[ 2015-05-31 ]

British Banks braced for FBI probe into Fifa ‘bribes’
British banks prepare to hand over evidence to US
prosecutors investigating their role in football
corruption scandal
London (UK) - 31 May 2015 – The Sunday Times -
BRITISH banks named in the Fifa inquiry have
launched internal probes into any role they might
have played in the scandal. The reviews are the
clearest sign yet that HSBC, Barclays and Standard
Chartered are preparing to be dragged into the
FBI’s investigation.
Eight global banks, including the British trio,
were named in last week’s sensational 164-page
dossier, alleging widespread corruption at
football’s world governing body. US prosecutors
have accused a clutch of current and former Fifa
executives of laundering bribes through accounts
at UK, Swiss and American banks.
The allegations will heap further pressure on the
British banks, which have seen their reputations
tarnished after being caught up in a series of
scandals in recent years.
HSBC and Standard Chartered paid a combined total
of more than $2.5bn (£1.6bn) in penalties to
settle allegations of money laundering. They
remain on probation with American regulators, and
could, in theory, be stripped of their US banking
licences if found guilty once again of failing to
run robust enough money-laundering checks. They
may also face hefty fines.
Sources inside the banks say their compliance
divisions are already poring over thousands of
transactions, to ensure proper checks were
conducted.
Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Julius Baer
and UBS were also named in the court papers.
US authorities say they are also investigating
financial institutions to see if they were aware
of any bribes being laundered. “It’s too early
to say whether there is any problematic behaviour,
but it will be part of our investigation,” said
US attorney Kelly Currie.
A number of the named banks are confident they did
everything they could to prevent money laundering.
However, they said that payments could have been
overlooked as wealthy individuals routinely shift
large sums of money around the globe. “Moving
$1m-$2m would not necessarily have raised red
flags,” said one bank official.
In one transaction listed in the file, HSBC
allegedly facilitated the transfer of more than
£325,000 to the account of a luxury yacht builder
in London.
On another occasion in 2012, Costas Takkas — a
British Fifa executive — allegedly received $1m
in his account via Standard Chartered and HSBC.
The original sum is said to have come from an
account in Miami and was sent to HSBC in New York
and then to a front company in the bank’s Hong
Kong branch. One week later, $1m was said to have
been sent through two wire transfers to Standard
Chartered and then on to Takkas’s account in the
Cayman Islands, the court papers allege.
The Serious Fraud Office said it was assessing
material relating to the Fifa bribe allegations.
The agency “stands ready to assist ongoing
criminal investigations”.
The banks declined to comment.

Source - The Times(UK)

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