Arrests in “card cloning” raids

Police in 12 countries have arrested 178 people accused of involvement in an international credit card cloning ring that is believed to have netted crooks around €20 million.

According to the Spanish Interior ministry, the arrests come after a two-year investigation that culminated in 84 raids in Spain, Italy, Romania, France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Greece, Finland, Hungary, the US and Australia.

The raids turned up 11 cloning 'laboratories' with around 120,000 card numbers and 5,000 fake cards found in Spain alone.

Spanish authorities say the criminal organization split into country-specific sub-groups to carry out their fraud, each with a leader that was in contact with the overall head.

The cloned cards were used to make withdrawals at ATMs and purchases in stores, say officials but the gang is also accused of various other criminal activities, including robbery with force, fraud, extortion, sexual exploitation and money laundering.

Dubai Islamic Bank introduces Al Islami Mobile Banking

Dubai Islamic Bank has launched Al Islami Mobile Banking, which provides various secure and banking services round-the-clock, through a customized mobile-based website.

Customers will be able to check their account and card statements and details, including Murhaba accounts, investment accounts and funds. Customers can also open an investment account, request a chequebook, and issue or cancel a card through this service, said DIB.

Additionally, customers can make payments and fund transfers to any predefined beneficiary, while registering for additional eChannel services, such as SMS and phone banking and eStatements.

Musabbah Al Qaizi, head of electronic banking services department at Dubai Islamic Bank, said: "Al Islami Mobile Banking is leveraged on the existing Al Islami Online Banking service which has been a great success since its launch in November 2009. DIB customers can now conduct all their daily banking needs without worrying about branch opening hours or carrying a laptop with them. It all can be done using mobile

Jerome Kerviel: Societe Generale knew of fake trades in 2005

Jerome Kerviel, the former Societe Generale trader on trial for abuse of trust, computer hacking and faking documents, has told a French court that his firm was aware of what he was doing.

His actions eventually led to a €4.9 billion ($5.9 billion) loss for the bank, but Kerviel said he had "hid nothing" from Societe Generale when he first began fabricating hedging trades in 2005, reports Bloomberg.

He stated that he was also allowed to exceed daily trading limits "70 per cent of the time".

But Jean-Pierre Mustier, the former head of Societe Generale's corporate and investment banking division, stated that he did not know who Kerviel was until he was arrested and was unaware that the unauthorized trades were occurring.

"He can't say that management knew," Mr Mustier said. "Jerome Kerviel is the trader who lost the most money in the world."

Mr Kerviel's actions were discovered in early 2008 and later that year Societe Generale was fined €4 million for allowing the trading losses to occur.

Scotiabank launches ‘Scotia Mobile’ in Barbados

Scotiabank has launched Scotia Mobile Banking services to customers across the Caribbean including Barbados, the Bahamas and Trinidad & Tobago. Customers can now check their balances, transfer funds and pay bills from the convenience of their Internet-enabled mobile phone.

 

“We are thrilled that this week’s mobile banking launch allows Barbadians to manage one part of their busy lives with the touch of a button, at any time, from wherever they are,” said Kevin Teslyk, Managing Director, Scotiabank – Caribbean East. “With Scotia Mobile Banking, our customers will be able to perform their day-to-day banking quickly, efficiently and securely”.

 

Scotiabank’s introduction of mobile banking further demonstrates its commitment to offer innovative, convenient and secure banking solutions for customers. All mobile banking transactions are safe and secure, given that Scotia Mobile Banking operates on the same advanced security platform as Scotia OnLine Banking.

 

Scotia Mobile Banking customers with will be able to:

 

• Check account balances and transaction details
• View credit card and line of credit balances and payment information
• Pay bills
• Transfer funds between accounts

 

EU Parliament bids to stifle derivatives trading

The EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee has called for an outright ban on speculative trading in certain derivatives contracts and the imposition of higher capital requirements for firms handling contracts that are not cleared centrally.

In a resolution approved last week, the Committee says proposed EU rules on derivatives trading must be made clearer and tougher, so as to reduce speculative trading and ensure that as many derivatives as possible are traded through open channels that are subject to standards.

The Committee resolution advocates "abandoning the misjudgment that derivatives need no further regulation because they are only used by expert financial professions". Instead, it calls for strict rules to prevent inexperienced users and speculators from building up dangerous levels of risk and a total ban on speculative credit default swap (CDS) trading,

The resolution calls on the Commission to study ways to significantly reduce the overall volume of derivatives traded. It also backs proposed rules that would impose higher capital requirements on financial institutions involved in bilateral derivative contracts which are not cleared centrally, but suggests that such requirements may be waived if the clearing system used is deemed strong. It also proposes granting regulators the power to impose trading position limits, so as to counter "unsustainable levels of speculation".

The Committee urges that future EU legislation should include rules banning purely speculative trading in commodities and agricultural products. Upper risk limits should be considered for trade in agricultural products and in each specific commodity, including greenhouse gas emission allowances, so as to reduce speculation and help these markets to function transparently, adds the resolution.

On central clearing, the resolution stresses that CCPs must not be organised wholly by users and that their risk management systems must not be in competition with each other. Neither should market players have a controlling influence on CCP governance and risk management.

Namibian central bank limits value on cheques to N$500,000

The Bank of Namibia has announced a new limit on the value of cheques, as part of an initiative to reduce payment risk. The new N$500,000 limit on cheques within the National Payment System (NPS) became effective on 10 June. The central bank said that in line with this decision, no person will be allowed to split cheque payments into units of N$500,000 or less, if such multiple cheques are issued for the settlement of the same transaction. Businesses and the general public have been urged to consult with their banking institutions to determine how payments exceeding N$500,000 should be settled. Cheques that are issued for more than N$500,000 will also not be accepted from a Namibian account in payment of a Namibian account.

The Bankers Association of Namibia (BAN), which includes the four commercial banks, has advised customers as well as businesses to ask their bank to rather effect an electronic funds transfer or a bank credit transfer on their behalf.

BAN also emphasised the fact that the Bills for Collection service has additional costs attached to it and is subject to possible delays in final payment. “Special arrangements could be made to manually present the bill (cheque) for payment to the drawee bank; however such arrangements are also subject to the payee bank’s willingness to accept high value (bills) cheques for collection manually. It is therefore recommended that this collection process be availed on an exceptional basis only,” said BAN president, Ian Leyenaar. He added that the changes to the NPS required significant system changes in the banking industry as the country move towards clearing funds under a “real-time” system for amounts in excess of N$500,000. “We encourage individuals and clients to review their particular position without delay and discuss any concerns or questions they may have with their banking institution. It is also recommended that, if possible, the new procedures, if any, be implemented as soon as possible,” said Leyenaar. The BAN president said the banking industry hope to reduce some of the risks that both clients and the banks face with regard to the process of making payments.

Swiss Parliament recommends UBS accounts be handed to US

A Swiss Parliamentary committee has recommended that UBS hand over details of account holders to settle a potential law suit against the bank. The accounts belong to almost 4,500 US UBS customers suspected of using the bank to avoid paying tax.

Reports claim that the lower house of the Swiss Parliament is due to hold a debate while some commentators have also called for a public referendum on the matter, which would see Swiss secrecy laws changed if the accounts were to be published.

A referendum is expected to delay a potential agreement being made by several months.

Simonetta Sommaruga, a Social Democratic lawmaker said: “The fact is that if UBS has a problem, Switzerland has a problem too.

“That’s why we have to help out UBS with this settlement. A rejection would cause considerable damage to the economy.”

The US authorities launched legal action against UBS during February of 2009, claiming that the bank had helped as many as 50,000 clients avoid paying tax through its accounting system.

However, the government agreed to abandon suing UBS in return for the disclosure of the details of a number of clients.