Western Union Company admitted its guilt in the anti-money laundering fraud it has been charged with by the US Justice Department and accepted to pay a fine of 586 million USD to settle criminal and civil charges. The American company recognized to have « wilfully failed to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme and aided and abetted wire fraud ».
Western Union is accused of having processed hundreds of thousands of fraudulent transactions between 2004 and 2012 in the framework of an international consumer scam. The fraudsters contacted random people and posed as relatives in need or offered fake prizes and job opportunities. The victims were then asked to send moneyFrom the Latin word moneta, nickname that was given by Romans to the goddess Juno because there was a minting workshop next to her temple. Money is any item that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular region, country or socio-economic context. Its onset dates back to the origins of humanity and its physical representation has taken on very varied forms until the appearance of metal coins. The banknote, a typical representati... More through Western Union’s global money transfer network to obtain their rewards or to help their families. Many agents of Western Union were involved in the fraud scheme but the company always refused to take action to address the situation.
Moreover, the authorities discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars had been sent to China to circumvent the Bank Secrecy Act. Western Union stated that it is working hard to enhance its anti-fraud programme and better protect its customers in the future.
To read the original article, please click here.