2008 – A Year In The Laundry

Recent developments in anti-money laundering compliance

2008 ended with the conviction of Jonathan Krestin, Managing Partner of London solicitors Butcher Burns, for money laundering. He was fined £5,000 by Isleworth Crown Court having been convicted of laundering property which it was said he should have suspected was the proceeds of crime .The funds laundered belonged to a client of Krestin's ,Michel Namer, who is currently serving a six year jail term for fraud. It is said that the €14,000 that Krestin sent to Namer's mistress were connected to a €35 million carousel fraud masterminded by Namer.

Apart from this prosecution, brought by the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office, the autumn also saw the Financial Services Authority (FSA) fine an individual employee of Sindicatum Holdings Limited, a regulated financial services company. The FSA found that the company's systems for verifying and recording clients' identities were inadequate. The company itself was