Month: June 2020

KYC Reviews: The Dragon of AML Compliance Programmes

Compliance
Written by Samantha Sheen | Jun 30, 2020 9:38:09 AM “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit Introduction The most common area of AML/CFT compliance programmes that organisations struggle with are in relation to KYC reviews, refresh and subsequent remediation work needed to update or patch up existing customer KYC information. It’s a tough nut to crack. This month the Jersey Financial Service Commission (“JFSC”) published feedback from its examination of firms required to comply with local AML/CFT regulations. Findings in relation to KYC reviews included: In over half of the firms who used reviews…

Treasury Targets Major Iranian Metals Companies and Foreign Subsidiaries and Sales Agents

Investigation
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against four steel, aluminum, and iron companies operating within Iran’s metals sector, including one subsidiary of Mobarakeh Steel Company — Iran’s largest steel manufacturer. Treasury is also designating one Germany-based and three United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based sales agents for being owned or controlled by Mobarakeh Steel Company. Mobarakeh Steel Company was designated in 2018 pursuant to counterterrorism authorities for providing support to Iran’s Mehr Eqtesad Iranian Investment Company, an entity designated for being owned or controlled by the IRGC-affiliated Bonyad Taavon Basij. Mobarakeh Steel Company was…

POLICE RECOVER ‘MILLIONS’ IN STOLEN TREASURES AFTER BUSTING ARCHAEOLOGICAL CRIME GANG IN BULGARIA

Investigation
An international crime gang that ransacked ancient sites in Bulgaria and trafficked stolen archaeological goods whose total worth exceeds several millions of euros has been broken up as a result of an international police operation coordinated by Europol. 8 individuals were arrested and some 4,600 archaeological items were recovered as a result of this sting.  Nicknamed Operation MEDICUS, this effort was led by the General Directorate for the Fight against Organised Crime of the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs (Главна дирекция “Борба с организираната престъпност” при Министерството на вътрешните работи на Република България) together with the British Metropolitan Police and…

Founder of Anti-Money Laundering Bitcoin Project indicted for money laundering

Investigation, Money Laundering
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted the founder of “AML Bitcoin” on money laundering and wire fraud charges. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also filed charges, alleging the AML Bitcoin team violated federal securities laws. According to a court filing dated June 22, Texas resident Rowland Marcus Andrade, the founder of the NAC Foundation, allegedly raised funds by conducting an initial coin offering for tokens representing AML Bitcoin, telling investors that the tokens would ultimately be converted into actual AML Bitcoin (which isn’t actual bitcoin). The SEC and DOJ also charged longtime DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff on conspiracy, lobbying disclosure and deceptive practices counts, alleging he…

Money Laundering and the Illegal Wildlife Trade

Organised Crime
25 June 2020 – The illegal wildlife trade is a major transnational organised crime, which generates billions of criminal proceeds each year. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has conducted a new study to provide guidance to countries on measures they can take to combat money laundering from the illegal wildlife trade. Wildlife traffickers exploit weaknesses in the financial and non-financial sectors, to move, hide and launder their proceeds, enabling further wildlife crimes and damaging financial integrity. One of the most effective ways to identify the broader criminal networks and take the profit out of this crime, is to follow the financial trails…

Six arrested and luxury cars seized as part of drugs and money laundering conspiracy

Investigation, Money Laundering
Suspected members of an organised crime group in Merseyside have been arrested as part of a drug trafficking conspiracy. Five men, aged between 35 and 48, and a woman aged 35, were arrested in raids on Thursday 18 June, in the Wirral and Wallasey, and Deeside, by officers from the National Crime Agency, with support from Merseyside Police. All five men were apprehended on suspicion of conspiracy to import controlled drugs, conspiracy to launder money, and participating in the activities of an organised crime group. The woman was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to import controlled drugs and money laundering.…

The Murky History of Russia’s Largest Sports Betting Company

Organised Crime
One day in the summer of 2013, the central Moscow office of Fonbet, Russia’s largest sports betting company, looked like a besieged fortress. Sparks and the smell of burnt metal filled the air. Officers from the anti-corruption directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had come to execute a search warrant. Finding a barred door, they sawed it open using a grinder. Before the search, investigators had used marked banknotes to place bets on tennis, soccer, and basketball matches on the company’s terminals. They found that Fonbet was providing online betting services using a website registered abroad. All forms of…

Scams Involving the Federal Reserve Name

Scams
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has become aware of numerous COVID-19 themed phishing email scams in which fraudsters are fraudulently impersonating employees of the Federal Reserve System and purporting to offer financial relief programs. The fraudulent emails appear to come from the Federal Reserve System, and reference financial relief programs contained in the CAREs Act including the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Impact Payments. If clicked, the malicious link in the emails leads to a convincing website containing the logos of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The malicious…

Police bust alleged B1bn drug-money laundering operation

Money Laundering
Police arrested six people during raids in Samut Prakan and Nonthaburi and seized assets worth about 100 million baht on Wednesday, in an operation aimed at suspects in the laundering of a billion baht of drug traffickers’ money. Six premises were searched in Samut Prakan. The prime location was house 129/72 in the Chaiyapruek housing estate in tambon Bang Muang of Muang district. It belonged to Naruepol Phapphithee and his wife Patthama Buathong, who were named in arrest warrants. Police suspect them of laundering money for several drug gang leaders, including Pannawit Prathum, aka Kokae, and Theppabut Solo, who is…

The FCA’s response to COVID-19 and expectations for 2020

Speech
Speaker: Megan Butler, Executive Director of Supervision – Investment, Wholesale and SpecialistsEvent: PIMFA’s Virtual FestivalDelivered: 4 June 2020Note: this is the speech as drafted and may differ from the delivered version Highlights: In operational terms, advisors and wealth managers responded well to the onset of the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. Whilst acting with speed has been the absolute priority, as the industry adapts to the long-term impact of coronavirus, there is a need to transition from the immediate ‘incident response’ towards focusing on longer-term impacts. In her speech to PIMFA’s members, Megan Butler explores the FCA’s priorities and longer-term expectations for the wealth management and advice industry.…

Wirecard Files for Insolvency Following Criminal Investigation

Investigation
German payment and financial services provider, Wirecard, announced on Thursday that it would file for insolvency just days after its former CEO surrendered to authorities following an arrest warrant they issued against him over a missing 1.9 billion euros (US$ 2.13 billion) the firm claimed probably “do not exist.” According to German prosecutors in Munich, former CEO Dr. Markus Braun, possibly in collaboration with other individuals, managed to artificially inflate the company’s assets and sales in order to make it more appealing to both investors and customers. He was released from jail on Tuesday after posting five million euros ($5.6 million) in…