Arrest in Alleged Citi Fraud

Arrest in Alleged Citi Fraud

Posted on September 15, 2015 by arnierosner
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304447804576411771395933558

Arrest in Alleged Citi Fraud

Former Employee Charged With Embezzling $19 Million; ‘Ultimate Inside Job’

By
Chad Bray
June 28, 2011
A former Citigroup Inc. employee was arrested and charged with allegedly embezzling more than $19 million from the bank in “the ultimate inside job,” federal prosecutors said on Monday.
Gary Foster, who worked in Citigroup’s internal finance department, allegedly wired about $19.2 million in a series of transactions from the bank’s corporate accounts to his personal account at a unit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. between May 2009 and December 2010, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday.

More

• Documents: Complaint | Release
  
• More from Deal Journal
  

Mr. Foster, a former vice president who monitored financial contracts based on other assets known as derivatives, was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sunday when he returned to the U.S. on a flight from Bangkok. The 35-year-old faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted on bank fraud charges.
Mr. Foster allegedly used some of the money to purchase six real-estate properties, including his home in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., a person familiar with the matter said. The home has a half-million-dollar entertainment system, including mirrors in the bathroom that can turn into video screens, the person said. He also owned a Maserati, a BMW and had a Ferrari on order, the person said.
Mr. Foster’s lawyer, Isabelle A. Kirshner, declined comment on his assets.


Thanks to: http://scannedretina.com

← Arrest in Alleged Citi Fraud
The Trust – a truthful account of history? →

Banamex USA, an L.A.-based unit of Citigroup Inc., will shut down in the wake of a money laundering scandal

Posted on September 15, 2015 by arnierosner
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-citi-banamex-money-laundering-20150722-story.html
L.A.’s Banamex to close, pay $140 million in money laundering probe
Banamex USA money laundering
Banamex USA, an L.A.-based unit of Citigroup Inc., will shut down in the wake of a money laundering scandal. Above, the Citibank building in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
By E. Scott Reckard contact the reporter
U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Banamex USA, a Century City unit of Citigroup Inc. that served customers doing business in Mexico and the U.S., has agreed to shut down and pay $140 million in penalties to settle state and federal money-laundering probes.
Citibank to refund $700 million for illegal credit card practices
Citibank to refund $700 million for illegal credit card practices
Citigroup said in a news release Wednesday that it would “wind down” Banamex USA, the former California Commerce Bank, in an “ongoing and orderly” liquidation. Its offices in Houston and San Antonio also will be closed.
The operation had $1 billion in assets, $700 million in deposits and 394 employees as of March 31, its regulatory filings show.
The penalties include $100 million imposed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and $40 million assessed by California regulators. The state penalty is the largest ever levied against a bank by the Department of Business Oversight, the department said.
lRelated
Money transfers cut off to Somalia
BUSINESS
Money transfers cut off to Somalia
See all related
8
“Banamex agreed three years ago to correct numerous weaknesses in its anti-money laundering program. It has failed to do so,” said Jan Lynn Owen, commissioner of the business oversight agency. “This new agreement holds Banamex appropriately accountable for its continued violations.”
The settlements stem from a federal government squeeze on conduits for drug money and terrorism funding.
The crackdown affected not only giant banks like Citi, but smaller ones, such as one-branch Merchants Bank in Carson, a money-transmitting specialist that in February cut off the service to many countries, including struggling Somalia, under pressure from authorities.
Stunning photos, celebrity homes: Get the free weekly Hot Property newsletter
Stunning photos, celebrity homes: Get the free weekly Hot Property newsletter
Banamex is an arm of Banco Nacional de Mexico, Mexico’s second-largest bank, which is owned by Citigroup. The U.S. operation was set up to make it easier for businesses and individuals to transfer funds across the border.
Banamex signed an agreement with the FDIC and the state oversight agency in August 2012 that required actions in more than 20 areas to correct alleged violations of the federal Bank Secrecy Act, which governs anti-money laundering programs, and requirements to report suspicious activity by customers.
cComments
Imagine that! I’m sure Banco de’coca, Banco de’juana, and Banco de El Chapo have none of these issues…Thank goodness our regulators are on top of money flowing out of our borders…
Art bjorn
at 7:01 PM July 23, 2015
Add a comment See all comments
3
Despite that consent order, regulators said they later found numerous new violations of the federal law and of regulators’ anti-money laundering mandates over an extended period of time.
Citigroup, which has extensive international operations, had previously disclosed significant problems at Banamex on both sides of the Mexican border.
The Wall Street giant was forced to reduce its previously reported 2013 pre-tax earnings by $360 million early last year as a result of fraud affecting its Mexican bank.
Authorities in Mexico also fined Banamex in that case, and Citi said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department were looking into the matter.
In addition, Citi has reported, the U.S. attorney in Boston, the FDIC, the state oversight agency and the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network are investigating Banamex activities.
Follow @ScottReckard for news of banks and home loans.
ALSO
Apple stock down more than 5% in morning trading
California oil refineries’ gross profits nearly double in 2015
Consumer groups say FCC conditions on AT&T-DirecTV merger fall short
Copyright © 2015, Los Angeles Times


Thanks to: http://scannedretina.com