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Former Florida GOP chief pleads guilty before trial

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:28:00 +0000

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Former Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer pleaded guilty to theft and money laundering charges Monday just before jury selection in his criminal trial was to begin.

Greer pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and a single count of money laundering for funneling money from the Republican Party of Florida to a company he set up with his right-hand man. He could be sentenced to a minimum of 3 ½ years and a maximum of 35 years in prison at his March 27 sentencing.

The plea deal avoids would could have been an embarrassing trial for the state GOP. Some of Florida's most powerful politicians were scheduled as witnesses, including former Gov. Charlie Crist, former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and several state House and state Senate leaders.

"There were a number of people who did not want this trial to go forward and the trial isn't going forward," said Damon Chase, Greer's attorney. "Once again, Jim Greer is falling on his sword for a lot of other folks."

Topics that were covered in pretrial depositions included allegations of prostitutes at a state GOP fundraiser in the Bahamas, lavish spending on fancy restaurants and luxury hotels by state party leaders, the drinking habits of Crist and party leaders stabbing each other in the back.

HSBC to pay $1.9 billion to settle money-laundering scandal

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:57:00 +0000

LONDON (AP) -- HSBC avoided a legal battle that could further savage its reputation and undermine confidence in the global banking system by agreeing Tuesday to pay $1.9 billion to settle a U.S. money-laundering probe.

Europe's largest bank by market value will pay the biggest penalty ever imposed on a bank after facing accusations it transferred funds through the U.S. from Mexican drug cartels and on behalf of nations such as Iran that are under international sanctions.

It's the latest scandal to hit banks over recent years since the financial crisis started in 2008. Hours earlier, Standard Chartered PLC, another British bank, signed an agreement with New York regulators to settle a money laundering investigation involving Iran with a $340 million payment.

"These banks are operating in an environment where you can't afford to have uncertainty attached to your name, and they are dependent on confidence from their investors," said Sabine Bauer, director of financial institutions at Fitch Ratings. "And that makes them keen to get past such events very quickly and settle."

Despite the high price of the settlement, markets greeted the HSBC's swift agreement. HSBC Holdings PLC's share price in London was trading 0.2 percent higher at 642 pence. Standard Chartered's was flat at 1,498 pence.

U.S. banks targeted in money-laundering probe

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:36:00 +0000

A new probe into money laundering will take aim at major U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase, according to reports from Reuters and the New York Times Monday. The inquiry, by the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, will examine lapses in systems, which are intended to safeguard against drug cartels and sanctioned parties moving money through the U.S. financial system.

According to the Times:

[O]fficials say they are beginning one of the most aggressive crackdowns on money-laundering in decades, intended to send a signal to the nation’s biggest banks that weak compliance is unacceptable.

JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank, is reportedly a focus of the probe, having incurred accusations from federal authorities over transferring money last year in violation of U.S. sanctions against Cuba and Iran. Reuters stressed in its report, however, that "the exact scope of the inquiry and the seize of potential liabilities for the bank [JPMorgan] could not be learned."