Category: Compliance

Companies, foundations and churches are being asked to pay additional banking fees to cover the cost of money laundering investigations, broadcaster NOS noted on Tuesday. ABN Amro, ING and SNS have already introduced the new fees and Rabobank will follow on next week, NOS said. Banks say the monthly charge is needed to pay for the extra checks they have to make for money laundering and funding terrorism. ‘The cost for banks have risen considerably in recent years,’ Helène Erftemeijer from the Dutch banking association said. ‘Some 13,000 people are involved in this sort of research and the increasing costs…

In the US, chief compliance officers can be held liable for their financial services firms’ failures to comply with regulations – whether they’re involved or not. In this article, we look at a framework proposed by the New York City Bar Association to help to reduce the burden on CCOs. “These career-ending enforcement actions discourage individuals from becoming or remaining compliance officers and performing vital functions that regulators stretched too thin would otherwise be unable to perform, particularly when other options, such as providing legal advice or becoming an outside compliance service provider or businessperson, involve less personal risk.” Framework…

On Friday, FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer spoke to G20 leaders and central bank governors on the threats of financial crime. He addressed colleagues from nations across the world, who are all nearing their first anniversary of COVID restrictions and lockdowns. His main message was simple: the fight against dirty money matters now more than ever. But here’s a more thorough run-down of what his comments mean for those efforts – and what their future looks like as the pandemic still rages. 1. FATF will not let COVID regulate their work to the back seat – and the G20 are…

The European Union after approval from member state finance members will move forward in creating a bloc-wide financial crime compliance sentinel to directly oversee country regulators and financial institutions – with power to engage in direct reviews, request information and levy monetary penalties. The agreement at the EU Council will form the foundation for more formal legal edicts expected to take force early next year, a widely-watched initiative by global watchdog groups and partner world powers after embarrassing Baltic and Nordic banking scandals shattered the perception of strong union anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) oversite with the estimated…

September 30th 2020, London –  Transparency International UK welcome the announcement made last week by the Government of the British Virgin Islands that they would be opening their company ownership register to the public.  Andrew Fahie, the Premier of the British Virgin Islands, speaking to the House of Assembly stated the territory would adopt a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership for companies, in line with international standards by 2023.The British Virgin Islands join the rest of the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies in announcing their commitment to transparent company ownership.  The secrecy offered by companies registered in the British Virgin…

Concerned that money transfers worth just a few hundred dollars are helping terrorists and fentanyl traffickers, the U.S. Treasury is pushing a new rule for banks, money transmitters and others. The top U.S. financial crime watchdog wants to slash the value of transactions that banks and other financial institutions must report as potentially suspicious, citing small payments used to plan terrorist attacks and to import deadly drugs. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, published a proposal with the Federal Reserve last week to require banks and others to collect and share with authorities information on potentially suspicious transactions…

Federal Independent MP Andrew Wilkie will introduce a bill to Parliament on Monday to make gambling companies liable if the person placing the bet is using stolen money. Under the legislation, if a bettor has paid for a gambling service using money they obtained illegally, the Federal Court could order the gambling company to compensate the victim of the original crime. The “Making Gambling Businesses Accountable” bill, which amends the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act, uses the same definition of “stolen property” as the Criminal Code. Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie will second the bill and Mr Wilkie’s team…

As envisaged in its 2019/20 Business Plan, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is consulting on proposals to extend its financial crime reporting obligation to additional firms irrespective of their total annual revenue. The proposed extension would cover all crypto-asset exchange and custodian wallet providers, as well as all electronic money institutions, Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs) and Organised Trading Facilities (OTFs). Under the proposed requirements each firm must provide information to the FCA on the location of its customers, the jurisdictions in which it has business and which of those jurisdictions it considers high risk. In addition, firms must disclose the resources it…

The Skinny:  In this regional report focusing on Europe, the ACFCS Netherlands Chapter looks at some of the EU AML scandals and issues in and out of banks that can make compliance difficult.  The takeaways come from the “Fintech and FinCrime in Europe” session, a panel from ACFCS Fincrime Virtual Week, the association’s first-ever fully online fincrime compliance conference.   More than 5,600 attendees, speakers and thought leaders registered for the event, which addressed the overarching themes of Disruption, Innovation and Resiliency. In the panel focused on compliance and regulatory trends in the EU, speakers highlighted several key trends, including: …

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…