A court in Mauritius on Monday released on bail the island's former Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth in a money-laundering probe. Watch this report for more details!

Mauritius Ex-PM Pravind Jugnauth gets bail in money laundering probe

Mauritius Ex-PM Pravind Jugnauth gets bail on money graft case

Three Indian-Americans are among six people convicted for their role in a two-year multi-million dollar money-laundering scheme, the US Justice Department has said.&nbsp;

Ravinder Reddy Gudipati, 61; Harsh Jaggi, 54 and Neeru Jaggi, 51, all from Laredo, Texas, were convicted of a money laundering conspiracy following a five-week jury trial. Along with the Indian-American trio, Adrian Arciniega-Hernandez, 36, of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico; Adriana Alejandra Galvan-Constantini, 36 and Luis Montes-Patino, 57, both from Irving, Texas, were convicted, said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Harsh and Adrian were also convicted on two counts of money laundering and Neeru Jaggi was convicted on one count of money laundering. Gudipati was convicted on two counts of money laundering in addition to other counts.&nbsp;

Adrain, Galvan-Constantini, Montes-Patino, Gudipati, Harsh and Neeru were part of a complex money laundering scheme whereby money derived from the sale of drugs in the US was laundered through businesses in Laredo in order to return the proceeds to Mexican drug dealers.

According to evidence presented in court, from 2011 to 2013, Galvan-Constantini, Montes-Patino and other co-conspirators helped to move millions of dollars derived from the sale of drugs throughout the US to Laredo in Texas.&nbsp;

The US currency was moved by couriers via cars, commercial buses, commercial planes and also a private plane used in bulk cash amounts of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time.&nbsp;

The money, in heat-sealed packs, uneven rubber-banded money stacks or loose US currency, arrived in plastic bags, cloth bags, suitcases, backpacks and even cereal boxes, it said. The money was then distributed among downtown Laredo, Texas perfume stores, including stores owned by Gudipati and Harsh and Neeru.

Three Indian-Americans are among six people convicted for their role in a two-year multi-million dollar money-laundering scheme, the US Justice Department has said.

Three Indian-Americans are among six people convicted for their role in a two-year multi-million dollar money-laundering scheme, the US Justice Department has said. Ravinder Reddy Gudipati, 61; Harsh Jaggi, 54 and Neeru Jaggi, 51, all from Laredo, Texas, were convicted of a money laundering conspiracy following a five-week jury trial. Along with the Indian-American trio, Adrian Arciniega-Hernandez, 36, of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico; Adriana Alejandra Galvan-Constantini, 36 and Luis Montes-Patino, 57, both from Irving, Texas, were convicted, said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Harsh and Adrian were also convicted on two counts of money laundering and Neeru Jaggi was convicted on one count of money laundering. Gudipati was convicted on two counts of money laundering in addition to other counts. Adrain, Galvan-Constantini, Montes-Patino, Gudipati, Harsh and Neeru were part of a complex money laundering scheme whereby money derived from the sale of drugs in the US was laundered through businesses in Laredo in order to return the proceeds to Mexican drug dealers. According to evidence presented in court, from 2011 to 2013, Galvan-Constantini, Montes-Patino and other co-conspirators helped to move millions of dollars derived from the sale of drugs throughout the US to Laredo in Texas. The US currency was moved by couriers via cars, commercial buses, commercial planes and also a private plane used in bulk cash amounts of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time. The money, in heat-sealed packs, uneven rubber-banded money stacks or loose US currency, arrived in plastic bags, cloth bags, suitcases, backpacks and even cereal boxes, it said. The money was then distributed among downtown Laredo, Texas perfume stores, including stores owned by Gudipati and Harsh and Neeru.

3 Indian-Americans convicted in multi-million dollar money-laundering scheme

El Salvador&#39;s former president Elias Antonio Saca and several other former officials were arrested on Sunnday, the attorney geeral&#39;s office said, news agency AFP reported.

Saca and six other former officials were arrested early morning &quot;on charges of various crimes.&quot;

The 51-year-old Saca, a member of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance, was president of the country from 2004 to 2009.

Saca is accused of embezzlement, money-laundering and links to illegal groups, the prosecutors&#39; office said, AFP reported.

Former public waterworks official Cesar Funes and former-presidential cmmunications chief Julio Rank were among the arrested.

El Salvador is a Central American country stricken by poverty and violent crime involving drug gangs, AFP said.

(With inputs from AFP)

Elias Saca and six other former officials were arrested early morning 'on charges of various crimes'

El Salvador's former president Elias Antonio Saca and several other former officials were arrested on Sunnday, the attorney geeral's office said, news agency AFP reported. Saca and six other former officials were arrested early morning "on charges of various crimes." The 51-year-old Saca, a member of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance, was president of the country from 2004 to 2009. Saca is accused of embezzlement, money-laundering and links to illegal groups, the prosecutors' office said, AFP reported. Former public waterworks official Cesar Funes and former-presidential cmmunications chief Julio Rank were among the arrested. El Salvador is a Central American country stricken by poverty and violent crime involving drug gangs, AFP said. (With inputs from AFP)

Former El Salvador president arrested on fraud charges

Singapore will step up the fight against money-laundering with a newly created surveillance unit and data tracking but private banks must take the lead, its chief financial regulator said today.&nbsp; 
 
Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) which also serves as the central bank, said financial institutions must set the right moral tone to help battle illicit fund flows. 
 
&quot;Boards and senior management in particular must send a clear signal that profits do not come before values and ethics, and compensation structures must motivate not only high performance but also right conduct,&quot; Menon told a forum with foreign correspondents. He declined to specifically address the 1MDB scandal in neighbouring Malaysia which has involved banks based in Singapore, denting the city-state&#39;s reputation. 
 
1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad, was launched by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 and closely overseen by him. 
 
Allegations of a vast international scheme of embezzlement and money-laundering involving billions of dollars of 1MDB money began to emerge two years ago. 
 
Singapore is the first country to take legal action against bankers linked to the scandal. 
 
&quot;We will make more robust risk assessments of financial institutions&rsquo; business activities, client profiles , geographical connections, transaction volumes and quality of controls,&quot; Menon said. He said technology that can process huge amounts of data and find tell-tale patterns will be used to monitor illicit fund flows and transactions.&nbsp; 
 
The MAS in August formally launched a unit to fight money laundering. 
 
In May it expelled Switzerland&#39;s BSI Bank for &quot;gross misconduct&quot; related to the Malaysian fund and recommended that six of its bankers face charges.&nbsp; 
 
Last month Singapore revealed it had seized nearly $180 million in assets through its investigations into suspected fraud and money-laundering linked to 1MDB. 
 
(AFP)

But, said its chief financial regulator, private banks must take the lead in battling illicit fund flows

Singapore will step up the fight against money-laundering with a newly created surveillance unit and data tracking but private banks must take the lead, its chief financial regulator said today. Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) which also serves as the central bank, said financial institutions must set the right moral tone to help battle illicit fund flows. "Boards and senior management in particular must send a clear signal that profits do not come before values and ethics, and compensation structures must motivate not only high performance but also right conduct," Menon told a forum with foreign correspondents. He declined to specifically address the 1MDB scandal in neighbouring Malaysia which has involved banks based in Singapore, denting the city-state's reputation. 1MDB, or 1Malaysia Development Berhad, was launched by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 and closely overseen by him. Allegations of a vast international scheme of embezzlement and money-laundering involving billions of dollars of 1MDB money began to emerge two years ago. Singapore is the first country to take legal action against bankers linked to the scandal. "We will make more robust risk assessments of financial institutions’ business activities, client profiles , geographical connections, transaction volumes and quality of controls," Menon said. He said technology that can process huge amounts of data and find tell-tale patterns will be used to monitor illicit fund flows and transactions. The MAS in August formally launched a unit to fight money laundering. In May it expelled Switzerland's BSI Bank for "gross misconduct" related to the Malaysian fund and recommended that six of its bankers face charges. Last month Singapore revealed it had seized nearly $180 million in assets through its investigations into suspected fraud and money-laundering linked to 1MDB. (AFP)

Singapore to use data tracking against money laundering

The Brazilian police recommended corruption charges against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva yesterday as part of a probe into a huge embezzlement scheme at the state oil company Petrobras. 
 
The decision struck the latest in a series of blows against Lula and his suspended successor Dilma Rousseff as they battle to stop their once-mighty Workers&#39; Party from crumbling. 
 
Police recommended corruption and money laundering charges against Lula and his wife and three other suspects. The couple &quot;benefited from illicit gains from OAS to the value of 2,430,193.61 reals&quot; or about $743,000, linked to the renovation work, the police court filing said. 
 
The allegations against Lula and his wife, Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva, are based on Lula&#39;s alleged ownership of a luxury seaside apartment in the beach resort of Guaruja, about 60 kilometres southeast of Sao Paulo. 
 
QAS, the construction company which is said to have paid for the extensive renovations the apartment, was involved in the huge embezzlement scheme at&nbsp;Petrobras.&nbsp;OAS is among 31 builders that colluded to rig contracts at Petrobras. 
 
The recommendation must now be considered by prosecutors before prompting formal charges. Under Brazilian law, police can only recommend that a suspect be charged. A judge would still have to decide whether to accept the charges. 
 
Attorneys Cristiano Zanin Martins and Roberto Teixeira, representing&nbsp;Lula&nbsp;and his wife, said Lula and his wife had visited the apartment only once, when they were thinking of buying it. They added the apartment in Guaruja was registered in the name of OAS. 
 
&quot;This is a politically motivated indictment,&quot; Zanin Martins said in a statement. &quot;We are going to fight these charges as Lula is innocent. This has become a persecution, not a prosecution.&quot; 
 
Lula&#39;s legacy 
 
Lula, 70, who founded the leftist Workers&#39; Party, served as president for two terms between 2003-2010 before helping Rousseff win election. He presided over an economic boom and was hailed internationally for social welfare policies that helped lift millions of people out of poverty. He also was key in Rio de Janeiro&#39;s winning bid to host South America&#39;s first Olympics, which finished on August 21. 
 
Lula was planning to go to the capital Brasilia on Monday to support Rousseff when she makes a speech before the senate ahead of a vote. 
 
Rousseff is widely expected to be removed from office by next week. Her political rivals accuse her of fiddling the government accounts but she claims previous governments have used the accounting practices she is being put on trial for. She dismisses efforts to oust her from office as &#39;coup&#39;. 
 
Lula has already been charged with attempting to obstruct investigations in the Petrobras case, in a probe dubbed &quot;Operation Carwash.&quot; &quot;I doubt there is anyone more law-abiding than I am,&quot; Lula siad with regard to the deciison in late July. 
 
Prosecutors also want to charge him with playing a wider role in the Petrobras affair. The probe centres on a network of politicians who took bribes to facilitate inflated Petrobras contracts for crooked construction companies and others. 
 
The suspects include several key figures from the conservative PMDB party of interim president Michel Temer, a leader of the impeachment drive against Rousseff. If she is impeached, he will become full president until 2018. 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

Police recommended corruption and money laundering charges against Lula as part of a probe into Petrobras embezzlement scheme

The Brazilian police recommended corruption charges against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva yesterday as part of a probe into a huge embezzlement scheme at the state oil company Petrobras. The decision struck the latest in a series of blows against Lula and his suspended successor Dilma Rousseff as they battle to stop their once-mighty Workers' Party from crumbling. Police recommended corruption and money laundering charges against Lula and his wife and three other suspects. The couple "benefited from illicit gains from OAS to the value of 2,430,193.61 reals" or about $743,000, linked to the renovation work, the police court filing said. The allegations against Lula and his wife, Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva, are based on Lula's alleged ownership of a luxury seaside apartment in the beach resort of Guaruja, about 60 kilometres southeast of Sao Paulo. QAS, the construction company which is said to have paid for the extensive renovations the apartment, was involved in the huge embezzlement scheme at Petrobras. OAS is among 31 builders that colluded to rig contracts at Petrobras. The recommendation must now be considered by prosecutors before prompting formal charges. Under Brazilian law, police can only recommend that a suspect be charged. A judge would still have to decide whether to accept the charges. Attorneys Cristiano Zanin Martins and Roberto Teixeira, representing Lula and his wife, said Lula and his wife had visited the apartment only once, when they were thinking of buying it. They added the apartment in Guaruja was registered in the name of OAS. "This is a politically motivated indictment," Zanin Martins said in a statement. "We are going to fight these charges as Lula is innocent. This has become a persecution, not a prosecution." Lula's legacy Lula, 70, who founded the leftist Workers' Party, served as president for two terms between 2003-2010 before helping Rousseff win election. He presided over an economic boom and was hailed internationally for social welfare policies that helped lift millions of people out of poverty. He also was key in Rio de Janeiro's winning bid to host South America's first Olympics, which finished on August 21. Lula was planning to go to the capital Brasilia on Monday to support Rousseff when she makes a speech before the senate ahead of a vote. Rousseff is widely expected to be removed from office by next week. Her political rivals accuse her of fiddling the government accounts but she claims previous governments have used the accounting practices she is being put on trial for. She dismisses efforts to oust her from office as 'coup'. Lula has already been charged with attempting to obstruct investigations in the Petrobras case, in a probe dubbed "Operation Carwash." "I doubt there is anyone more law-abiding than I am," Lula siad with regard to the deciison in late July. Prosecutors also want to charge him with playing a wider role in the Petrobras affair. The probe centres on a network of politicians who took bribes to facilitate inflated Petrobras contracts for crooked construction companies and others. The suspects include several key figures from the conservative PMDB party of interim president Michel Temer, a leader of the impeachment drive against Rousseff. If she is impeached, he will become full president until 2018. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Brazil police urge graft charges against former president Lula