Bank of New York settles fraud, money laundering charges News
Bank of New York settles fraud, money laundering charges

[JURIST] The Bank of New York [corporate website] has agreed to pay $38 million in fines in order to avoid prosecution on fraud and money laundering charges, federal prosecutors announced [PDF press release] Tuesday. The federal investigation into the bank, the oldest in the US, began after the financial institution took part in a scheme involving $7 billion in illicit transfers from Russia in the late 1990s; a former bank executive and her husband have already pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. According to the agreement, the Bank of New York will pay $26 million to the government and $12 million to fraud victims and has also agreed to adopt sweeping reforms to address reporting failures under the Bank Secrecy Act and ensure compliance with anti-fraud and anti-money laundering safeguards. The reforms will be monitored by an independent examiner for three years, though bank officials say they have already implemented many of the required reforms [press release]. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.