CHINESE BANK INVESTIGATED OVER MONEY LAUNDERING IN SPAIN

The Luxembourg branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has been drawn into a Spanish investigation regarding alleged money laundering.

A Spanish high court judge has agreed to bring proceedings against ICBC Luxembourg, where the Chinese bank has its European headquarters. The charges focus on the Luxembourg branch's responsibility for the activities at ICBC Spain, which was allegedly helping launder money for Chinese criminal gangs.

Judge Ismael Moreno found that rules on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing were not adopted and there were no checks on suspicious operations.

Seven ICBC directors are already under investigation in Spain for their alleged involvement in laundering cash. ICBC has been fined 3.7M Euros by Luxembourg’s financial watchdog for failing to properly supervise or manage its financial security.

The fact that a Chinese bank’s Luxembourg operation is being pulled into a Spanish money laundering investigation shows the multinational nature of both the crime and the methods used to investigate it.

Financial institutions and businesses around the world are now under greater scrutiny and facing more responsibility than ever before when it comes to the identification, reporting and prevention of money laundering. Failure to meet this responsibility will prove costly to anyone in business.

Read our article: MAKING SURE YOU DO ENOUGH TO PREVENT MONEY LAUNDERING