London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Here are some of the biggest revelations that came out of the leaked FinCEN reports

Here are some of the biggest revelations that came out of the leaked FinCEN reports

A BuzzFeed report revealed files showing JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, and Deutsche Bank facilitated the movement of criminal money even after getting caught.

Thousands of leaked documents shared with hundreds of journalists reveal how some of the world's biggest banks have for years facilitated the movement of dirty money.

The documents are part of a collection of files that belongs to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, an agency operating under the Treasury Department to detect and prevent financial crimes, and were first published by Buzzfeed and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

The agency is in charge of compiling "suspicious activity reports" when it detects potential or evident financial crimes. The documents are distributed and shared with law enforcement and financial intelligence groups around the world, but the agency does not force banks engaging in financial crimes to stop, BuzzFeed News, which obtained the leaked documents, reported.

The report said banks such as JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, and Deutsche Bank, among others, engaged with and facilitated the movement of criminal money even after getting caught.

The files detail movements and transactions for almost two decades, starting from 2000 and continuing into 2017.

"These documents, compiled by banks, shared with the government, but kept from public view, expose the hollowness of banking safeguards, and the ease with which criminals have exploited them," Buzzfeed reported. "Profits from deadly drug wars, fortunes embezzled from developing countries, and hard-earned savings stolen in a Ponzi scheme were all allowed to flow into and out of these financial institutions, despite warnings from the banks' own employees."

Here are some of the biggest revelations to come out of the bombshell report:

A Ponzi scheme to move millions of dollars around the world



A man walks past a logo of HSBC at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.


HSBC allowed fraudsters involved with WCM777, a Ponzi scheme, to move millions of dollars around the world, the BBC reported.

The bank was notified by US investigators that the business was a scam, but fraudsters working with WCM777 were still able to move around more than $15 million. At the time of notice, WCM777 was barred from conducting business in three states.

The Ponzi scheme that ran out of WCM777 victimized thousands of Asian and Latino immigrants, according to the BBC and BuzzFeed News, targeting poor communities in various nations around the world.

Big banks processed huge transactions affiliated with a politician wanted by Interpol



A man walks into the JP Morgan headquarters at Canary Wharf in London.


JP Morgan Chase, along with Bank of America, Citibank, and American Express, processed huge transactions affiliated with a former Kazakhstan mayor wanted by Interpol, BuzzFeed News reported.

The family of Viktor Khrapunov used JP Morgan Chase to handle millions of dollars in transactions. Khrapunov, the former mayor, ran off to Switzerland but Kazakhstan attached to his charges of bribe-taking, among others.

Putin associate used a big bank to evade sanctions and launder money



A Barclays bank office is seen at Canary Wharf in London.


A close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin used Barclays Bank as a way to avoid sanctions and launder money, the BBC reported.

The United States and the European Union in 2014 imposed sanctions on Arkady Rotenberg, a billionaire close to Putin, restricting him from conducting business with Western banks.

Barclays has not admitted any wrongdoing.

$142 million worth of suspicious transactions



Central Bank of The U.A.E. in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.


The United Arab Emirates' central bank in 2011 and 2012 processed $142 million, despite the transactions being labeled as suspicious, the BBC reported.

A British bank noted the activity, flagging it out of suspicion. But the Gunes General Trading, the firm responsible for pushing the transactions through the central bank, continued to use local financial institutions to process them.

Movement of money for organized crime, terrorists, and drug traffickers



People walk past a Deutsche Bank office in London.


Deutsche Bank facilitated the movement of money for organized crime, terrorists, and drug traffickers, according to BuzzFeed News.

Managers and top executives at Deutsche Bank knew that the bank was susceptible to criminals seeking money laundering services, according to documents reviewed by BuzzFeed News.

When reached for comment, the bank said it's "learnt from our mistakes" and billed itself a "different bank" now.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×