Morgan Stanley, Interactive Brokers Under Money Laundering Probe

The FBI, SEC, and other state agencies are now investigating why Morgan Stanley took on Rodriguez’s accounts when numerous indicators of money laundering had been identified. 

US-based multinational investment bank Morgan Stanley, along with Interactive Brokers, and other financial advisory firms are under investigation by federal authorities for fraudulently managing approximately USD 100 million belonging to Venezuelan businessman Luis Mariano Rodriguez Cabello, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

Rodriguez, the cousin of former Venezuelan oil minister and ambassador to the United Nations Rafael Ramírez, is facing the probe for laundering USD 2 billion through the U.S. on the behalf of Ramírez’s, bringing him into the spotlight by U.S. and international agencies.

WSJ reports that Rodriguez’s accounts were indicative of “red flags for potential money laundering activities“. In particular, the red flags included involvement in previous scrutiny from regulators and enforcement agencies, while the source of founds was Venezuela – a long declared high-risk jurisdiction for money laundering by the US government. 

Following the allegations, the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other state agencies are now investigating why Morgan Stanley took on Rodriguez’s accounts when numerous indicators of money laundering had been identified. 

Morgan Stanley took millions of Venezuelan businessmen accused of money laundering https://t.co/b3cYjFeYVx

— Newszf (@newszf_com) October 1, 2021

Under international and national banking laws, financial institutions are not permitted to provide services for facilitating illegal activities, such as money laundering and terrorism financing. To maintain compliance with AML/CFT standards, they are expected to perform risk assessments of their customers and the individual’s relationships, verify the source of funds, and the financial transactions.

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