Money Laundering Bulletin

The extraordinary efforts by the US government to thwart terrorist financing have leant heavily on the financial services industry, which continues to bear the brunt of the new anti-money laundering legislation. Philip Fine provides an overview on how American financial institutions are coping in the post Sept 11 era.

The arrival of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the imminent expansion of the regulated sector under the Money Laundering Regulations 2003, which will give effect to the second EC Money Laundering Directive in the UK, have led to consternation among professionals as Timon Molloy discovered when he attended the British Bankers’ Association’s “Update on the Proceeds of Crime Act” conference in London on 10 April.

Austria’s accession to the European Union in 1995 led to reforms that brought its law into line with the provisions of the first EC Money Laundering Directive. However, its transition to a new more open regime has not been entirely smooth as Sue Grossey reports.

How do Police at the frontline interpret the suspicious transaction reports that money laundering reporting officers send through to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) Economic Crime Branch? What do they look for and exactly how helpful to solving crime are the disclosures that firms make? These questions were explored during the Metropolitan Police Service Financial Intelligence Development Unit’s fifth annual feedback forum at New Scotland Yard last November. The event, sponsored by Carratu International, the investigations company, attracted more than a hundred money laundering specialists, from banks, financial advisers, casinos and bureaux de change, who came to learn from and share their experiences – ‘expectations, limitations and disappointments’ – with the Metropolitan Police officers who receive and handle 25% of the STRs filed in England and Wales. Timon Molloy concludes his report on the highly instructive proceedings.

Part VII of the UK’s Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), the money laundering provisions, may have taken effect on 24 February this year but much of the practical detail remains to be worked out; that was the message from Sue Thornhill, Director of MHA Consulting and author of the Money Laundering Guidance notes for the UK financial sector, at CMS Cameron McKenna’s London seminar, “The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 – what you need to know”, on 7 April. Timon Molloy reports.