Category: 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… Read More

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… Read More

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,… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

Art businesses should not be fooled into thinking they can use “reliance” as a loophole, experts say. The UK’s art market has been subject to stringent new regulations since an anti-money laundering directive came into force in January 2020. While the new requirements to conduct identity checks and other due diligence on art buyers initially came as a shock to an industry that has for centuries operated on handshakes, much of the market is now accustomed to these processes. But experts say that some art businesses may have misunderstood a key part of the regulations, and could be unwittingly breaking… Read More

ING has acknowledged the decision published today by the financial regulator in France, the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR), on ING in France, following its inspection in 2018, for shortcomings in its anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-terrorist financing framework. Based on the ACPR findings, ING in France has put in place all the necessary corrective measures to strengthen its processes and management of compliance risks. Based on the inspection, the ACPR has reprimanded ING in France and imposed a sanction of €3 million. In the context of significantly increased attention on the prevention of financial economic crime… Read More

By Adriana Babi – Compliance Researcher and member of OAB Compliance Commission In a pandemic scenario full of uncertainties, efforts are directed towards the pursuit of normality, and what we know is that for some time to come, we will live this “new normal”, but how to conceptualize the current reality in the perspective of combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (LD / FT)? In general terms, money laundering consists of transforming resources obtained illegally into lawful resources. In Brazil, the crime of money laundering is regulated by Law 9,613, of March 1998, whereas terrorism consists of the practice… Read More

By Jeff Horvath, Co-Founder and CEO, DigiPli The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA 2020) became law in early January, with major implications across institutional finance, including FinTechs. It introduced the biggest changes to the AML regime since the PATRIOT ACT of 2001 and was passed with strong bipartisan support. The Act remediates certain weaknesses in existing AML requirements, addresses new issues arising from advances in the financial markets and technology, and enhances regulatory coordination. FinTechs with US operations should closely analyze AMLA 2020, as it will require both changes to their AML programs and controls, and impact how they… Read More

The new rules state that art and antique dealers in the United Kingdom and the European Union now have to notify the true recipients of their sales. Will the new anti-money laundering regulations improve the culture of secrecy deeply rooted in the art market? In society, it advocates ancient customs of commodity and body discretion that foster transactions. Collectors have long appreciated the secret wealthy, which is also part of the mysterious universe of auction houses. When a Botticelli bottle was auctioned last month for $ 92 million at Sotheby’s in New York, it was speculated that the buyer was… Read More

The chief executive of Australian casino group Crown Resorts has quit amid a scandal over money laundering allegations within its casinos. Ken Barton’s departure follows that of several other company directors. Last week an inquiry found Crown was not fit to hold a gaming licence in New South Wales, meaning it cannot operate its newly built casino in Sydney. The report has also thrown doubt over Crown’s casinos in other cities. Crown, which is majority-owned by Australian billionaire James Packer, has been dogged by allegations of illegal activity for years at its casinos in Melbourne and Perth. Its operations overseas… Read More

Fitch Ratings-Stockholm/London/New York-24 February 2021: Significant revisions to US anti money-laundering (AML) rules intensify financial crime risks for non-US banks by increasing the scope of potential investigations by the US government and raising financial penalties, according to Fitch Ratings. Any weaknesses in governance could be ratings relevant but increased enforcement raises the potential for sanctions and fines that can have more meaningful consequences for ratings. Lower tolerance of governance failures from a wide range of stakeholders reinforces Fitch’s view that governance and financial crimes risks, along with associated penalties and indirect business costs, are becoming more punitive for banks globally.… Read More

It is a sign of how narrowly we perceive the threat posed by money laundering that the problem is too often framed around taxi companies, car washes, and less than reputable property developers. But in reality, the conduits for this global scourge are increasingly complex, and we should not pretend that our lauded education system is somehow immune. A startling investigation by the Times newspaper found that at least 49 universities across the UK have accepted more £50 million in cash payments over the past five years for tuition, accommodation, and other course fees. Those who received the banknote payments… Read More

FinCEN Announces $390,000,000 Enforcement Action Against Capital One, National Association for Violations of the Bank Secrecy Act WASHINGTON—The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today announced that Capital One, National Association (Capital One) has been assessed a $390,000,000 civil money penalty for engaging in both wilful and negligent violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and its implementing regulations. Specifically, FinCEN determined and Capital One admitted to wilfully failing to implement and maintain an effective Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program to guard against money laundering. Capital One also admitted that it wilfully failed to file thousands of suspicious activity reports (SARs), and… Read More

U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Law Set to Change Antiquities Trade as Buyers’ Identities No Longer Concealed The U.S. Congress recently passed the Anti-Money Laundering Act (the “Act”) of 2020, in which art and antiquities dealers are bracing themselves for more stringent federal oversight. Under the bill, the antiquities sector will no longer be spared from the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The new regulations require antiquities dealers to report any suspicious activities and any cash transactions exceeding US$10,000 to the authorities, and to ensure that potential buyers are not among those being sanctioned by the U.S. government. The liability of extensive record-keeping… Read More

Digitization of financial services has opened the doors for more complex financial crime, says ACAMS’ McDonell The continuing modernization and digitization of the financial services industry made easier access to financial services more available to everyone, but it also has created the opportunity for illicit actors to concoct more complex, digitized crimes. In an interview with Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence, Rick McDonell, executive director of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), discusses this crucial development and notes how important it is for financial institutions to ensure that their compliance departments and officers are properly trained to detect this… Read More

UK gambling regulators have reached a £1.3m settlement with licensee White Hat Gaming after the company’s approach to social responsibility (SR) and anti-money laundering (AML) was found wanting. On Thursday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) announced the regulatory settlement with White Hat Gaming regarding its “inadequate” policies and procedures for identifying and managing customers deemed to be at a higher risk for problem gambling and money laundering. The shortcomings involved seven customers’ accounts at four White Hat sites – Grandivy.com, 21Casino.com, Hellocasino.com and Dreamvegas.com – that emerged following a March 2019 UKGC compliance assessment. The following January, the UKGC notified… Read More

Money services business fined for flouting money laundering regulations. Today (7 January 2021), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published the latest list of businesses handed fines for breaching strict regulations aimed at preventing criminals from laundering illicit cash. The list includes money transfer company MT Global Limited, which has been handed the largest ever fine issued by HMRC, for significant breaches of the regulations between July 2017 and December 2019 relating to: risk assessments and associated record-keeping policies, controls and procedures fundamental customer due diligence measures Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of Economic Crime, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “Businesses who… Read More

In the tumult of recent weeks, a major legislative milestone in the American fight against kleptocracy has sneaked by almost unnoticed. It demands our attention, especially because its work is only half done. On Jan. 1, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was signed into law, when Congress overrode then-President Donald Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, to which it was attached. The CTA mandates that the incorporators of new corporations or limited liability partnerships will have to file annually to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the Treasury (FinCEN), listing the names, dates of birth,… Read More

Landmark laws to thwart the use of U.S. shell companies by terrorists, human traffickers, arms dealers and kleptocrats are set to be enacted after more than a decade of lobbying and politicking with rare bipartisan support. The sweeping anti-money laundering reforms hitched a lift in the annual defense spending bill that passed the Senate 84-13 today, and was approved by the House 355-78 earlier this week. The Corporate Transparency Act requires U.S. companies to report their true owners to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN — largely ending anonymous shell companies in the country. The International… Read More