Year: 2021

Dutch Central Bank reverses decision on tighter checks for crypto withdrawals

Digital Currencies, Law, Regulation & Guidance
The Dutch Central Bank, DNB, has reversed its decision to enforce stricter measures for withdrawing cryptocurrencies from exchanges, according to Dutch crypto exchange Bitonic. In January, the central bank set out rules that required crypto exchanges to collect additional data from their users when they withdraw cryptocurrencies. Namely, users had to add the recipient address — where they are sending funds to — to their whitelist and provide a photo to “prove” that they indeed owned the address. Crypto exchanges in the region, such as Bitstamp and Bitonic, swiftly started enforcing the requirements. The central bank’s reversal on the policy…

How Dirty Money is now flowing through different channels

Money Laundering
Illicit funds are now flowing through new channels in Latvia following a major crackdown and reforms, the Baltic country’s FIU chief has revealed. Despite strict measures imposed by the Latvian authorities to combat dirty money, it has emerged that the flow of these illicit funds still continues through new channels today. In an interview, Ilze Znotina, director of the Latvian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) said: “Where are these flows now? They are definitely continuing to circulate in Europe and of course the world,” he told Bloomberg. “We unfortunately have to start to think a lot more about different financial services,…

SFO publishes Annual Business Plan 2021/22

Fraud
The Serious Fraud Office has today published its Business Plan for 2021/22. The Business Plan details how the SFO will deliver on its mission to fight complex economic crime, deliver justice for victims and protect the UK’s reputation as a safe place to do business. To realise this ambition, the 2021/22 Business Plan describes the action we will take in four priority areas of operations, people, stakeholders, and technology. Together, these actions will contribute towards the SFO’s strategic objectives: To investigate and prosecute the most serious or complex cases of fraud, bribery and corruption. To uphold the rule of law,…

Vietnam needs measures to curtail financial crimes

Money Laundering
Money laundering is becoming rampant in Vietnam, and if not curtailed, then money laundering criminals will soon find ways to legalize this money which then will find its way into reputable banks, or invested in projects in Vietnam. Mr. Thomas Hung Tran, a Forensic and Financial Crime expert, believes that laundered crime money is already circulating in society and used under cover of investors in our developing economy. In Vietnam, such activity can easily lie untraced. For instance, in one southwestern region, officials discovered a conspiracy to launder and legitimize almost US$ 200 million. The strategy of most emerging countries…

Former Australian head of world’s largest crypto exchange calls for more regulation

Digital Currencies, Law, Regulation & Guidance
The former Australian head of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance has called for greater regulation of crypto trading platforms as more institutional and retail investors begin to eye off digital assets such as bitcoin and ethereum. Jeff Yew, who resigned as Binance Australia’s chief executive officer in April, said he believed while Australia was more advanced with its regulation compared with other economies, much more still needed to be done to prevent everyday investors from being exploited by dodgy operators. “It really hurts me to see players exploiting that lack of [regulatory] clarity with users,” he said. “That’s not…

EU to Remove Ghana from Money Laundering Countries

Money Laundering
European Union has announced plans to remove Ghana from the list of countries that are deficient anti-money laundering and terrorism financing. The decision to remove Ghana from the list followed a two-day working visit by the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to Brussels, Belgium from the 19th to 20th May, 2021. A statement by the Acting Director of Communications, Office of the President of Ghana, Eugene Arhin said Akufo-Addo met with the President of the European Council Charles Michel where he intimated the EU with efforts of his government in implementing the action plan of the International Country…

Hong Kong to Bar Retail Investors from Crypto Trading

Digital Currencies, Law, Regulation & Guidance
Hong Kong’s FSTB has issued consultation conclusions on the new licensing regime for VASPs and a new registration regime for precious metals dealers. Hong Kong’s FSTB (Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau) has published consultation conclusions setting out the new AML/CTF requirements that will be introduced for the VASP (virtual asset services provider) and DPMS (dealers in precious metals and stones) sectors. In November 2020, the FSTB issued a consultation on legislative proposals to introduce a new licensing regime for VASPs, as well as a two-tier registration regime for the DPMS sector, among other amendments. The consultation received 79 submissions,…

Anti-money-laundering: Identifying and closing the remaining loopholes

Money Laundering
The EU needs to take an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach to tackling money laundering, including the creation of an independent supervisory authority, argues Billy Kelleher. A quick scour through recent news sites is likely to produce several results of high-profile cases of money laundering with large-value seizures across the European Union. Money laundering is a crime that governments and authorities have been trying to tackle for centuries. The money both emanates from, and also funds, criminal activities. The crimes and the techniques for money laundering have evolved, but can range from the somewhat petty to – at their most serious – funding…

Norway’s DNB fined $48.1M for AML violations

Money Laundering, Regulatory Fines
DNB ASA, Norway’s largest financial services group, will pay a fine of NOK 400 million ($48.1 million) for failing to adhere to Norwegian Anti-Money Laundering Act standards. The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) imposed the fine following an inspection of DNB’s anti-money laundering (AML) policies and procedures. Additionally, a separate investigation was conducted into its handling of customer accounts for Icelandic fisheries company Samherji. “The inspection revealed serious breaches in the bank’s compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act,” Finanstilsynet announced Monday in a press release. DNB announced last year the fine was imminent. The details: Finanstilsynet said it found…

Dubai gold trader fined Dh1.35m for failing to comply with anti-money laundering and terrorism financing laws

Money Laundering, Regulatory Fines
Unnamed company fined for a total of eight violations in Ministry of Economy inspection campaign A gold trader in Dubai has been fined a total of Dh1.35 million ($367,597) for eight separate breaches of laws governing money laundering and terrorism financing. The unnamed company was fined as part of the Ministry of Economy’s extensive inspection campaign into Designated Non-Financial Business and Professions (DNFBPs). DNFBPs are a group of non-financial businesses governed by money laundering rules, and include precious metals dealers, property brokers, auditors and corporate services providers that offer company formation services. “Three companies belonging to the group were issued…

How to Combat Money Laundering in Europe

Money Laundering
Good luck finding a major bank in Europe that hasn’t breached money laundering regulations. In Denmark, the two largest banks, Danske Bank and Nordea, are both currently subject to criminal investigations. BNP Paribas received the highest-ever fine in 2014, when it settled with U.S. authorities and had to pay $9 billion for sanctions violations. Many others — from HSBC and Standard Chartered in the U.K. to Deutsche Bank and UBS and Credit Suisse — have had to answer for offenses. These cases show that living up to money laundering regulations is difficult, but not doing so is one of the…

Recent AML Enforcement Trends in the U.K.

Money Laundering
IntroductionThe UK has stepped up its anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement approach in recent months, both issuing larger fines and looking to expand the scope of activities it regulates. Historically, the UK has consistently taken a robust approach to AML, and post-Brexit, we expect this trend to continue, as the government works with other regulators internationally in combating cross-border economic crime. BrexitPre-Brexit, the UK adopted the European Union’s extensive AML framework. However, as of 31 December 2020, the onus is now on the UK to ensure that it keeps up to date with the latest international AML regulations and developments. The…

FATF’s Proposed Updated Guidance for Cryptocurrency Regulation

Digital Currencies, Regulation
On March 19, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released proposed updates to its 2019 guidance for how member jurisdictions should regulate and supervise the cryptocurrency ecosystem. If adopted by FATF and implemented by member jurisdictions, the new guidance would expand the definition of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to include many non-custodial cryptocurrency businesses, making them subject to AML/CFT regulations. While Chainalysis is in favor of regulations that effectively prevent financial crime, we believe parts of the proposed guidance overreach by placing an unreasonable regulatory burden on new and emerging cryptocurrency markets where no evidence of criminal activity…

The failure of ABN Amro and other systemic banks to control money laundering

Money Laundering
Following several fines imposed by national regulatory authorities on banks such as ING and ABN Amro, the systemic banks started a KYC-race (Know Your Customer) to investigate “suspicious” transactions by looking into the history of account holders and shareholders of companies, the private expenses and possessions of shareholders and even the backgrounds of company’s clients. In this race, the banks have hired hundreds of controllers, who are equipped with a very menacing weapon, namely that of being able to block a company’s corporate bank account or even terminate the relationship. These controllers, often with little to no experience from the…

Biden-Harris administration: 100-day review of Sanctions policy

Sanctions
When the Biden administration took office on 20 January 2021 it had already announced that there would be reviews of how the US deals with international partnerships. Under the previous administration the US had left the Paris accord on climate change and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Within a day of taking office the new administration set in motion the reversal of both the withdrawal from the Paris agreement and WHO membership. US secretary of the treasury Janet Yellen has said that one of her top priorities is to review the US use of sanctions as well as those that…

Terrorists still raise money through crypto but the impact is limited

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Terrorism
Evidence suggests crypto’s role in terrorism remains relatively minor: “It has not yet become a primary means of terror financing.” We’re living today “amidst an explosion of risk related to fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, and data privacy,” said United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in February — and she specifically cited cryptocurrencies as a “tool to finance terrorism.” Yellen appeared to be flagging an important new turn in the war against terror, and it begged some questions: Is crypto in the hands of terrorists a real, present danger to governments and society? If so, should the cryptocurrency and blockchain…

U.K. money laundering enforcement – the political race to the bottom

Money Laundering
The last three years have seen some seismic changes in both EU and UK anti-money laundering legislation along with related enforcement reporting initiatives. Updated Money Laundering Regulations were enacted in 2017. In early 2018, the Treasury set up a new body; the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS), to act as a ‘supervisor’ of AML supervisors with the responsibility for monitoring money laundering activity. 2018 also saw the first ‘Unexplained Wealth Order’ (UWO’s). The EU Parliament brought into force the sixth AML Directive with some stark changes to both penalties and reporting and data sharing policies. At first,…

Council of Europe calls for stronger financial intelligence units

Financial Crime, Intelligence
THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY of the Council of Europe has criticised recent efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing and has stressed that financial intelligence units must be strengthened. In a resolution adopted in last month and announced Tuesday, the Parliamentary Assembly has invited all member states of the Council of Europe to improve their national FIUs and bring them more in line with the standards of the Financial Action Task Force, and its own FinCrime watchdog – MONEYVAL. The Parliamentary Assembly is a CoE body composed representatives elected to the national parliaments of its member states. It is entirely…

London used as ‘money-laundering base’, mafia trial prosecutor says

Money Laundering
In Italy’s largest mafia trial in three decades, the UK’s capital has been roped in as a potential hotspot for organised crime, particularly post-Brexit. The trial will see around 900 witnesses testify against more than 350 ’Ndrangheta defendants, including politicians and officials charged with being members of Italy’s most powerful criminal group. Defendants are set to respond to charges of money laundering through companies set up in the UK, with the alleged purpose of mimicking lawful economic activity. “’Ndrangheta interests in the UK have figured prominently as clans have used the country as an investment and money-laundering base,” the prosecutor…

Law profession has struggled with AML rules, says firm fined £10,000

Money Laundering
A Surrey law firm has been fined £10,000 for breaches of the anti-money laundering rules in its training, approach to risk assessment and in a conveyancing transaction which produced £850 in fees. QualitySolicitors Brett Holt accepted the fine by reaching an agreement with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) but said that a “significant proportion” of law firms had “struggled to achieve compliance” with the 2017 Money Laundering Regulations. In the agreement, approved by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, Brett Holt accepted that in a property transaction in late 2017 it failed to undertake identity checks and retain copies of address verification…

Former Netflix executive convicted of fraud after orchestrating more than $500,000 in bribes and kickbacks

Fraud
Ex-Netflix IT chief Michael Kail on Friday was convicted of 28 counts of fraud and money laundering. Kail created a “pay-to-play” scheme, taking bribes and kickbacks from tech startups hoping to do business with Netflix. Kail, who was indicted in 2018, must also forfeit a Los Gatos home he purchased with the funds. Former Netflix vice president of IT Michael Kail was convicted by a federal jury on Friday of 28 counts of fraud and money laundering, the US Department of Justice announced in a press release. Kail, who was indicted in 2018, used his position to create a “pay-to-play”…

Biden was tough on drugs for decades. Now he faces challenges in fighting money laundering

Money Laundering
WASHINGTON — Decades ago, then-Sen. Joe Biden established himself as a sort of drug czar on Capitol Hill. In the 1980s, he helped launch the Office of National Drug Control Policy. And a decade later, Biden became one of the masterminds behind Plan Colombia, a $7.5 billion bilateral program focused on, among other things, fighting drug trafficking in the Americas. While running for president, he vowed to enforce “sanctions on international actors engaged in the trafficking of illicit drugs,” and Congress gave him a stronger anti-money laundering law that could help achieve that goal. But with the emergence of new…

New Magnitsky style sanctions regime will strengthen Britain’s toolkit for tacking global corruption and dirty money

Corruption, Sanctions
Transparency International UK welcomes the announcement of a new corruption sanctions regime by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. The new regime gives Britain the power to designate individuals and companies involved in serious corruption around the world, adding another option to the UK’s growing array of sanctions for corruption offences. The UK Government has published an initial list of 22 designated persons who are the first targets of the regime. Those that are designated will have their British assets frozen and be banned from travelling to the UK. The regime is international in scope, enabling the UK to align itself with…

Fighting fraud during the pandemic

Fraud
The City of London Police are the national policing lead for fraud and run Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. Action Fraud has received 6,073 reports of coronavirus related fraud and cyber crime since 01 March 2020, resulting in losses of £34.5m. Dedicated national fraud units have made over 150 arrests and taken down over 2,000 websites, phone numbers and email addresses linked to frauds since the pandemic began. The City of London Police has arrested 156 criminals believed to have been committing fraud during the national restrictions imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Data released…

Ireland stops anonymity in trading of cryptocurrency

Digital Currencies, Regulation
BUYERS and sellers of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are no longer able to trade virtual assets anonymously in Ireland under an expanded anti-money laundering regime. As of today, cryptocurrency service providers in Ireland will have to comply with money laundering rules and other basic regulations for the first time. This means that they must register with the Central Bank and carry out due diligence on their customers, which entails accounting for the origin and destination of client assets. The Central Bank has warned all companies that exchange or transfer virtual assets like Bitcoin, as well as those that provide financial…

FCA has increased surveillance over last 12 months

FCA, Money Laundering
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has highlighted the importance of anti-money laundering (AML) and said that it has increased its surveillance. Two of its biggest sanctions in the last 12 months related to failures to address financial crime and AML risks. Speaking at the AML & ABC Forum 2021, Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said that the City regulator currently has 42 AML investigations ongoing – 25 into firms and 17 against individuals. These involve, for example, systems and controls over politically exposed persons, customers with significant cash-intensive operations, correspondent banking and trade…

The fight against offshore financial crime will be a long campaign

Tax Evasion
On the fifth anniversary of the Panama Papers’ launch, experts say there’s been progress in the fight against dirty money — but much more is needed. In May 2016, weeks after hundreds of journalists released the Panama Papers’ massive exposé of the secret financial dealings and hideaways of politicians, fraudsters and celebrities, a group of world leaders — embarrassed, outraged or knowing a good media opportunity when they saw one — met in London to denounce the global flood of dirty money. British Prime Minister David Cameron, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Emirati deputy foreign minister Anwar Gargash and others signed…

What Is a Company Formation Agent?

Money Laundering
Put simply, a formation agent is a company that creates other companies on behalf of clients around the world. The process is quick, easy, and remarkably cheap. Although many turn to formation agents for legitimate business reasons, illicit actors might seek out their services to dodge taxes, hide their ownership of high-value assets, or squirrel away dirty money. It’s no coincidence that these firms are exceptionally popular in tax havens and financial secrecy jurisdictions. Even a cursory internet search turns up an abundance of eager firms in Belize, Panama, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Seychelles, Malta, the Cayman Islands, and the British…

UK Sanctions 22 Individuals for ‘Serious International Corruption’

Sanctions
The U.K. government has imposed asset freezes and travel bans against 22 individuals from six countries in its first set of measures under the nation’s new Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime. The move, announced this week, seeks to “prevent those responsible from entering the U.K. or laundering their ill-gotten assets here,” and “ensure that the U.K. is not a safe haven for those involved in serious corruption, including those who profit from it,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab wrote in a statement delivered to Parliament on Monday. The first group of individuals sanctioned under the new regime hail from Russia, South Africa,…

Concern over corruption red flags in 20% of U.K.’s PPE procurement

Corruption
Full transparency over ‘vip’ lane and scrutiny of high-risk contracts essential to restore public trust April 22, 2021 – The way the UK Government handled bids for supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) and other COVID-19 response contracts appears partisan and systemically biased in favour of those with political access, new research from Transparency International UK finds. Read the report. Launched today, Track and Trace is the most comprehensive study to date of public procurement during the pandemic and involved a painstaking review of nearly 1,000 contracts worth a total of £18 billion. The report details how critical safeguards designed to…

Explaining the U.K.’s “Unexplained Wealth Order”

Unexplained Wealth Orders
Leaders of organized criminal groups, dictators who steal from their people, crooked officials, and other shady characters have become adept at hiding their millions in Western capitals. The convoluted corporate networks, hidden bank accounts, and sophisticated proxy schemes that underlie these financial flows are largely beyond the grasp of all but the most dedicated specialists. But there’s one sector where the corruption takes physical form, turning cities like London into virtual showcases of tainted foreign wealth: Real estate. Sherlock Holmes’ iconic address on Baker Street is owned by structures connected to the daughter of former Kazakhstani dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev. In…

Ireland to enforce AML checks for digital currency firms from April in line with 5AMLD

Digital Currencies, Money Laundering, Terrorism
Ireland will impose anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) requirements for digital currency firms starting April 2021. With the new regulations, the Irish central bank will have more oversight over the industry. Buyers and sellers of digital currencies will no longer be able to transact anonymously, local daily Irish Independent reports. Digital currency firms, also known as virtual asset service providers (VASPs), will now have to complete due diligence on their clients. This is after the European nation adopted the EU’s Fifth Anti Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD). 5AMLD is the EU’s latest legal framework for combating…

Cyprus to lift veil of secrecy with register of company owners

Money Laundering
NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cyprus plans to launch a register in coming months identifying the owners of thousands of companies on the island, lifting a veil of secrecy on opaque and complex corporate structures that campaigners say can help criminals seeking to hide their loot. Details of thousands of companies domiciled on the island, many thought to have Russian links, will be collected from March 16 to be entered in a so-called Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) register. Supporters say the register, a requirement of European Union anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, could be a game changer for Cyprus, which activists say has…

John McAfee charged with securities fraud for ‘pump and dump’ cryptocurrency scheme

Fraud
John McAfee has been charged with securities fraud over a “pump and dump” cryptocurrency scheme. Federal prosecutors unsealed a case against McAfee and his executive advisor and bodyguard Jimmy Gale Watson Jr., claiming the pair earned nearly $2 million by urging Twitter followers to invest in cryptocurrencies like Reddcoin and Dogecoin, then selling off their own holdings as the price rose. “McAfee and Watson exploited a widely used social media platform and enthusiasm among investors in the emerging cryptocurrency market to make millions through lies and deception,” said US Attorney Audrey Strauss in a statement. “The defendants allegedly used McAfee’s…

Wealthy countries that set global tax rules are biggest enablers of corporate tax abuse

Tax Avoidance
Tax Justice Network ranks OECD members and British overseas territories highest in its 2021 corporate tax haven index, advocating for the UN to set standards instead. The world’s wealthiest countries that help set global tax standards are actually responsible for the majority of corporate tax abuses around the world, a new report has found. The Tax Justice Network’s 2021 Corporate Tax Haven Index, which ranks the countries “most complicit in helping multinational corporations pay less tax than they are expected to,” pegs six jurisdictions that are part of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development — the British Virgin Islands,…

Moscow Court Sentences Banker in ‘Russian Laundromat’ Case

Money Laundering, Prosecutions
A court in Russia sentenced banker Oleg Kuzmin on Monday to nine years in prison and ordered him to pay a one-million-ruble (US$13,574) fine for his part in a major money-laundering operation known as the “Russian Laundromat” or the “Moldovan Scheme,” Kommersant reported. The operation that lasted from 2010 until 2014 may have been the largest of this kind in Eastern Europe, with more than US$20 billion of illicit money transferred from Russia to Moldova and Latvia through a complex series of intermediaries, a 2014 OCCRP investigation revealed. Implicated in it were not just members of organized crime groups, but…

Latest analysis exposes financial underbelly of global wildlife crime

Wildlife Trafficking
The Case Digest- An Initial Analysis of the Financial Flows and Payment Mechanisms Behind Wildlife and Forest Crime, provides a thorough examination of the financial data from more than 40 wildlife crime cases from across the globe, including 11 detailed case studies. The report is a product of years of unprecedented collaboration between participating government agencies, financial intelligence units, non-governmental organisations and other sector experts. Download report (pdf) Key FindingsTRAFFIC, together with its key partner UNODC canvassed the globe for cases, with valuable contributions from leading financial crime partners, to identify examples where financial investigation was conducted to analyse and…

FATF chief suggests criminals are ‘getting away with’ lucrative profits because AML industry doesn’t use its collective power

Money Laundering
FINANCIAL CRIMINALS ARE getting away with the bulk of their profits, even though the FinCrime industry collectively has the power to stop it, the head of the Financial Action Task Force has said. President Dr Marcus Pleyer criticised the gap between theory and reality when it comes to AML, saying that this was a reason why so many criminals continued to succeed in the financial system. Banks, accountants, company formation agents, lawyers and others were all part of this problem, he said in a keynote address to the AMLintelligence Global Action on Money Laundering conference Thursday. “All of them need…

Fourth oil executive sentenced for paying bribes to win a multi-million pound contract in post-occupation Iraq

Bribery, Prosecutions
Paul Bond has today been sentenced to three and half years’ imprisonment for conspiring with others to bribe Iraqi public officials to secure lucrative oil contracts in post-occupation Iraq. Earlier this week, Bond, a former senior sales manager at SBM Offshore (SBM), was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to give corrupt payments following a retrial of his case at Southwark Crown Court. This was the fourth conviction the SFO secured in its wide-scale Unaoil bribery investigation, which uncovered the payment of over $17m worth of bribes to secure $1.7bn worth of contracts for Unaoil and its clients. In…

HMRC Anti-Money Laundering Supervision annual assessment

HMRC, Money Laundering
1) Summary1.1 Certain types of legitimate business services can be attractive to criminals, who exploit them to launder money or finance terrorism. Life is made easier for criminals when insufficient controls are in place. It is therefore essential that businesses put in place adequate measures to prevent criminals from using their services to launder money and finance terrorism. 1.2 HMRC is one of 25 Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervisors in the UK. HMRC delivers its supervisory responsibility through its Anti-Money Laundering Supervisory (AMLS) teams. HMRC helps ensure that businesses comply with the current Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds…