Articles of Interest 065

Nothing More Glamorous Than AML

Now I can prove to my friends that AML is indeed a glamorous business.  The attached press release from the United States Attorney Southern District New York paints an interesting picture.

I’m curious to see whether Mr. Follieri’s undoubtedly former private bankers will modify their KYC policies and procedures.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN1025432620080910?sp=true


Hathaway's ex pleads guilty to fraud

Wed Sep 10, 2008 1:46pm EDT
By Grant McCool

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Italian businessman who dated Hollywood star Anne Hathaway and did a deal with supermarket mogul Ron Burkle pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of fraud in which he lied about links to the Vatican.

Globe-trotting millionaire Raffaello Follieri, 30, who had also befriended former President Bill Clinton's top aide, Douglas Band, during his five years in New York, admitted in U.S. District Court to a scheme in which he fraudulently obtained more than $2 million in a web of shell companies with phony consultancies.

Dressed in dark blue prison-issue pants and shirt over a white undershirt, Follieri answered "guilty" to each of 14 counts charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering before U.S. District Judge John Koeltl.

On the most serious charges, Follieri faces a possible maximum term of 20 years imprisonment, but defendants usually receive lighter sentences when they agree to a plea bargain and waive their right to a trial.

Follieri was arrested on June 24 and accused in an indictment of operating the scheme between 2005 and 2007 in which he led investors to believe that he had close connections with the Vatican that enabled him to buy the Catholic Church's unwanted U.S. real estate properties at a discount.

Follieri, of Foggia, Italy, made false representations that included claims that the Vatican formally appointed him to manage its financial affairs, prosecutors said.

In part of a statement Follieri read in court on Wednesday, he said, "I wired money from a New York bank to the Vatican bank in Rome to promote my relationship with the Vatican.

"I knew what I was doing was wrong."

He also admitted in court to using proceeds of the scheme for his personal use, which prosecutors said included a lavish lifestyle of expensive clothes and restaurant meals and a $37,000-a-month Manhattan apartment. They said he also used the money to pay for exotic vacations and privately chartered flights for his girlfriend at the time, but she was not identified in the complaint.

The Italian businessman had attracted attention for dating Hathaway and for a real-estate venture with California supermarket billionaire Burkle.

He dated Hathaway, who starred in movies "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Get Smart", for four years until they were reported to have split up this year.