rather than on regularly scheduled billing intervals , or the kind of time frame in which a company might plausibly need to reorder huge numbers of lights .
One SAR @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over a 3 month time span seems like an excessive amount to pay for fluorescent lamps.
” Further research led the analyst at BNY Mellon to remark that “ Ask Trading is also [ a ] shell entity ” — a company set up with no assets to speak of and no transparency about the business it is conducting — “ whose website was created only to make it appear legitimate.
” In response to questions , the bank sent BuzzFeed News a statement that said , “ As a trusted member of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comply with all applicable laws and regulations , and assist authorities in the important work they do .
By law , we can not comment on any alleged SAR.
” Analysts at other banks , including JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank , also flagged Ask ’ s transactions .
An April 2017 SAR from JPMorgan said the bank filed at least 13 prior reports that included Ask between 2013 and 2015 .
Any of the three banks could have cut the company off and refused to conduct its business any longer .
But as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the FinCEN Files , the banks kept accommodating their suspicious customer , and profiting off its transactions .
JPMorgan and Deutsche told BuzzFeed News that the banks have invested heavily in efforts to thwart money laundering .
The Deutsche spokesperson said the bank could not comment on SAR-related information , but that it had “ learnt from past mistakes.
’ ’ About those fluorescent fixtures : The Center for Advanced Defense Studies , a nonprofit foundation that tracks transnational security issues , keeps a database of all public Russian customs data .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bank it was shipping all those lamps , C4ADS has no records of Ask making any shipments , let alone $ 27.1 million worth .
( They do appear to have made other shipments before and after , but nothing at that scale . )
So if it wasn ’ t shipping fluorescent lighting fixtures , what was Ask being paid all that money for ?
And what were they doing with it ?
BuzzFeed News contacted Glazov , Ask ’ s founder .
First reached by email in October 2019 , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was involved in any of the Ask network companies , but that he would try his best to answer any questions sent to him in writing .
A number of detailed questions were sent .
Glazov never wrote back .
It was time to go to Singapore to ask him in person .
Far from the glittering towers of Singapore ’ s downtown core , Ask Trading ’ s headquarters are located in a 30-story high-rise of stark white concrete .
Offices are arranged in a ring facing in toward the open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ask Trading is registered to office # 03-76 .
None of the names next to the solid metal door belong to companies in the Ask network .
Inside , there is just a receptionist desk , a tiny conference room , and a few cubicles .
It is not the home of a busy global import-export conglomerate , but instead the offices of Yeo Tiam Chye — the man the banks once believed was Ask ’ s owner .
Yeo is not the owner of Ask .
He is an accountant who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reports , and other paperwork required by Singapore ’ s business regulations .
That ’ s why his address is listed as the home to Ask Trading — and to more than 30 other companies .
Yeo was fined nearly $ 60,000 by the Singapore government in June 2019 for helping a different client avoid paying taxes .
“ Due to pressing family matters , I decided to plead guilty to the charges so that I can move on with my life , ” Yeo said in a written response to BuzzFeed News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no wrong.
” Yeo initially declined to comment for this article , so the next stop was Heng , the current owner of Ask Trading .
Answering the door at his sixth-floor apartment , his daughter took a business card and letter , but said her father was unavailable .
He did not respond to multiple further inquiries .
US authorities were no more helpful .
A 2016 report from BNY Mellon had noted that the bank fielded “ government inquiries ” seeking information on Ask .
Lots of government entities can make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involve one of the handful of agencies that investigate financial crimes .
The Office of Foreign Asset Control said it could neither confirm nor deny the existence of records .
The Department of Justice said talk to the FBI .
Finally , the FBI said it wouldn ’ t turn over any documents because doing so “ would be expected to interfere with a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding.
” Ask Trading also turns up in the case of an epic Russian money laundering scheme , known as the mirror trades , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bank ’ s internal investigation , in 2016 , officials found that Ask had received $ 17 million as part of those trades .
Separately , a search of court records uncovered an FBI agent ’ s August 2016 affidavit — from a case about the illegal exportation of night vision goggles — that named two companies related to Ask as potential money launderers .
Robert Mazur , who spent 27 years investigating financial crimes with three different federal agencies , agreed to look through BuzzFeed News ’ files about Ask and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Mazur ’ s career has been colorful enough that it led to a book and a movie .
For the feds , he worked undercover as a money launderer .
He knows how money launderers operate , and he knows how to read a SAR and glean insights .
His analysis wouldn ’ t be definitive , but it would — at long last — put enough of the puzzle pieces together for a picture to emerge .
Reviewing more than 200 pages of the suspicious activity reports from the FinCEN Files @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opinion , the flags waved vivid red from almost every one of those pages .
“ The transactions had no apparent economic , business or lawful purpose , ” the report he compiled for BuzzFeed News noted .
“ In nearly every instance , the reported transactions involved shell companies from many corners of the tax haven world.
” He continued , “ The addresses of the company that maintained the account used the same address as hundreds of other shell-like companies.
” And on and on he went , 13 bullet points @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said was one clear conclusion : Ask ’ s transactions had all the hallmarks of a classic money laundering operation .
“ In my opinion , the U.S. dollar transactions reported in the 14 SARs appear to have been conducted for the purpose of moving funds connected to illicit activity from Russia , or on behalf of Russian or Ukrainian residents , to places outside of Russia , ” Mazur wrote in his report to BuzzFeed News .
Mazur ’ s conclusions called to mind the Russian national who was Ask Trading ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The guy who wanted a list of questions and then didn ’ t respond .
A balding entrepreneur , Glazov lives in a third-floor walk-up apartment — the address that banks had listed as one of Ask ’ s corporate offices — at the end of a quiet street in an affluent Singapore neighborhood .
While in Singapore , BuzzFeed News visited his doorstep three times before he finally opened the door .
Standing a bit under 6 feet tall , with a toned build and a red shirt , Glazov declined to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s business , about the FBI investigation , about how a company can get three powerful banks to conduct its financial transactions when they had been repeatedly flagged as suspicious , about why Ask wired millions of dollars to accused terror financiers .
He said , simply and definitively , “ I don ’ t want to talk.
” He confirmed he had received our questions and politely closed the door .
Months later , Glazov responded by email to some of the questions asked by BuzzFeed News about Ask Trading ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involved in ASK for a few years , and do not have records of the so-called transactions that you describe in your email , ” Glazov wrote .
“ Regardless , when I was involved with ASK , none of its transactions involved any criminal wrongdoing to the best of my knowledge.
” Glazov said that it was not uncommon in Singapore for businesses to be registered at personal addresses for the sake of correspondence .
Despite internet records saying that he registered the website that claimed Ask Trading had more than 200 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t know who created the website or why .
The research on Glazov turned up something else about him .
He had been trying to start a new company , SafeChats , that provides “ military-grade security ” for business and private communications .
Glazov said that SafeChats is no longer in operation .
The tagline of its website reads : “ No one needs to know.
” ●

With a website claiming more than 200 employees and an office in a business complex in the middle of Singapore, Ask Trading — “a trading and investment company focusing on the Russia/CIS market” — might appear to be a thriving midsize business.
But actually it’s a mirage. Under even the slightest scrutiny, it starts to disappear.
That office, BuzzFeed News discovered during a visit, is just a few sparsely populated cubicles. The company’s current website is only one page, and photographs on it were lifted from published materials about other firms. And public records show Ask was not doing what it claimed to do.
Yet between 2001 and 2016, it managed to move at least $671 million in transactions through Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of New York Mellon, from sources no one at those banks ascertained, for purposes it never revealed.
Shell companies like Ask Trading keep a low profile, but they play an outsize role in the dark economy, the trillions of dollars of dirty money that course through Western banks in full view of government regulators.
As documented in the FinCEN Files, thousands of secret government documents that BuzzFeed News shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 100 news organizations around the globe, these so-called shell companies can be a conduit for terrorist networks, narcotraffickers, and crime syndicates to launder the proceeds of their illegal activity. The money goes into an account at a prestigious international bank, and when it emerges, cleansed of any taint, just a few more clicks can move it from one country to another to fund more mayhem and misery.
By law, banks are supposed to be on the lookout for transactions that bear hallmarks of money laundering or other financial misconduct, then report their concerns to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. Such reports can support investigations and intelligence gathering — but by themselves they are not evidence of a crime. Banks have broad discretion to end their relationship with the customers whose accounts they find suspicious. But in the FinCEN Files they rarely do.
Dozens of banks around the globe opened their doors to Ask and the network of companies connected to it. Bankers documented their concerns, but still went on to process nearly a billion dollars’ worth of their transactions.
And not just any transactions. According to government documents, Ask used the banks to send $4 million to a United Arab Emirates–based company for what it said were construction materials. The US government later said the company was part of an organization financing drug cartels and terrorist organizations such as the Taliban. Ask received $17 million from a money laundering ring manipulating international stock trades.
The story of how a venture as elusive as Ask could gain access to some of the world’s most powerful financial institutions is the story of how the entire elaborate system of safeguards fails, over and over again.
It’s the story of banks that don’t ask too many questions about the money flowing through their accounts. And of a government oversight structure that lets banks profit off even the most suspicious transaction as long as they file the proper paperwork.
It’s also a detective story.
BuzzFeed News decided to see if we could do what was apparently too great a challenge for huge international banks: figure out what the Ask network is and who’s behind it. That could have been all the information needed to stop these suspicious transactions, if anyone were so inclined.


buzzfeed--2020-09-23--The Victims Of Violence During The Kenosha Protests Are Suing Facebook

Kyle Rittenhouse raises his hands as he walks toward police vehicles after allegedly killing two men and shooting another .
Four people are suing Facebook for its alleged role in enabling the violence that overtook the city of Kenosha , Wisconsin , in August .
The five-count civil complaint filed late Tuesday in a Wisconsin federal court argues that Facebook “ empowered right wing militias to inflict extreme violence and deprive Plaintiffs and protestors of their rights ” by providing a platform for the groups to recruit members and plan violence .
It also accuses alleged shooter Kyle Rittenhouse , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ boogaloo , ” and the “ commander ” of the self-described militia group Kenosha Guard of being part of a violent conspiracy to violate the constitutional rights of four Black Lives Matter protesters , including the partner of a man killed during the protests .
The suit , the first to accuse Facebook of abetting the violence in Kenosha , centers on the night of Aug. 25 , when a Black Lives Matter protest in the Wisconsin city descended into violence .
Two men were killed and another was shot after an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who crossed state lines from Illinois and used a semi-automatic weapon .
He is now charged with two counts of first-degree murder , and one count each of attempted homicide , recklessly endangering the safety of two people , and possessing a weapon while under the age of 18 .
“ There is a failure on the part of Facebook to act based upon warnings that result [ ed ] in armed militias violating state law and in the case of Rittenhouse going to a peaceful protest to violently repress and deter American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” attorney Jason Flores-Williams , who filed the suit , told BuzzFeed News .
The plaintiffs are Hannah Gittings , whose partner was among those Rittenhouse allegedly killed ; Christopher McNeal , a Black man and longtime resident of Kenosha ; Nathan Peet , a Kenosha resident who attempted to assist one of the people allegedly killed by Rittenhouse ; and Carmen Palmer , a Black woman who traveled to Kenosha from Milwaukee with her kids and a church protest group to march against racial injustice .
Earlier this month , BuzzFeed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ page encouraging attendees to bring arms to the city had been flagged 455 times by people on Facebook .
CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees the company ’ s failure to remove the event page was “ an operational mistake.
” BuzzFeed News also reported that Facebook did not remove the page after the shootings occurred , despite its claims to employees and the press to the contrary .
The company later apologized for misleading the public .
This lawsuit , McNeal v. Facebook , Inc. , follows a similar complaint filed in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Right ” rally held in Charlottesville , Virginia , in 2017 .
Both lawsuits cite Reconstruction-era laws in attempts to hold white supremacists accountable for violent suppression of constitutional rights .
The Kenosha suit also attempts to pierce the broad protections afforded to platforms like Facebook for user-generated content under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act .
Do you work at Facebook or another technology company ?
We 'd love to hear from you .
Reach out at craig.silverman @ buzzfeed.com and ryan.mac @ buzzfeed.com or via one of our tip line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Rittenhouse , called the suit `` nonsense . ''
`` As to Kyle Rittenhouse , this lawsuit is errant nonsense but may provide a golden opportunity for obtaining documents and sworn testimony from Facebook to bolster Kyle ’ s future defamation case against Facebook for falsely accusing him of mass murder , '' Wood told BuzzFeed News , referring to Facebook 's decision to designate the incident a mass shooting and remove Rittenhouse 's account and any content celebrating his actions .
`` Thus , I view the lawsuit as a blessing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
The complaint says the four plaintiffs were “ terrorized , assaulted , harassed , and placed in so much fear when facing the business end of military grade assault rifles that they determined it was too dangerous to continue to protest.
” Palmer , one of the plaintiffs , told BuzzFeed News that people she described as white supremacists called her and her children racist slurs and pointed guns at them as they protested peacefully .
She said that fearing for their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but discovered their car tires had been slashed .
As they stood near their car , a man riding in a truck with other heavily armed people pepper-sprayed them .

Four people are suing Facebook for its alleged role in enabling the violence that overtook the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August.
The five-count civil complaint filed late Tuesday in a Wisconsin federal court argues that Facebook “empowered right wing militias to inflict extreme violence and deprive Plaintiffs and protestors of their rights” by providing a platform for the groups to recruit members and plan violence. It also accuses alleged shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, a follower of the fringe anti-government group “boogaloo,” and the “commander” of the self-described militia group Kenosha Guard of being part of a violent conspiracy to violate the constitutional rights of four Black Lives Matter protesters, including the partner of a man killed during the protests.
The suit, the first to accuse Facebook of abetting the violence in Kenosha, centers on the night of Aug. 25, when a Black Lives Matter protest in the Wisconsin city descended into violence. Two men were killed and another was shot after an alleged altercation with Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old who crossed state lines from Illinois and used a semi-automatic weapon. He is now charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and one count each of attempted homicide, recklessly endangering the safety of two people, and possessing a weapon while under the age of 18.
“There is a failure on the part of Facebook to act based upon warnings that result[ed] in armed militias violating state law and in the case of Rittenhouse going to a peaceful protest to violently repress and deter American citizens from engaging in their constitutional rights,” attorney Jason Flores-Williams, who filed the suit, told BuzzFeed News.
The plaintiffs are Hannah Gittings, whose partner was among those Rittenhouse allegedly killed; Christopher McNeal, a Black man and longtime resident of Kenosha; Nathan Peet, a Kenosha resident who attempted to assist one of the people allegedly killed by Rittenhouse; and Carmen Palmer, a Black woman who traveled to Kenosha from Milwaukee with her kids and a church protest group to march against racial injustice.
Earlier this month, BuzzFeed News reported that a Kenosha Guard event page encouraging attendees to bring arms to the city had been flagged 455 times by people on Facebook. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees the company’s failure to remove the event page was “an operational mistake.” BuzzFeed News also reported that Facebook did not remove the page after the shootings occurred, despite its claims to employees and the press to the contrary. The company later apologized for misleading the public.
This lawsuit, McNeal v. Facebook, Inc., follows a similar complaint filed in the wake of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Both lawsuits cite Reconstruction-era laws in attempts to hold white supremacists accountable for violent suppression of constitutional rights. The Kenosha suit also attempts to pierce the broad protections afforded to platforms like Facebook for user-generated content under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
Do you work at Facebook or another technology company? We'd love to hear from you. Reach out at craig.silverman@buzzfeed.com and ryan.mac@buzzfeed.com or via one of our tip line channels.
Lin Wood, an attorney for Rittenhouse, called the suit "nonsense."
"As to Kyle Rittenhouse, this lawsuit is errant nonsense but may provide a golden opportunity for obtaining documents and sworn testimony from Facebook to bolster Kyle’s future defamation case against Facebook for falsely accusing him of mass murder," Wood told BuzzFeed News, referring to Facebook's decision to designate the incident a mass shooting and remove Rittenhouse's account and any content celebrating his actions. "Thus, I view the lawsuit as a blessing in disguise.”
Facebook and the other defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The complaint says the four plaintiffs were “terrorized, assaulted, harassed, and placed in so much fear when facing the business end of military grade assault rifles that they determined it was too dangerous to continue to protest.”
Palmer, one of the plaintiffs, told BuzzFeed News that people she described as white supremacists called her and her children racist slurs and pointed guns at them as they protested peacefully. She said that fearing for their safety, they decided to leave, but discovered their car tires had been slashed. As they stood near their car, a man riding in a truck with other heavily armed people pepper-sprayed them.


buzzfeed--2020-09-23--Republicans’ Hunter Biden Report Is Filled With Old, Unsubstantiated Allegations And Debunked Theori

Republicans’ Hunter Biden Report Is Filled With Old, Unsubstantiated Allegations And Debunked Theories

A Republican-led Senate investigation of the work of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son Hunter in Ukraine finally landed Wednesday — not with a bang , as its authors had long promised , but with a whimper .
Led by Sens .
Ron Johnson , chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee , and Chuck Grassley , chair of the Senate Finance Committee , its findings are merely a compilation of information already in the public sphere : testimonies from US officials given during last year ’ s impeachment hearings , controversial news articles , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukrainian operatives — all used to support weighty allegations that have already been debunked .
Democrats have said there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the Bidens ’ part and that the report ’ s findings would only further spread Russia-backed disinformation with just six weeks to go until Election Day .
At 87 pages , the Republicans ’ report of the investigation , titled “ Hunter Biden , Burisma and Corruption , ” is unlikely to rock Biden ’ s campaign for the White House .
Beyond stating that Hunter Biden ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Ukrainian energy company , interfered with “ efficient execution ” US–Ukraine policy , there is nothing damning enough to throw Joe Biden ’ s candidacy off course .
The Johnson–Grassley report concludes that “ Hunter Biden ’ s position on Burisma ’ s board was problematic and did interfere in the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine.
” It also alleges that Hunter and other Biden relatives “ cashed in on Joe Biden ’ s vice presidency.
” But the report undermines its own findings , stating that “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s role on Burisma ’ s board affected US policy toward Ukraine is not clear.
” The report relies heavily on the public remarks of two US officials , including top State Department official George Kent , who said Hunter Biden ’ s work for Burisma was “ very awkward ” for US officials who were pushing an anti-corruption agenda in post-revolution Ukraine .
Burisma and its owner , Mykola Zlochevsky , have been accused by Ukrainian authorities of corruption and are embroiled in investigations in Kyiv .
But two of Ukraine ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yuriy Lutsenko , who played a role in Rudy Giuliani ’ s backdoor Ukraine campaign to help Donald Trump — have said that no evidence has ever been found to suggest Hunter Biden was part of any corrupt scheme .
The report also highlights a controversial 2017 Politico article by reporters Ken Vogel , who is now with the New York Times , and David Stern , which has been used by Republicans to push debunked claims that Ukraine — not Russia — had interfered in the 2016 election .
Listed in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allegation that “ Hunter Biden received a $ 3.5 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina , the wife of the former mayor of Moscow.
” But the report later states that the transfer was made to a company co-founded by Hunter and does not provide evidence to suggest that he himself received the money .
Johnson and Grassley ’ s source appears in the footnotes to be a “ confidential document.
” Asked by BuzzFeed News for more information about the document , a spokesperson for Johnson said via email that “ the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ went .
...
The company was owned and controlled by Hunter .
Are you actually insinuating that because the financial docs , the ones that were referenced in the report that is , don ’ t include a direct deposit into his personal bank account that it changes the point somehow ?
” Grassley ’ s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
Johnson and Grassley ’ s investigation , which was launched last year amid the Trump impeachment saga , has been mired in controversy ever since , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the president ’ s bidding by trying to damage his opponent .
The two Republicans spend several pages of their report trying to deflect allegations from Democrats and reports from the “ liberal media ” about the Senate Republicans laundering through their investigation Russian disinformation from discredited Ukrainian operatives , including lawmaker Andriy Derkach .
This month , the US Treasury sanctioned Derkach , who was trained at a KGB academy in Moscow , and deemed him to be an “ active Russian agent ” working to undermine the election .
Secretary of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involving Derkach “ was designed to culminate prior to Election Day.
” In a statement sent to BuzzFeed News , Andrew Bates , a Biden campaign spokesperson , alluded to the Russian operation in blasting Johnson for “ subsidiz [ ing ] a foreign attack against the sovereignty of our elections with taxpayer dollars.
” The Johnson–Grassley report ends by saying that “ there remains much work to be done , ” citing the Senate Democrats ’ and executive branch ’ s failure to comply with document requests .

A Republican-led Senate investigation of the work of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son Hunter in Ukraine finally landed Wednesday — not with a bang, as its authors had long promised, but with a whimper.
Led by Sens. Ron Johnson, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, its findings are merely a compilation of information already in the public sphere: testimonies from US officials given during last year’s impeachment hearings, controversial news articles, and unsubstantiated information published online by discredited Ukrainian operatives — all used to support weighty allegations that have already been debunked.
Democrats have said there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the Bidens’ part and that the report’s findings would only further spread Russia-backed disinformation with just six weeks to go until Election Day.
At 87 pages, the Republicans’ report of the investigation, titled “Hunter Biden, Burisma and Corruption,” is unlikely to rock Biden’s campaign for the White House. Beyond stating that Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, interfered with “efficient execution” US–Ukraine policy, there is nothing damning enough to throw Joe Biden’s candidacy off course.
The Johnson–Grassley report concludes that “Hunter Biden’s position on Burisma’s board was problematic and did interfere in the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine.” It also alleges that Hunter and other Biden relatives “cashed in on Joe Biden’s vice presidency.”
But the report undermines its own findings, stating that “the extent to which Hunter Biden’s role on Burisma’s board affected US policy toward Ukraine is not clear.”
The report relies heavily on the public remarks of two US officials, including top State Department official George Kent, who said Hunter Biden’s work for Burisma was “very awkward” for US officials who were pushing an anti-corruption agenda in post-revolution Ukraine.
Burisma and its owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, have been accused by Ukrainian authorities of corruption and are embroiled in investigations in Kyiv. But two of Ukraine’s last three prosecutors general — including Yuriy Lutsenko, who played a role in Rudy Giuliani’s backdoor Ukraine campaign to help Donald Trump — have said that no evidence has ever been found to suggest Hunter Biden was part of any corrupt scheme.
The report also highlights a controversial 2017 Politico article by reporters Ken Vogel, who is now with the New York Times, and David Stern, which has been used by Republicans to push debunked claims that Ukraine — not Russia — had interfered in the 2016 election.
Listed in the report’s findings was also the allegation that “Hunter Biden received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina, the wife of the former mayor of Moscow.” But the report later states that the transfer was made to a company co-founded by Hunter and does not provide evidence to suggest that he himself received the money. Johnson and Grassley’s source appears in the footnotes to be a “confidential document.”
Asked by BuzzFeed News for more information about the document, a spokesperson for Johnson said via email that “the report is methodical about where the money went. ... The company was owned and controlled by Hunter. Are you actually insinuating that because the financial docs, the ones that were referenced in the report that is, don’t include a direct deposit into his personal bank account that it changes the point somehow?”
Grassley’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Johnson and Grassley’s investigation, which was launched last year amid the Trump impeachment saga, has been mired in controversy ever since, with Democrats accusing the senators of doing the president’s bidding by trying to damage his opponent.
The two Republicans spend several pages of their report trying to deflect allegations from Democrats and reports from the “liberal media” about the Senate Republicans laundering through their investigation Russian disinformation from discredited Ukrainian operatives, including lawmaker Andriy Derkach.
This month, the US Treasury sanctioned Derkach, who was trained at a KGB academy in Moscow, and deemed him to be an “active Russian agent” working to undermine the election. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Russian operation involving Derkach “was designed to culminate prior to Election Day.”
In a statement sent to BuzzFeed News, Andrew Bates, a Biden campaign spokesperson, alluded to the Russian operation in blasting Johnson for “subsidiz[ing] a foreign attack against the sovereignty of our elections with taxpayer dollars.”
The Johnson–Grassley report ends by saying that “there remains much work to be done,” citing the Senate Democrats’ and executive branch’s failure to comply with document requests.


buzzfeed--2020-09-23--A Powerful Lawmaker Is Asking The British Government Hard Questions About The FinCEN Files Revelatio

A Powerful Lawmaker Is Asking The British Government Hard Questions About The FinCEN Files Revelations

Here is where you can find all of BuzzFeed News 's FinCEN Files reporting in one place .
A powerful British lawmaker is demanding answers from the UK government about “ deeply troubling ” findings in the FinCEN Files , a global investigation based on a huge trove of documents BuzzFeed News shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists .
The investigation revealed how the giants of Western banking move trillions of dollars in suspicious transactions , enriching themselves and their shareholders while facilitating the actions of terrorists , kleptocrats , and drug kingpins .
The documents have spotlighted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s largest banks , including HSBC , Standard Chartered , and Barclays .
“ Some of the information coming from the release of the FinCEN papers is deeply troubling , ” Mel Stride , the conservative chair of Parliament ’ s Treasury Committee , said in a statement released Wednesday .
He said he had sent a series of formal questions to Prime Minister Boris Johnson ’ s administration asking whether the government is doing enough to stop money laundering and expressed particular concern about HM Revenue and Customs , the British government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Financial Conduct Authority , its financial crime watchdog .
“ The Treasury Committee wants to know whether Ministers , HMRC and the FCA are on top of this , ” he wrote .
Stride demanded to know whether HMRC is “ an effective money laundering supervisor.
” He also asked whether UK law enforcement agencies are “ following up on the information in the FinCEN papers , ” and whether the FCA will “ take enforcement action.
” At the heart of the FinCEN Files are more than 2,000 “ suspicious activity reports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ file to the US Treasury when they spot transactions that bear the hallmarks of money laundering or other financial misconduct .
While SARs are not by themselves evidence of a crime , they can support investigations and intelligence gathering .

A powerful British lawmaker is demanding answers from the UK government about “deeply troubling” findings in the FinCEN Files, a global investigation based on a huge trove of documents BuzzFeed News shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
The investigation revealed how the giants of Western banking move trillions of dollars in suspicious transactions, enriching themselves and their shareholders while facilitating the actions of terrorists, kleptocrats, and drug kingpins. The documents have spotlighted failings inside a number of Britain’s largest banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Barclays.
“Some of the information coming from the release of the FinCEN papers is deeply troubling,” Mel Stride, the conservative chair of Parliament’s Treasury Committee, said in a statement released Wednesday.
He said he had sent a series of formal questions to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration asking whether the government is doing enough to stop money laundering and expressed particular concern about HM Revenue and Customs, the British government’s tax collection agency, and Financial Conduct Authority, its financial crime watchdog. “The Treasury Committee wants to know whether Ministers, HMRC and the FCA are on top of this,” he wrote.
Stride demanded to know whether HMRC is “an effective money laundering supervisor.” He also asked whether UK law enforcement agencies are “following up on the information in the FinCEN papers,” and whether the FCA will “take enforcement action.”
At the heart of the FinCEN Files are more than 2,000 “suspicious activity reports,” which banks are required to file to the US Treasury when they spot transactions that bear the hallmarks of money laundering or other financial misconduct. While SARs are not by themselves evidence of a crime, they can support investigations and intelligence gathering.


buzzfeed--2020-09-23--HSBC's Secret Files: The Inside Tale Of What Happened After It Apologized For Being Dirty

From the FinCEN Files investigation : Secret documents show how one of the world ’ s biggest banks kept doing business with companies that its own employees raised red flags about .
It sure seemed like the wild days were coming to an end .
HSBC , Europe ’ s largest bank , had just been caught allowing a network of drug kingpins , including the notorious Joaquín “ El Chapo ” Guzmán , to launder more than $ 880 million through its accounts .
And it had brazenly done business in off-limits countries such as Sudan and Myanmar .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the US Department of Justice granted it : Admit your guilt , pay $ 1.9 billion in fines , and submit to an independent monitor .
And so HSBC ’ s new era began , with the arrival of a sprawling team of outside investigators to make sure the bank was cleaning up its act .
It was the most high-profile case against a bank in a decade , and the government declared that the arrangement it had put in place , known as a deferred prosecution agreement , would make HSBC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t , it could face criminal charges .
The FinCEN Files investigation — based , in part , on thousands of secret Treasury Department documents — reveals that HSBC ’ s promises were hollow , and so was the government ’ s threat .
Even under the most intensive scrutiny , the bank continued to facilitate and profit from transactions it suspected were dirty .
At the end of the monitor ’ s five-year tenure , he said HSBC had made progress , but the bank itself acknowledged to shareholders that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ managing financial crime risk.
” Yet no criminal charges ensued .
In fact , the government announced that HSBC had “ complied with their obligations.
” The inside tale of what happened at HSBC , told here for the first time , underscores how toothless deferred prosecution agreements really are .
The records show that the bank continued to do business with companies that its own employees raised red flags about .
Vida Panamá , owned by Panama ’ s powerful Waked family , used the bank to exchange $ 292 million in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it a money laundering organization that washed funds for narco kingpins .
An attorney for the family , Yasser Williams , told BuzzFeed News the business was legitimate , and the Wakeds plan to fight Treasury ’ s designation .
A Turkish financial consultant made 124 suspicious transactions in 2015 and 2016 , including a wire transfer to a California electronics company accused by the Justice Department of laundering cash for the Norte del Valle drug cartel .
The California company did not respond to a detailed message .
And the bank flouted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial institutions in Transnistria , a breakaway republic in Moldova known as a haven for financial crime .
The confidential files , shared by BuzzFeed News with the more than 100 partner newsrooms of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists ( ICIJ ) , contain 70 of the suspicious activity reports , or SARs , that HSBC submitted during the five-year period it was under the eye of the monitor .
Such documents , sent to the Treasury Department ’ s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network , or FinCEN , flag transactions that have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not by themselves evidence of a crime , but they can support investigations and intelligence gathering .
The FinCEN Files investigation — which also included internal bank records and firsthand accounts of people inside the bank and familiar with the monitor ’ s examination — found numerous fronts on which the bank fell short .
Outside the US , local regulators tried to brush off the monitor ’ s staff or warned them not to ask uncomfortable questions .
Despite bringing on more than a dozen US and UK government officials — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on to serve as FBI director , and Bob Werner , who had overseen the Treasury Department ’ s efforts to enforce sanctions — HSBC failed to resolve shortcomings the monitor identified in anti–money laundering procedures .
Meanwhile , to improve computer security measures , HSBC brought on consultants remembered by a colleague more for their partying than their work ethic .
During the past decade , the government has relied on deferred prosecution agreements as its main strategy to fight high-level corporate crime .
`` Through those agreements , we can often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even more than , we could from a criminal conviction , ” said Leslie Caldwell , the former head of the Justice Department 's criminal division , at an anti–money laundering conference in 2015 .
But instead of accomplishing real change , the Justice Department ’ s approach has produced an ineffective cycle of accusations and inaction , apologies and broken promises — and yet more deferred prosecution agreements .
Nowhere is that more clear than the case of HSBC .
The monitors installed by the Department of Justice to evaluate banks often @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michael Cherkasky , who led the team overseeing HSBC , is a former prosecutor who brought mob boss John Gotti to trial .
But monitors are not law enforcement officials .
They are independent overseers , and they are paid by the banks , not the government .
What ’ s more , the banks have substantial influence over which monitor gets the job : A bank typically proposes three candidates , from which the government chooses one .
So , critics say , the monitors are beholden to the very industry they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ powers are weak .
Monitors can request bank records and try to interview employees , but they don ’ t have the power to make anyone cooperate .
If the bank doesn ’ t comply , the monitor can ’ t bring criminal charges or put the bank out of business by revoking its charter — nor can it assume that law enforcement authorities will do so .
And the banks know it .
“ It was in the air that everyone felt like it was a joke , ” said Christina Rea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Manhattan office .
“ The sentiment that was coming from the top down wasn ’ t ‘ Oh , we don ’ t want to get our charter revoked.
’ It was ‘ Make it look like we ’ re doing more.
’ ” At most , she said , the message was “ you had to sit up a little bit straighter.
” Elise Bean , the Senate staffer who led the congressional probe into HSBC , initially supported the record fine against the bank .
“ I thought imposing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and giving the bank a chance to change might work , '' said Bean .
`` But when the Justice Department , backed by the courts , became very secretive about what the monitor was finding at HSBC , that was the death knell .
Secret oversight and secret reports don ’ t produce meaningful change.
” HSBC , like other banks , is barred from discussing or even acknowledging the existence of SARs .
A spokesperson would not answer detailed questions , but said the events in question took place in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ met the obligations of its agreements with the government .
“ HSBC is a much safer institution than it was in 2012 , ” said spokesperson Heidi Ashley .
Wearing a white linen suit and a white shirt open at the neck , Phil Ming Xu spoke to potential investors from a conference room stage .
He quoted from Proverbs 29:18 : “ Where there is no vision , the people perish.
” Xu promised he had the vision .
All he needed from the crowd was their faith — and their money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his associates were trumpeting a unique investment opportunity — membership units for cloud space storing video and music — that would not only bring a 100 % return in the first 100 days , but also “ glorify God.
” People handed over piles of money .
But rather than build a cloud computing network , Xu ’ s associates bought two golf courses for $ 8 million and a 7,000-square-foot luxury home for $ 2.4 million , all with cash .
He sent $ 1.3 million to a jeweler to buy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sierra Leone .
The FinCEN Files reveal that HSBC itself was aware of allegations that its customer , Xu , was running a Ponzi scheme — and even documented that awareness in SARs that it filed to FinCEN .
The government shelved those reports and HSBC continued to profit from these transactions , while thousands of people , predominantly Asian and Latino immigrants , lost their shirts .
In 2013 , California sent a subpoena to HSBC about Xu ’ s company .
The bank ’ s legal department replied that it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the information stated on the subpoena.
” Yet a mere four weeks later , HSBC filed the first of at least three suspicious activity reports about Xu and his company , WCM777 .
( The name stood for World Cloud Media and the supposedly divine number of triple seven . )
In Malta , a small island nation with a large HSBC presence , a key employee told Cherkasky ’ s investigators that he was too scared to talk because he had received a death threat before his interview .
And in Sri @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was made to promise the bank it wouldn ’ t look into the accounts of the many politicians who used its services , according to a source familiar with the matter .
Even then , government ministers wouldn ’ t respond to visa requests .
First , the monitor was told the official in charge of their trip was on holiday .
Then that person was ill .
Eventually , Cherkasky ’ s team moved on .
In China , one of the members of the monitor ’ s team was asleep in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a knock at the door .
In the hallway stood local law enforcement agents who wouldn ’ t give their names .
They interrogated him about what he intended to do in China .
To Cherkasky ’ s group , it was an intimidation tactic .
The bank first opened its doors in Hong Kong in 1865 , as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation , to finance trade between Europe and Asia .
The region still accounts for two-thirds of HSBC ’ s profits .
The bank is so deeply interwoven with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its headquarters are a kind of landmark , where passersby pat the paws of its distinctive lion statues for good luck .
When the monitor ’ s team arrived there , it met layers of resistance .
Two people familiar with the conversation recalled that HSBC ’ s former general counsel Stuart Levey told Cherkasky that China was one of its “ emerging markets , ” and that as a result the bank ’ s operations there weren ’ t ready for an intensive review .
Levey did not comment for this article @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sources said , that in China and Hong Kong , government ministers and bank employees alike were offended that a group of Americans would expect access to HSBC ’ s books .
Those sources recalled a circumstance they said happened often : The monitor ’ s team expected to interview an HSBC employee , only to be notified that the person was unavailable because they had been summoned away at the last moment .
A contractor who was not a part of the monitor ’ s team , but who was sent to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s anti–money laundering programs , recalled arriving at the bank ’ s skyscraper overlooking Victoria Harbor .
The contractor was made to sit in the lobby for nearly an hour before being allowed upstairs .
Inside the office , staff members wouldn ’ t turn over the data that was supposed to be under review .
They suggested getting out to see the city instead .
“ They basically told me to fuck off and go shopping , ” the contractor said .
All the while , the bank was waving through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial transactions .
The FinCEN Files show that people in HSBC ’ s US compliance office — the department charged with making sure the bank follows anti–money laundering laws — filed reports identifying more than $ 2 billion in transactions through the company ’ s Hong Kong subsidiary that bore the hallmarks of possible criminal activity .
This was happening while HSBC was under the supposedly tough scrutiny of the monitor , but the government took no action .
HSBC 's own reports cited the same targets again and again for suspicious behavior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transaction by a company that “ was identified as the subject of 12 money laundering investigations carried out by HSBC Hong Kong which resulted in disclosures to Hong Kong authorities and recommendation for closure of this entity 's accounts.
” Another Hong Kong customer was the subject of eight such money laundering investigations .
In some cases , SARs allege , compliance officers in HSBC ’ s US operation raised concerns about customers in Hong Kong , only to be told that even the most basic information — who owned the company in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or what type of business it conducted — couldn ’ t be shared or was never collected in the first place .
“ It was impossible to do the job without this information , ” Alexis Grullon , who monitored international suspicious activity at HSBC until August 2014 , told ICIJ .
On the very day in 2012 that HSBC ’ s lawyers met with congressional investigators , employees in Hong Kong began transferring money for a customer called Trade Leader Corporation Limited .
Trade Leader would reportedly emerge in the so-called Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billions of illicit dollars through banks in Eastern Europe .
By February 2014 , Trade Leader had moved more than half a billion dollars in transactions through HSBC .
Altogether , at least $ 840 million that filtered through HSBC Hong Kong can be connected to shell companies involved in the Russian Laundromat , according to an analysis of SARs by BuzzFeed News and ICIJ .
A representative for the company that registered Trade Leader did not answer detailed questions .
When investigators for HSBC ’ s US operations asked their counterparts in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Leader ’ s owner , the Americans received a curt response : “ None available.
” “ They would say : ‘ Sure , we ’ ll get back to you , ’ ” Grullon said .
“ But they ’ d never get back.
” One team member was so hungover after a particularly hard night that he crashed out in a bathroom stall at work the next day , the whistleblower told BuzzFeed News .
Another fell asleep during a phone call .
In July 2016 , HSBC promised the whistleblower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — an exhaustive review by the bank ’ s Global Internal Investigations Group .
In the meantime , Cherkasky ’ s reports to the Justice Department again and again cited a major problem festering inside many of HSBC ’ s branches : the broken computer systems that were intended to catch dirty money , systems like the one the London team was supposed to be fixing .
Human beings alone can ’ t track the trillions of dollars sloshing through the financial system .
Banks rely instead on software that can flag any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way that credit card companies flag irregular purchases .
These programs are the central pillar of any anti–money laundering program .
But HSBC struggled to fix its vital computer system .
Four people who worked on one of the bank ’ s main computer programs , called CAMP , told BuzzFeed News that there was no easy way to share information among the company ’ s different computer systems , and that CAMP was so inconsistent that it would flag a transaction as suspicious in one country but not another .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hairs [ sic ] running , ” the whistleblower emailed to an HSBC tipline in June 2016 , “ as it ’ s obvious to everyone on the ground that there ’ s no way it will meet ” the monitor ’ s deadlines .
That fall , the emails suggest , things were no better .
“ HSBC is no more safe or compliant than 2 years ago , ” the whistleblower wrote in November .
“ There has been an appalling amount of time and money spent to achieve so little.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ names such as “ Rouge ” and “ Mantas ” were behind schedule , according to another email , and the high-paid team that was known for partying forgot to back up data , so it lost reams of compliance information in a crash .
Top workers were frustrated and left the bank , the emails said .
In the year that the whistleblower repeatedly sounded alarms , the monitor also kept flagging how flawed HSBC ’ s critical software was .
Cherkasky ’ s team updated the government about “ areas of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make “ greater and quicker progress.
” The monitor set deadlines to make important fixes across the bank .
But nearly four years after he began the job , Cherkasky ’ s only recourse was to write reports updating the Justice Department about how HSBC “ still struggles.
” The whistleblower began copying the UK ’ s top regulator , the Financial Conduct Authority , on their complaint in November 2016 .
In June 2017 , the now-former employee received a final update on the HSBC internal investigation .
It said that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that “ there have been changes made to the FCC function and personnel.
” HSBC would not answer detailed questions about the matter .
When a project failed to get done — something as simple as adding names to a spreadsheet to capture those who are barred from doing business in the US — HSBC executives tried to paper it over by “ rebaselining ” it , changing its original goal .
Christina Rea , the former HSBC employee who said her colleagues felt like they were just supposed to “ sit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the monitor , oversaw a team that investigated alerts for suspicious transactions .
In particular , her team worked on embassy accounts , potential hot spots because of the politically connected clients .
She recalled investigating one transaction in which it wasn ’ t clear where the money was coming from or where it was going , essential details for understanding whether it was aboveboard .
She was told she was taking too long on it , Rea said , but she explained she needed one more day .
That night , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ On paper , it might look like alerts are being cleared , but it was n't being investigated , ” she said .
Disillusioned by how little the bank seemed to care about stopping financial crime , she eventually quit the job and left banking altogether .
By March 2014 , the WCM777 scam had collapsed .
Investors no longer had access to their accounts .
After scores of complaints and investigations in two countries and four different states — prompting cease-and-desist orders in three — the US Securities and Exchange Commission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assets , and appointed a receiver to stop the bleeding .
But HSBC Hong Kong didn ’ t stop .
Just four days after the SEC filing , the bank let WCM777 withdraw all of the money in its account — more than $ 7 million .
In an interview with ICIJ , Xu blamed lower-level players in the organization for “ overpromising ” to WCM777 investors early on .
He also faulted investors for not understanding the company ’ s products .
Xu denounced the actions US authorities had taken , saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ investors took a sharply different view .
On message boards and social media , they lambasted Xu and their church leaders for luring them into a scam .
Julio Ramos , a California lawyer for scores of investors , said HSBC ’ s Hong Kong branch played a pivotal role in helping the company move its ill-gotten gains .
`` HSBC Hong Kong knew that WCM777 was engaging in fraud , '' he wrote in a class action complaint against the bank .
“ The Ponzi scheme survived for over a year because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knowingly delivered , organized , converted and laundered proceeds from an illegal Ponzi scheme.
” The court-appointed receiver who had been tasked with recovering money for victims of the scheme sent a subpoena to HSBC Hong Kong .
But the bank said HSBC Hong Kong was outside the jurisdiction of US courts and it did not have to respond .
The receiver told the court in February 2015 that “ the cost of tracing these funds overseas will be very expensive ” because HSBC did not cooperate .
In all , more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had invested more than $ 80 million , according to court records .
Others said they had turned over funds — frequently in cash — that were never tallied .
The SEC called WCM777 a “ worldwide pyramid scheme.
” But a federal judge dismissed the class action lawsuit against HSBC Hong Kong on August 10 because the US court lacks jurisdiction over Hong Kong businesses .
In an annual disclosure to shareholders in February 2018 , the bank revealed information that Cherkasky had put in his final report .
Despite “ significant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deficiencies in HSBC ’ s financial crime compliance controls and areas of HSBC ’ s programme that require further work , and highlighted potential instances of financial crime and certain areas in which he believes that HSBC is not yet adequately managing financial crime risk.
” The bank was reviewing those issues with the Justice Department , the Federal Reserve Board , and the UK 's financial regulator .
The monitor ’ s final report was never released to the public .
Last year , BuzzFeed News filed a Freedom of Information Act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It has also filed a FOIA request for the letter that the monitor wrote that day in the Bryant Park office .
Last month , a government attorney said that publicly disclosing the report would interfere with an ongoing criminal prosecution — he did not give any details — and that disclosure “ might also provide a roadmap for criminals to exploit vulnerabilities in HSBC ’ s compliance program and potentially those of other financial institutions.
” The bank took the unusual step of intervening in the FOIA lawsuit , writing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ release the report .
One month after the government announced the end of the deferred prosecution agreement that brought Cherkasky ’ s team into HSBC , the bank entered into a new one , for a different set of financial crimes : fraud .
Two years later , it would receive yet another .
● Spencer Woodman of ICIJ , and Sophie Comeau , Waylon Cunningham , Sam Feehan , Nancy Guan , Kristy Hutchings , Kylie Storm , Felicia Tapia , Karen Wang , Abby Washer , and Ashley Zhang of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contributed reporting .

In Malta, a small island nation with a large HSBC presence, a key employee told Cherkasky’s investigators that he was too scared to talk because he had received a death threat before his interview.
And in Sri Lanka, the monitor’s team was made to promise the bank it wouldn’t look into the accounts of the many politicians who used its services, according to a source familiar with the matter. Even then, government ministers wouldn’t respond to visa requests. First, the monitor was told the official in charge of their trip was on holiday. Then that person was ill. Eventually, Cherkasky’s team moved on.
In China, one of the members of the monitor’s team was asleep in his Beijing hotel room when he heard a knock at the door. In the hallway stood local law enforcement agents who wouldn’t give their names. They interrogated him about what he intended to do in China. To Cherkasky’s group, it was an intimidation tactic.
The bank first opened its doors in Hong Kong in 1865, as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, to finance trade between Europe and Asia. The region still accounts for two-thirds of HSBC’s profits. The bank is so deeply interwoven with the culture of that former colony that its headquarters are a kind of landmark, where passersby pat the paws of its distinctive lion statues for good luck.
When the monitor’s team arrived there, it met layers of resistance. Two people familiar with the conversation recalled that HSBC’s former general counsel Stuart Levey told Cherkasky that China was one of its “emerging markets,” and that as a result the bank’s operations there weren’t ready for an intensive review. Levey did not comment for this article.
It became clear, the two sources said, that in China and Hong Kong, government ministers and bank employees alike were offended that a group of Americans would expect access to HSBC’s books.
Those sources recalled a circumstance they said happened often: The monitor’s team expected to interview an HSBC employee, only to be notified that the person was unavailable because they had been summoned away at the last moment.
A contractor who was not a part of the monitor’s team, but who was sent to Hong Kong in 2014 to assess HSBC’s anti–money laundering programs, recalled arriving at the bank’s skyscraper overlooking Victoria Harbor. The contractor was made to sit in the lobby for nearly an hour before being allowed upstairs.
Inside the office, staff members wouldn’t turn over the data that was supposed to be under review. They suggested getting out to see the city instead.
“They basically told me to fuck off and go shopping,” the contractor said.
All the while, the bank was waving through billions of dollars’ worth of suspicious financial transactions.
The FinCEN Files show that people in HSBC’s US compliance office — the department charged with making sure the bank follows anti–money laundering laws — filed reports identifying more than $2 billion in transactions through the company’s Hong Kong subsidiary that bore the hallmarks of possible criminal activity. This was happening while HSBC was under the supposedly tough scrutiny of the monitor, but the government took no action.
HSBC's own reports cited the same targets again and again for suspicious behavior. The Hong Kong branch allowed a transaction by a company that “was identified as the subject of 12 money laundering investigations carried out by HSBC Hong Kong which resulted in disclosures to Hong Kong authorities and recommendation for closure of this entity's accounts.” Another Hong Kong customer was the subject of eight such money laundering investigations.
In some cases, SARs allege, compliance officers in HSBC’s US operation raised concerns about customers in Hong Kong, only to be told that even the most basic information — who owned the company in question, where it was located, or what type of business it conducted — couldn’t be shared or was never collected in the first place.
“It was impossible to do the job without this information,” Alexis Grullon, who monitored international suspicious activity at HSBC until August 2014, told ICIJ.
On the very day in 2012 that HSBC’s lawyers met with congressional investigators, employees in Hong Kong began transferring money for a customer called Trade Leader Corporation Limited.
Trade Leader would reportedly emerge in the so-called Russian Laundromat, a notorious scheme to funnel billions of illicit dollars through banks in Eastern Europe. By February 2014, Trade Leader had moved more than half a billion dollars in transactions through HSBC. Altogether, at least $840 million that filtered through HSBC Hong Kong can be connected to shell companies involved in the Russian Laundromat, according to an analysis of SARs by BuzzFeed News and ICIJ. A representative for the company that registered Trade Leader did not answer detailed questions.
When investigators for HSBC’s US operations asked their counterparts in Hong Kong for the name of Trade Leader’s owner, the Americans received a curt response: “None available.”
“They would say: ‘Sure, we’ll get back to you,’” Grullon said. “But they’d never get back.”


buzzfeed--2020-09-23--Standard Chartered’s Problems With Suspicious Clients Didn’t Go Away. Just Like These Two Ex-Employe

Standard Chartered’s Problems With Suspicious Clients Didn’t Go Away. Just Like These Two Ex-Employees Had Been Saying.

Confidential records from the FinCEN Files show that the bank was reporting its own suspicions about customers with links to Iran until at least 2017 .
On a summer morning in 2012 , Anshuman Chandra read a news article about a Saudi Arabian financial institution suspected of facilitating the funding of al-Qaeda attacks , including 9/11 .
The bank was called Al Rajhi , and a US Senate committee cited allegations it had handled payments to suicide bombers in Somalia , Sri Lanka , India , and the Philippines .
Chandra was deeply troubled , he said , and not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died in terrorist attacks .
He was disturbed because Chandra worked for Standard Chartered bank , and he realized that his employer was doing business with Al Rajhi .
So Chandra warned a supervisor about what he had learned , he said , but he never heard back .
From Standard Chartered ’ s Dubai office , where Chandra was a client services manager , he dug deep into bank records .
He later learned , examining a yearly profit report , that in 2009 alone , Standard Chartered earned $ 2 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Al Rajhi did not respond to a request for comment . )
But that wasn ’ t all .
Poring over Standard Chartered ’ s accounts , he found a number of customers in Iran , a country under US sanctions , and Chandra feared that they too had been indirectly supporting terrorist activities .
“ I actually got goosebumps , ” Chandra said .
This time , he decided to bypass his bosses .
He turned to the US government .
By the fall of 2013 , Chandra and another whistleblower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorities thousands of internal bank records that they claimed show Standard Chartered was giving safe harbor to a number of customers moving money to Iran .
The documents came at a significant time .
A year earlier , the bank had acknowledged its role in concealing tens of thousands of transactions with businesses in Iran .
Under threat of criminal prosecution , the bank had agreed to clean up its act .
Ultimately , the government walked away from the whistleblowers .
But the two men had flagged real problems .
The bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported to the US Treasury that it had suspicions about at least 31 companies contained in the data the whistleblowers had handed over .
Prosecutors eventually determined in 2019 that the bank had allowed more illegal transactions for Iranian clients — including one who had been in Knight and Chandra ’ s documents from 2013 .
Taken together , the whistleblowers ’ accounts and the banks ’ Treasury reports show the depth of the money laundering problems at Standard Chartered and the extent to which the US government gives big banks a pass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are required to file suspicious activity reports , or SARs , when they spot transactions that bear the hallmarks of money laundering or other financial misconduct .
These confidential reports , which go to the Treasury Department ’ s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network , or FinCEN , are not by themselves evidence of a crime , but they can support investigations and intelligence gathering .
The FinCEN Files investigation is based on more than 2,100 of these documents that BuzzFeed News shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 100 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whistleblowers passed along their records , including transaction spreadsheets and client lists , the FBI pursued an investigation .
But it was short-lived .
An agent who was looking into the bank said their documents did not show evidence of new illegal transactions .
A judge recently issued a ruling blocking Knight from an opportunity for whistleblower compensation .
In response to detailed questions from BuzzFeed News , Standard Chartered said in a statement , “ We take our responsibility to fight financial crime extremely seriously and have invested substantially in our compliance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bank files SARs “ when circumstances warrant and that means our screening and monitoring systems are working as intended.
” The bank said it employs 2,000 people worldwide to detect and report suspicious transactions , and that “ U.S .
and U.K. authorities have publicly acknowledged ” that the bank “ has undergone a comprehensive and positive transformation over the last several years.
” Standard Chartered , which like all banks is prohibited from disclosing the contents or even the existence of SARs , did not address many of the specific allegations in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision on his whistleblower case .
Both he and Chandra are pursuing a separate suit alleging that the bank retaliated against them for their disclosures .
They say the decision to come forward wreaked havoc on their lives — and they don ’ t know why the government didn ’ t dig deeper into their materials .
“ I feel betrayed , ” Chandra said .
“ If they analyzed the data , ” he added , “ they could have stopped this much earlier.
” “ These false allegations have been thoroughly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a comprehensive investigation into the claims , ” the Standard Chartered spokesperson said .
The FBI did not respond to multiple requests for comment .
“ The Department of Justice stands by its work , and remains committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting financial crime—including money laundering—wherever we find it , ” DOJ spokesperson Matt Lloyd said in a statement responding to detailed questions about the FinCEN Files investigation .
The global headquarters of Standard Chartered bank stands stolidly on Basinghall Avenue in the heart of the City of London , an imposing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The bank ’ s history dates back 150 years and tracks the rise of the British Empire .
Standard , at the time a separate institution , banked Cecil Rhodes , the diamond baron who supported policies of racial inequality in southern Africa ; Chartered financed the opium trade , ensuring that Britain profited from the drug addictions of millions in China , Hong Kong , and India .
The combined companies now rake in more than $ 15 billion in revenue and employ 85,000 people in 60 different markets .
Standard Chartered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to emerge unscathed from the 2008 financial crisis .
It avoided much of the criticism its competitors received for their risky and deceptive mortgage-trading practices , and even managed to earn a profit throughout the crash .
In 2012 , its CEO said it succeeded because unlike its competitors , it saw “ virtue in being boring.
” But in August of that year , the world learned of another side to Standard Chartered .
New York state prosecutors announced that the bank had helped its clients hide at least 59,000 financial transactions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollars , that potentially violated American sanctions against Iran .
The bank had made “ hundreds of millions of dollars in fees ” off those clients , the prosecutors said .
The bank admitted to having broken the law , but only up until 2007 .
The New York regulators had threatened to revoke the bank ’ s business charter .
The punishment would effectively halt its access to the US dollar market , a death blow for a global financial institution .
But , with a promise from Standard Chartered to stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an outside monitor keeping a close eye on the bank , prosecutors held off bringing any criminal charges .
New York state issued a fine of $ 340 million — a mere 1.3 % of Standard Chartered ’ s revenue that year .
The bank was allowed to continue winding down its business with a number of Iranian clients .
Meanwhile , the bank was also being investigated by US federal authorities .
But Standard Chartered had a well-placed advocate .
George Osborne , the UK ’ s chancellor of the exchequer at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Federal Reserve copying in Timothy Geithner , then the US secretary of the Treasury , to discuss his “ concerns.
” The US was coming down awfully hard on the bank , Osborne said , hard enough to endanger its health .
“ For a systemically important financial institution , ” he wrote , “ this could lead to contagion.
” Endanger one bank , he seemed to suggest , and the whole economy could suffer .
Geithner and Osborne were both heading to Tokyo for the annual World Bank meeting .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ planned meeting , later dug up in a congressional probe , make clear that the world ’ s superpower believed Standard Chartered had crossed a line : “ Treasury considers SCB 's conduct surrounding sanctions violations to be reckless and egregious but not the worst we have encountered.
” The Department of Justice and Standard Chartered ultimately negotiated a deferred prosecution agreement , the US government ’ s preferred tool for getting wayward banks back on track .
Standard Chartered would pay a second fine — $ 227 million — but so long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there would be no criminal prosecution on the federal level , either , and the bank would not lose its license .
A spokesperson for Geithner told BuzzFeed News the Treasury secretaries have “ no authority over criminal prosecutions ” and that “ such matters are handled independently by the Department of Justice and the bank regulators respectively.
” The spokesperson added that Geithner “ did not push for lenient treatment for Standard Chartered from the US government.
” Chandra was working in the bank ’ s Dubai office when , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ colleagues talking about a former colleague named Julian Knight .
They were saying he had blown the whistle on the bank .
Knight , a former flight lieutenant in Britain ’ s Royal Air Force , had risen to become one of the global heads of transaction banking at Standard Chartered before getting fired in 2011 .
He was living in Germany when he first heard the bank was in trouble with prosecutors .
Knight did not believe that Standard Chartered had stopped banking Iranian clients .
He dug out a compact disc @ @ @ @ @ @ @ profit reports , and transaction spreadsheets he had downloaded before leaving the bank .
Through a friend , he passed it to the Treasury Department .
Those records , which have since been reviewed by BuzzFeed News , showed that Standard Chartered was working with Iranian clients after 2007 .
What Knight did n't know was that the government had allowed the bank to fulfill its obligations with some Iranian clients after 2007 .
Those clients had permission to repay their outstanding loans to the bank in currencies other than US dollars , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bank accounts that were otherwise blocked by the US government .
Chandra didn ’ t know all those details , either .
He just knew he needed to speak with Knight .
Chandra said that in April 2013 he sent Knight an email and soon after that passed on the information he had gathered , with the request that it be handed to the US authorities .
He was visiting Standard Chartered ’ s Zambia branch when he received his first email from Matthew Komar .
“ I am a Special Agent with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the investigation into Standard Chartered , ” Komar wrote in an email obtained by BuzzFeed News .
“ I would like to speak with you.
” Chandra was nervous about speaking with Komar , who asked many questions , but the two stayed in touch .
On October 2 , 2013 , a week after his first contact with the FBI , Komar gave him some unwelcome news .
The FBI had let slip that it was talking to Chandra .
His name was “ inadvertently sent by a member of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Komar wrote .
He said the bank ’ s lawyers had promised not to share the information with their client .
Chandra had already emailed Komar , telling him about an unexpected scan of Chandra ’ s computer , the first of what he said were a number of strange developments at work .
“ I 'm very worried at the moment , ” he wrote .
Over the next few months , according to his emails to the FBI , he lost access to certain shared files , he had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his managers grew hostile toward him .
In October 2014 , Chandra reported getting his first death threat .
In an email to Komar , he quoted the caller saying , “ We know you helped Americans , its not good and we will take care of you.
” Chandra wrote to Komar : “ Need your help urgently for my and family 's safety.
” Chandra said Komar suggested he call the local police .
It was the last , Chandra said , that he would hear from Komar for two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questions from BuzzFeed News .
Chandra and Knight , angered by how they had been treated by both the bank and the FBI , turned to American courts .
In 2018 , Knight filed what is known as a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act .
He sought compensation for assisting the US government in its prosecution of the bank for sanctions violations .
But Komar testified that his information wasn ’ t useful , because the investigators were not able to “ corroborate or validate ” the whistleblower ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ judge dismissed the case .
A year after filing that lawsuit , Knight joined with Chandra to file another , this time accusing Standard Chartered of retaliating against them , “ discrediting them and destroying their careers in the industry.
” Knight claimed that the stress of the harassment had taken a serious toll on his health .
Standard Chartered countered that with the retaliation claim , Knight and Chandra were just looking for “ another bite at the apple ” after the first lawsuit went south .
The bank said the two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protections granted to whistleblowers , because the information they gave the government had no value — and even if Chandra were a whistleblower , that ’ s not what caused his termination .
As for Knight , the bank said he had waived his right to sue when he signed his termination agreement .
The retaliation lawsuit , and any last chance of vindication from the courts for Chandra and Knight , is still pending .
But another kind of vindication had long been happening — much of it in secret .
Chandra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the bank ’ s customers .
It turns out similar suspicions were being documented by the bank itself .
The FinCEN Files show the bank filed at least 35 SARs on 31 customers that appeared in the documents Chandra and Knight sent to the FBI in 2013 .
These SARs , filed after the whistleblowers had handed their information to the FBI , show the bank itself alerting the government to questions about the legitimacy of some of its business .
One of the clients included in both the whistleblowers ’ documents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Al Zarooni Exchange .
The US government barred Al Zarooni from the US financial system in 2015 for supporting the Altaf Khanani money laundering organization , which is alleged to have funneled `` billions of dollars across the globe on behalf of terrorists , drug traffickers , and criminal organizations . ''
The Dubai-based company was accused by the Treasury of laundering cash for the Taliban .
Two years after the sanctions were issued , Standard Chartered ’ s compliance staff filed a suspicious activity report showing that the bank had facilitated “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2009 and 2010 .
During that time , Taliban militants staged violent attacks that killed civilians and soldiers .
Al Zarooni could not be reached for comment .
Another such client was a large diamond trader accused by prosecutors of black market diamond sales , tax evasion , and bribery .
In a SAR from January 2017 , the bank indicated it had reported the company ’ s transactions in multiple prior filings .
Between 2014 and 2016 , the SAR said , Standard Chartered had moved more than $ 4 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 35 SARs mentioning customers in the whistleblowers ’ documents discussed possible links to Iran .
One was suspected by the bank to have used “ fraudulent documents ” to hide its trade with Iran until at least 2014 , according to the SAR .
Another “ may have sought to obfuscate ” payments to Iran for the leasing of containers at Iranian airports , according to a 2017 SAR .
The SARs were being written and reviewed behind a wall of secrecy .
But eventually a very public repudiation of Standard Chartered ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In April 2019 , seven years after Standard Chartered entered into its deferred prosecution agreement , US Attorney Jessie Liu announced that the bank ’ s transactions for Iranian clients had “ undermined the integrity of our financial system and harmed our national security .
”

Chandra was working in the bank’s Dubai office when, he said, he heard two of his colleagues talking about a former colleague named Julian Knight. They were saying he had blown the whistle on the bank.
Knight, a former flight lieutenant in Britain’s Royal Air Force, had risen to become one of the global heads of transaction banking at Standard Chartered before getting fired in 2011.
He was living in Germany when he first heard the bank was in trouble with prosecutors. Knight did not believe that Standard Chartered had stopped banking Iranian clients.
He dug out a compact disc that had all the company emails, profit reports, and transaction spreadsheets he had downloaded before leaving the bank. Through a friend, he passed it to the Treasury Department.
Those records, which have since been reviewed by BuzzFeed News, showed that Standard Chartered was working with Iranian clients after 2007. What Knight didn't know was that the government had allowed the bank to fulfill its obligations with some Iranian clients after 2007. Those clients had permission to repay their outstanding loans to the bank in currencies other than US dollars, or to withdraw their existing balances from bank accounts that were otherwise blocked by the US government.
Chandra didn’t know all those details, either. He just knew he needed to speak with Knight. Chandra said that in April 2013 he sent Knight an email and soon after that passed on the information he had gathered, with the request that it be handed to the US authorities.
He was visiting Standard Chartered’s Zambia branch when he received his first email from Matthew Komar.
“I am a Special Agent with the FBI who is the case agent on the investigation into Standard Chartered,” Komar wrote in an email obtained by BuzzFeed News. “I would like to speak with you.”
Chandra was nervous about speaking with Komar, who asked many questions, but the two stayed in touch.