For Immediate Release
January 24, 2005

Contacts:
Alejandra Slatapolsky
aslatapolsky@moneylaundering.com
Danielle Scott
dscott@moneylaundering.com
Telephone: (305) 530-0500 or 800-232-3652

Money Laundering Alert’s conference will probe 2004’s major money laundering scandals - Riggs-Pinochet and Obiang, ABN Amro-Russian money, AmSouth-fraudsters

The major money laundering scandals of 2004 at several prominent U.S. and international banks including Riggs Bank, ABN Amro, AmSouth will come under the microscope at Money Laundering Alert’s 10th Annual International Money Laundering Conference, March 2 to 4 at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida.

A huge worldwide crowd that is on track to exceed 1,000 will arrive from more than 50 countries to hear many of the world’s leading experts on money laundering methods and controls explore the high-profile cases and many other subjects at the lively three-day event.

These landmark money laundering cases of Riggs, AmSouth, ABN Amro and others have dominated the news in the past year and have resulted in Congressional hearings that also found U.S. regulatory agencies asleep on the job and, in the Riggs case, of getting too cozy with the bank under examination. Riggs and AmSouth suffered total penalties of $35 million from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the supervisory agencies. Plus, the Justice Department has not finished its work in either case.

The Riggs case has produced more strenuous and frequent examinations by the federal agencies, as financial institutions around the nation have noticed in the past year.

Riggs, whose troubles stem from the specialty banking services it offered to foreign embassies in Washington, is believed to be negotiating with the U.S. Justice Department to avoid criminal charges in connection with the multi-million dollar accounts it held for corrupt foreign leaders, including dictators Teodoro Obiang Nguema, of Equatorial Guinea, and Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean strongman.

David B. Caruso, the compliance executive who was brought in to resolve the regulatory actions that Riggs faced after the scandal erupted will speak on a panel that will explore the many lessons the Riggs and AmSouth cases teach.

Lester Joseph, acting chief of the asset forfeiture and money laundering section of the U.S. Justice Department, in Washington, D.C., who sets policy on the national application of the U.S. money laundering law will also be a speaker at the conference. He has been the department’s spokesperson recently in responding to criticisms that prosecutors have “criminalized” the anti-money laundering regulatory process, a subject that will also receive scrutiny at the conference.

Other panels at Money Laundering Alert’s 10th Annual International Money Laundering Conference will focus on hot topics such as terrorist financing, Islamic banking, and how offshore havens (including Delaware) serve money launderers.

The annual conference is the largest and most renowned of its kind in the world, featuring 53 money laundering and terrorist financing experts from around the globe speaking on 31 panels. More than 50 companies offering anti-money laundering products and services will sponsor events and participate as exhibitors.

The conference drew 972 attendees from 54 countries last year, and is set to attract over 1,000 this year from as many or more countries this year.

About the publications and products of Alert Global Media, Inc.

Miami-based Money Laundering Alert and Moneylaundering.com Premium are the world’s foremost sources of money laundering news, analysis and guidance. In addition to the annual international conference in South Florida, Money Laundering Alert and Moneylaundering.com Premium conduct annual money laundering conferences in Latin America and Europe.

Registration information is available at www.moneylaunderingconference.com

(Accredited members of the press may obtain credentials by contacting Alejandra Slatapolsky at alejandras@moneylaundering.com or by calling (305) 530-0500.)