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English legal entity structure is cloak for criminality, say investigators
The UK may have launched the first public register of beneficial owners of companies in 2016 but one type of corporate vehicle it offers is still wide open to abuse by criminals, according to a joint investigation by the BBC and Finance Uncovered...
Online Published Date:
05 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
LeoVegas pays UK£1.32m to Gambling Commission for AML and social harm failures
Online gambling operator LeoVegas has been fined UK£1.32 million (US$1,554,458) by the UK regulator for ineffective controls to prevent money laundering and protect customers who display problematic behaviour.The firm, which runs leovegas.com,..
Online Published Date:
05 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Report card – SARs experience
Suspicious transaction reports (STRs) are frequently criticized as too numerous, costly and contributing little to law enforcement investigations. Rose Pengelly, Paul Cochrane and Keith Nuthall put a lens on filing practice and output.United Kingdom..
Online Published Date:
05 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Grey zone - Zimbabwe
Rich in natural resources but yet emerging from decades of economic mismanagement, Zimbabwe has turned a corner in tackling money laundering, according to the Financial Action Task Force. Paul Cochrane, in Pietermaritzburg, finds not everyone so..
Online Published Date:
06 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
On the scent – illegal wildlife trade
Criminal dealing in ‘protected’ rare and endangered species is serviced by networks of illicit finance, which are coming under increasing scrutiny, finds Paul Cochrane, in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued..
Online Published Date:
09 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
FinCrime Curator - August 2022
To really know your enemy, you need someone on the inside. We can't all be law enforcement but next best is wherever possible to learn from their experience: two resources, from Europol and Robert Mazur - 'The Infiltrator' - will help. Veteran..
Online Published Date:
10 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Ukraine-Russia conflict [21] – sanctions: pinpointing and refinement
3/8/22: The USA is sharpening up its economic measures against Russia, issuing new and amended General Licences, providing clarifications, while also targeting further individuals and businesses for asset freezes. Herbert Smith Freehills review the..
Online Published Date:
10 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Professional negligence – Australia
Australia’s commitment to strengthen its anti-money laundering regime by expanding the regulated sector is now an eight-year-old promise that has yet to be fulfilled, but with the change in government this May [2022], there is renewed hope, writes..
Online Published Date:
11 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
New dimensions – the Metaverse
Life online is set for a massive step-change, with the creation of spaces and interactivity that will assuredly deliver enhanced opportunities for work and leisure, but also plunder. Keith Nuthall immerses himself in the fresh potentialities for..
Online Published Date:
11 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Smarkets fined UK£630,000 by Gambling Commission for AML and social harm failings
Online betting exchange Smarkets (Malta) Limited has been ordered to pay UK£630,000 (US$741,334) for weak source of funds checks and not identifying and communicating with customers at risk of harm.
Online Published Date:
12 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
AML revisited – CDD primacy
Billions spent for minuscule return: is it time to rework the whole approach to anti-money laundering – prioritise customer due diligence, scrap reporting and direct far more resource to law enforcement? Keith Nuthall and Sarah Gibbonsexamine a radical proposal.
Online Published Date:
12 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Nedbank fined R20m in South Africa for sweep of AML flaws
South African deposit-taker Nedbank Limited will pay a R20m (US$1.22m) administrative penalty for wide-ranging breaches of the country’s Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001.
Online Published Date:
15 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
The good SAR
An intelligence database must be mined to be useful but by whom and why, specifically? Tristram Hicks argues that the investigatory value in suspicious activity reports - all of them - is best extracted by frontline law enforcement to tackle the crime they see.
Online Published Date:
15 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets fined UK£498,000 in Jersey over correspondent banking risk breach
The Jersey branch of Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets (LBCM) must pay a civil penalty of UK£498,000 for not identifying and properly managing the risk of a correspondent banking relationship between 2008 and 2018.
Online Published Date:
16 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
US Congress to adopt ‘Enablers’ Act in AML and corruption crackdown
The US Congress is gearing up to adopt the ENABLERS Act, which would extend anti-money laundering requirements (AML) in the Bank Secrecy Act, such as customer due diligence and reporting suspicious transactions, to professional service providers, including lawyers and accountants, third-party payment services and people who form or register companies or trusts.
Online Published Date:
19 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Entain, gambling operator, pays UK£17m for “completely unacceptable” compliance failures
A record UK£17 million (US$20,019,540) fine on Entain Group is the UK Gambling Commission’s response to anti-money laundering and social responsibility failings in both its online and bricks and mortar businesses.
Online Published Date:
19 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Cashing in, and out
Timon Molloy (timon.molloy@informa.com), Editor
Online Published Date:
25 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Germany scores moderate (and better) FATF effectiveness outcomes despite major defects
The world’s fourth largest economy is performing inadequately in many areas of anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing, according to the 2022 mutual evaluation report for Germany, released by the Financial Action Task Force on 25 August.
Online Published Date:
26 August 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Commerzbank in Hong Kong pays HK$6m for CDD and PEP screening failures
The Hong Kong branch of German lender Commerzbank must pay HK$6,000,000 (US$764,576) to the HK Monetary Authority (HKMA) for breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO) between 1 April 2012 and 30 June 2016.
Online Published Date:
02 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Politics, technology and STRs – new Egmont Group chair on today’s challenges for FIUs
Xolisile Khanyile, the director of South Africa’sFinancial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has been appointed chair of the Egmont Group (EG) of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), taking over from July [2022] for a two-year term. She replaces the Netherlands’ Hennie Verbeek-Kusters, who had served as chair since 2020.Ms Khanyile is a career prosecutor, having also served for five years as South Africa’sdirector of public prosecutions (DPP). She assumes office as the AML/CFT world struggles with the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the unprecedented sanctions that have followed this military aggression. Ms Khanyile will also have to continue dealing with the AML/CFT impact of the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, FIUs are having to cope with the fast-changing world of virtual assets and the ongoing disruption resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. She explained to MLB in an exclusive interview how she plans to help the AML/CFT sector address this unprecedented set of challenges.
Online Published Date:
02 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Netherlands not tough enough on launderers, finds FATF
The Netherlands has only moderate effectiveness in its AML/CFT policies regarding supervision, preventative measures, legal persons controls and financial sanctions, according to the latest Financial Action Task Force (FATF) mutual evaluation report (MER).
Online Published Date:
02 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Spreadex fined UK£1.36m by Gambling Commission for AML and social responsibility breaches
Online gambling operator of spreadex.com, Spreadex Limited will pay UK£1.36m (US$1,593,410) after the UK regulator found it had contravened anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CFT) and social responsibility rules.
Online Published Date:
02 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Wise fined US$360,000 in UAE for CDD, risk assessment, account approval breaches
Payment services provider Wise has to pay US$360,000 after the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (FSRA) found it had breached obligations under the AML and Sanctions Rules and Guidance Rulebook between 25 July 2019 and 22 September 2021.
Online Published Date:
02 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Promising - the UK register of overseas entities
As of 1 August 2022, beneficial owners of overseas entities that purchase land or property in the UK must be identified by a verification agent, regulated under the Money Laundering Regulations. Transitional arrangements provide for checking beneficial ownership in the case of historic purchases. Intended to discourage criminal investment in land or property, John Binns of BCL Solicitors considers the interplay of the new obligations with existing registration and reporting duties, and whether ineffective implementation could prove counter-productive.
Online Published Date:
03 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
State of reform: US AMLA
Overhaul of the US AML regime to bring it more into line with international standards has been grinding on since passage of the enabling Anti-Money Laundering Act in early 2021. Keith Nuthall checks on progress in some key areas.
Online Published Date:
14 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Launderer linked to Kinahan clan arrested in Spain - Europol
Law enforcement must be confident they have their man: on 12 September Europol announced it had arrested "one of Europe's biggest money launderers", along with two associates, in Malaga, Spain.
Online Published Date:
15 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Danske Bank fined €1.82m in Ireland over exclusions from transaction monitoring
The Central Bank of Ireland imposed its first penalty on a foreign financial institution, on 13 September [2022], when it fined Danske Bank A/S €1,820,000 (US$1,813,408) for failing to monitor transactions by "certain categories [unspecified] of customers" at its Irish branch between 2010 and 2019.
Online Published Date:
16 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Disenable: now, hit the professionals
MLAAS - Money Laundering As A Service - must, logically, exist to layer in the billions and billions of, well, choose a currency, generated by criminal enterprise: who does it, how should they be stopped and why isn't that happening? Paul Cochranetalks to those with reason to know.
Online Published Date:
20 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
Russian oligarchs using crypto to avoid sanctions
Russian oligarchs are increasingly using cryptocurrency to evade sanctions, according to a leading cybercrime investigation firm whose blockchain analysts have probed the financial interests of recently targeted Russian nationals.
Online Published Date:
21 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
UK economic crime bill aims for company register integrity
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, introduced into Parliament on 22 September [2022], sets out UK Companies House reforms intended to improve the accuracy of registry data on UK-incorporated entities.
Online Published Date:
29 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022
A man of influence - interview with T Raja Kumar, FATF President [Video]
Singapore assumed the Financial Action Task Force presidency on 1 July this year. T Raja Kumar, drawing on decades of public service, including in law enforcement, is determined to drive forward the effectiveness agenda. Asset recovery - an improvement on the UN estimate of less than one percent of global illicit financial flows - is a key priority, he tells Keith Nuthall, cyber-enabled financial crime another, and that's all before consideration of virtual assets, Ukraine, Russia, and Afghanistan.
Online Published Date:
29 September 2022
Appeared in issue:
297 - 03 October 2022