This article was first published on the Terror Finance Blog. Readers of this blog may want to read it together with the earlier story copied and pasted below.
Malaysia's Deputy PM Implicates Wells Fargo In a Money Dirtying Scheme
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Having previously said that a sum of US$681 million found in Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal account was only part of what a Saudi benefactor had provided Muslim groups throughout the region, including Muslim separatists in Thailand and the Philippines who have been waging guerrilla warfare against the majority in those countries, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi now says that the money was contributed by a number of different donors.
This revelation ,given the fact that the sender on record is a BVI company since liquidated named Tanore Finance, suggests that there was a scheme to gather and distribute funds using Wells Fargo as a conduit. The quantum and the structure of the payment suggests that Wells Fargo has at the very least questions to answer with regards basic know your customer (KYC) rules.
END
by Ganesh Sahathevan Having recently payed about a million and a half in fines for AML/CTF breaches, Wells Fargo is now implicated in a money laundering scandal that rivals the drug cartel business that its wholly-owned subsidiary Wachovia had once transacted. At the heart of the scandal is the apparent theft of some $ 10 billion from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1 MDB). Part of the funds said to be stolen is said to have found its way to the personal accounts of the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. In his defence he has said that a Saudi family had sent him a donation of US$ 681 million, via Wells Fargo Bank of New York, using a BVI company (since liquidated) called Tanore Finance. That company was a client of Falcon Private Bank Of Singapore, which was the ordering institution for that wire transfer. The Wall Street Journal which broke the story of that massive "donation" hasplaced on-line the relevant documents. No one is buying the story, and to make matters worse Najib's deputy Ahmad Zaid Hamidi and other ministers have said that the money was only part of what the Saudi benefactor had provided Muslim groups throughout the region, including Muslim separatist in Thailand and the Philippines who have been waging guerrilla warfare against the majority in those countries. END
Thursday, August 6, 2015
On the matter of the US$ 681 million donation to Prime Minister Najib Razak: Sender did not describe payment as a donation
by Ganesh Sahathevan
The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has said that someone has sent him a donation of US$ 681 million, via Wells Fargo Bank of New York, using a BVI company (since liquidated) called Tanore Finance. That company was a client of Falcon Private Bank Of Singapore, which was the ordering institution for that wire transfer.
The Wall Street Journal which broke the story of that massive "donation" hasplaced on-line the relevant documents.
Readers are referred to pages 2 and 3 of the documents,and to the items marked70-Remittance Information.
Curiously the transfers (the sum total was paid in two amounts) are described as "Payment" and not " Donation".
This is not a matter of mere semantics.In these days of heightened controls on the transfer of funds, given the fear of terrorist financing, descriptions are important , even for very small sums. In this case where that large amount of money was being transferred to an individual the description becomes even more important.
Readers may also be interested in item 71A Details o Charges
"SHA" means charges are shared and it is again curious that such a generous donor would want the recipient to share in the charges for the transfer.
A PDF copy of the documents may be sighted at :
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2158723/1mdb-documents.pdf
END
The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has said that someone has sent him a donation of US$ 681 million, via Wells Fargo Bank of New York, using a BVI company (since liquidated) called Tanore Finance. That company was a client of Falcon Private Bank Of Singapore, which was the ordering institution for that wire transfer.
The Wall Street Journal which broke the story of that massive "donation" hasplaced on-line the relevant documents.
Readers are referred to pages 2 and 3 of the documents,and to the items marked70-Remittance Information.
Curiously the transfers (the sum total was paid in two amounts) are described as "Payment" and not " Donation".
This is not a matter of mere semantics.In these days of heightened controls on the transfer of funds, given the fear of terrorist financing, descriptions are important , even for very small sums. In this case where that large amount of money was being transferred to an individual the description becomes even more important.
Readers may also be interested in item 71A Details o Charges
"SHA" means charges are shared and it is again curious that such a generous donor would want the recipient to share in the charges for the transfer.
A PDF copy of the documents may be sighted at :
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2158723/1mdb-documents.pdf
END
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