Laundering Terrorist Money

The world’s largest wealth management firm, UBS, is being investigated by Congress for laundering money for two state sponsors of terrorism, in violation of U.S. Federal Reserve law. The Swiss bank, which operates a massive financial services business in the United States, has helped Cuba and Iran launder nearly $4 billion. The bank also had improper financial dealings with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. All three countries are on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

In reports, UBS has admitted that its employees filed false accounting reports with the Federal Reserve to conceal the illegal transactions with the prohibited clients. UBS has agreed to pay a $100 million fine but an investigative arm of Congress fears that the business relationship will continue and therefore pose a threat to American security.