Leaked documents recently uncovered continue to reveal how some of the world’s biggest banks have allowed criminals to use the world’s financial system for money laundering and financial crime.
The FinCEN files are more than 2, 500 documents sent to US authorities between year 2000-2017 that raise concerns over the international banking system and how criminals have used it to conceal their activities.
The above documents uncover about $2 trillion of transactions and they are only a tiny fraction of the suspicious activity reports submitted over the period.
The leak details the failure of major global banks to stop money laundering and financial crime and reveal the weak links in the financial system and just how awash the system is with dirty money.
Some of the world’s biggest banks implicated in the expose’ include:
- HSBC
- JP Morgan
- Barclays Bank
- United Arab Emirates Central Bank
- Deutsche Bank
- Standard Chartered
FinCEN (US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) is a US Treasury body that combats financial crime by monitoring suspicious transactions made in US dollars, even if they took place outside the United States.
Money laundering is the process of taking dirty money – proceeds of crime or corruption – and getting it onto an account at a respected bank where it cannot be linked with the crime. While banks are supposed to make sure that this doesn’t happen, the recent expose’ reveal quite the opposite – respected banks facilitating money laundering.
The leaked documents highlight, not just potentially suspicious activity, but also why banks did not always act despite noticing these suspicious transactions.
This revelation is a further testimony to the failure of the current banking and financial system and the need for a more open, decentralized and distributed monetary financial system.
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