Category: Money Laundering

The City of London Police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the private sector have worked together, using specialist powers, to achieve the largest ever proceeds of crime forfeiture in the UK. Du Toit & Co LLP (a South African law firm operating from UK offices) and Xiperias Ltd (a Cypriot registered company, which claimed ownership of the bulk of the funds) both agreed to forfeit €34m, to settle litigation alleging that the funds in two bank accounts were from unlawful conduct. Temporary Commander Clinton Blackburn, from the City of London Police, said: “Money laundering, the process of legitimising money gained…

Regulators went to an average of seven law firms a month in the past year following up concerns about a lack of anti-money laundering policies. In its first report as a professional supervisor, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said it made a total of 85 visits in the period and carried out a further 168 desk-based reviews. The most common reason for non-compliance with anti-money laundering regulations was not having a proper risk assessment in place, poor client due diligence and insufficient checks on the source of funds. Other reasons for rule breaches were a failure of staff to follow procedures,…

Earlier this year, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a $390 million penalty against Capital One for “willful” anti-money-laundering (AML) failures that happened during a period between 2008-2014. For compliance operators in the space, the action was a strong signal of rigorous enforcement, and perhaps a sign of increased pressures to come. Anti-Money Laundering May Now be Getting its Time in the Spotlight Looking at the U.S. market, aside from recent enforcement actions, imminent regulatory changes are paving the way for this increased interest in AML compliance. On the very first day of 2021, the U.S.…

Jordan, Turkey and Mali were categorized last week as “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring,” or countries that have to work on removing strategic deficiencies in their systems to counter money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing, a global finance watchdog said. The Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) issues black lists and grey lists when a country is deemed to be at high risk of money laundering and terrorism financing. But issuance of the latter means that the country has pledged to work with the FATF to address those issues. Jordan joins Yemen and Syria as the third Arab country on the list,…

More than 100 people have been arrested in Spain and Italy following a joint investigation into money laundering. The sting targeted an Italian mafia gang on the Spanish island of Tenerife, who are accused of laundering more than €10 million. The group is alleged to have made its money through a number of online scams in several European countries. The police operation — supported by Europol — led to the arrests of 106 people, authorities said on Monday. Most of the suspects were Italian nationals who were detained in the Canary Islands, Europol said in a statement. Those arrested have…

Even though intent of not seeking source of investment may be good, it can have consequences, officials say A new provision in the Financial Act for this fiscal year that it would not seek source of income from investors if they are investing in infrastructure projects and businesses has raised a question of policy reversal and concerns have also grown if it could aid money laundering. “The government will not seek sources for investments made in the areas of nationally important hydropower projects, international airports, infrastructure projects like underground highways, cement factories, steel factories, agriculture-based businesses, tourism, businesses that create…

Trade body leader, Mark Hayward, suggests that letting agencies should be treated like their sales counterparts to aid AML and stamp out money laundering via property in the UK. Propertymark has called for the €10,000 euro limit on lettings agents having to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) legislation to be scrapped. The trade body’s remarks follow HM Treasury’s announcement that it has launched two consultations to ensure its anti-money laundering processes and supervisory regimes are up to scratch. The Treasury says this offers the opportunity to ensure the regime responds to the UK’s particular circumstances and risks, is as effective…

The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently launched a public consultation on new Guidelines on the role, tasks and responsibilities of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance officers. The Guidelines also include provisions on the wider AML/CFT governance set-up, including at the level of the group. Once adopted, these Guidelines will apply to all financial sector operators that are within the scope of the AML Directive. This consultation runs until 2 November 2021. The draft Guidelines comprehensively address, for the first time at the level of the EU, the whole AML/CFT governance set-up. They set clear expectations…

NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Danske Bank A/S (DANSKE.CO) and former top executives on Wednesday defeated an appeal in New York by shareholders claiming they were defrauded because the Danish bank allowed widespread money laundering at its former Estonian branch. The lawsuit began after Danske said in September 2018 that an internal probe had uncovered about 200 billion euros ($235 billion) of suspicious transactions through its Estonian branch from 2007 to 2015. But the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that “money-laundering at a single branch in Estonia cannot alone establish that Danske Bank itself carried out a…

There was a dramatic increase in money laundering fines in 2020 as financial crimes boomed during the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities handed out $2.2 billion in fines last year, five times larger than 2019’s total, according to a report from Kroll, a risk consultancy. Financial firms were given the largest fines for failures in anti-money laundering (AML) and suspicious activity monitoring. “The tolerance level for AML failings is seriously reducing and as a result we think fines are going up to reflect that,” says Claire Simm, managing director of financial services compliance at Kroll. Australia doled out the largest fines in…

European Banking Authority proposes guidance for financial-sector compliance officers, part of a wider revamp of how the bloc deals with money laundering The European Union’s banking regulator has proposed guidance for financial-sector compliance officers, another step in the bloc’s effort to revamp its anti-money-laundering system. The proposal from the Paris-based European Banking Authority is the latest move by the EU to harmonize anti-money-laundering rules across member states and shift implementation away from national authorities. In July, the European Commission—the EU’s legislative arm—proposed creating an anti-money-laundering agency with direct supervisory authority over financial companies. The proposal came after twin scandals involving…

The son of Mozambique’s ex-president and 18 others have gone on trial over the $2bn (£1.5bn) “tuna bonds” affair. Ndambi Guebuza, son of former President Armando Guebuza, and the others face charges of blackmail, embezzlement and money laundering. They have not yet commented on the charges. Mozambique’s biggest corruption scandal led donors including the IMF to cut funding for the country and the economy to collapse. The trial is being held in a large canvas tent in the grounds of a maximum-security prison in the outskirts of the capital, Maputo. The city’s courtrooms were deemed too small for the scores…

SummarySeeking views on amendments to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 14 October 2021 Consultation descriptionThis consultation invites views and evidence on the steps that the government proposes to take to amend the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs). These amendments will allow the government to make some time-sensitive updates to the MLRs, which are required to ensure that the UK continues to meet international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force, whilst also strengthening and ensuring clarity on how the anti-money laundering regime operates, following…

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday issued a wide-ranging set of national anti-money-laundering priorities, naming corruption and cybercrime among the areas where financial institutions should focus their compliance resources. The list is the first created by the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, following a major overhaul of U.S. anti-money-laundering laws in January. Legislation passed by Congress required FinCEN to develop a national strategy for countering money laundering and terrorism financing and to issue a list of priorities every four years. Financial industry groups had advocated to make the prioritization effort a part of the anti-money-laundering act, hoping it…

“Mikaela Jav” made a name for herself as a DJ, spinning infectious electronic beats on the Spanish island of Ibiza, long famed for its fervent nightlife. The host of “Mikaela & Friends” parties, which kicked off on Saturday nights in the summer of 2015, also had an active presence on Facebook, where she posted sultry, jet-setting photos in Greece, Thailand, and Las Vegas. In Spanish press interviews, DJ Mikaela gushed about her love for Ibiza, her musical inspiration, and her life in Russia, which she described as her home. In fact, OCCRP can reveal in this joint investigation with Transparency…

Countries should view environmental crimes such as illegal forestry, mining, land clearances and waste trafficking – and the associated trading – as a money-laundering (ML) risk, according to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). “Anti-money laundering is often not part of the public policy dialogue on environmental protection,” the Paris-based organisation says in a new report, Money Laundering from Environmental Crimes. “Despite the significant proceeds involved in many cases, jurisdictions are mostly addressing environmental crime as a conservation issue rather than a serious financial crime.” Yet the report cites UN studies showing that the proceeds from environmental crimes are of…