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from
ICIJ Website � � � From suspicious transactions linked to Olympic bids, fugitive financiers and terrorist organizations, see key stories by ICIJ's media partners in Asia...
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Initial leads on
suspicious money transfers from Nepal, Venezuela and Ghana - to name
a few - meant only one thing: these documents had to be examined by
journalists from those countries who could make sense of the
information contained in them. � � �
� In the Philippines, journalists working for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism reported that the banks' suspicious activity reports showed,
Just a few years ago, Filipino remittance firms were investigated in the aftermath of the 2016 cyber-heist that siphoned off $81 million from Bangladesh's central bank. � The FinCEN Files showed that those firms had a precedent. � Years before "one of the biggest thefts in history," they had moved millions of dollars in "suspicious" transactions,
� � � Malaysia� In Malaysia, ICIJ's media partner Malaysiakini found a similar case. � U.S. banks didn't act promptly on suspicious money transactions linked to financier Jho Low and possibly connected to the looting of Malaysia's 1MDB fund until it was too late, they reported. � JPMorgan Chase, for instance, moved more than $1 billion for the fugitive financier behind the scandal, FinCEN Files show. � � � � Taiwan� In Taiwan, CommonWealth magazine reporters found that local banks cleared transactions for a cryptocurrency firm currently sued in the U.S. for alleged market manipulation. � � � � India� FinCEN Files also helped to reveal the details of transfers totaling $14.46 million from a Seychelles- based shell company to a subsidiary of the Adani conglomerate, one of India's most powerful, and of a $3 million fraud case involving Indian Premier League, a professional cricket league in India, the Indian Express reported. � Banks in India, Singapore and New York also moved money for Altaf Khanani, a Pakistani money launderer, who is also said to have been a key financier for fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, according to the Indian Express. � Khanani and his organization reportedly moved an estimated $14 billion to $16 billion annually for drug cartels and terrorist organizations like,
The new records expose the extent of financial infiltration of Khanani's money laundering organization via a Dubai-based company and his dealings with a small New Delhi-based firm, the Indian Express said. � � � � Pakistan� Additional reporting by ICIJ's partners in Pakistan revealed that other companies associated to Khanani were used for multiple transactions through Standard Chartered Bank. � Likewise, Deutsche Bank was also used for a transfer of $184,000, The News said. � The banks didn't comment on the case and said they've been improving their anti-money laundering measures. � FinCEN Files also showed banks raised red flags for transactions involving a Pakistani fertilizer company and three companies that were also reported for allegedly producing chemicals for suspicious activities, according to The News. � � � � Japan� In Japan, reporters working on the investigation also shed light on a powerful sports entity allegedly involved in suspicious money flows. � The journalists collaborated with French colleagues to expose how a consultant of the Tokyo Olympic bid committee transferred $370,000 to the son of an influential member of the International Olympic Committee. � Records from a French criminal investigation and from a U.S. bank showed that the sum was transferred from the bank account of a Singapore consulting firm hired by the bid committee to help its efforts to bring the Summer Olympics to the Japanese capital in 2020, according to a joint investigation by The Asahi Shimbun, Kyodo News and Radio France. � Japanese news agency Kyodo News also found that clients of Japan Post Bank were flagged in the reports for transactions considered suspicious by partner banks. � Japan Post Bank said it is considering strengthening their anti-money laundering measures in response to the findings, Kyodo reported. � �
Today #ICIJ �s #fincenfiles project is out! The son of an IOC member received $37m from a consultant firm connected with Tokyo - the Kyodo and Asahi story got dominant in newspapers
including page ones. Sep 20, 2020 at 5:07pm � � � � Nepal� Journalists at the Centre for Investigative Journalism, Nepal found that, from 2006 to 2017, banks had flagged transactions involving Nepali business entities in a variety of sectors, from,
� � � Sri Lanka� Global banks flagged Sri Lanka as a high-risk jurisdiction for financial crimes lumping the country alongside,
...an analysis of the secret documents by the Sunday Times found. � � � � South Korea� Suspicious money transactions also engulfed one of Asia's largest companies, Samsung Electronics. � In South Korea, a 30-minute documentary by Newstapa shows the journalists travelling to Europe to investigate the giant tech company's links to a U.K.-based subsidiary and get to the bottom of transactions red-flagged by banks. � The film also explores the role of two Korean nationals listed as directors of 400 companies that turned out to be empty shells. � � � � Indonesia� In Indonesia, the confidential documents provided new details on the government's purchase of jet fighters from a Russian state-owned manufacturer between 2011 and 2013. � The deal had previously been on the radar of the country's watchdog agencies for suspected corruption, Tempo reported. � The report - originally in Indonesian language - concluded,
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