NCJ Number
185788
Date Published
2000
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This report examines possible money laundering by U.S. corporations formed for Russian entities.
Abstract
This is a report to the Ranking Minority Member, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate. The report identifies Euro-American Corporate Services, Inc., as a Delaware-registered agent that, together with a related company, International Business Creations (IBC), created corporations for Russian brokers and established bank accounts for those corporations. The report discusses bank compliance programs regarding suspicious banking activities and "know your customer" policies, the relationship between Citibank of New York and IBC/Euro-American, and the relationship between Commercial Bank and IBC/Euro-American. The report concludes that it is relatively easy for foreign individuals or entities to hide their identities while forming shell corporations that can be used for laundering money. Citibank and Commercial Bank violated several provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act and facilitated the transfer of approximately $1 billion from Eastern Europe, through U.S. banks and back to Eastern Europe by corporations formed for Russian brokers. These transfers raise concerns that the U.S. banking system may have been used to launder money. Notes