Foreign News: Charges laid over North Korean hacks, Wells Fargo fraud probe, ING fined for complianc
Criminal charges laid by US prosecutors against the North Korea regime include accusations it orchestrated the theft of US$81 million from Bangladesh's central bank, reports the FT. The charges have been laid against North Korean hacker Park Jin Hyok, who is believed to be working for the state and to also be responsible for the global Wannacry malware attack last year. US authorities say his team was also behind a thwarted attempt last year to compromise the website of Poland's Financial Supervision Authority and use it to infect the Polish banking system. The US Justice Department is investigating potential employee fraud at the wholesale banking unit of Wells Fargo, claims the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ cites anonymous sources to report that investigators are trying to determine if management at the bank pressured staff to improperly alter customer information without consent. The employees allegedly added Social Security numbers, birth details and other customer information to documents to beat a regulatory deadline. Dutch-incorporated bank ING has paid a fine of €775 million over its failures to implement effective systems to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, following investigation by the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service. This figure included the sum of €100 million - the amount ING should have been paying for staff to implement its compliance policy, according to Reuters. This case, when considered alongside other recent revelations at Danske Bank and elsewhere, is likely to increase regulatory attention on anti-money laundering and terrorist financing.