Banks on guard after STRs reveal massive Singapore-based transnational money laundering organisation
Prompt suspicious transaction reports (STRs) by Singapore’s financial institutions (FIs) helped reveal a massive transnational money laundering organisation. The total value of assets seized or frozen with prohibition of disposal orders in the case so far has swelled to over 2.4 billion Singaporean dollars (S$2.4…
Host city of the European anti-money laundering authority to be decided soon
An announcement revealing which of Europe’s financial hubs will host the new European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) and its staff is expected soon. Perhaps ambitiously, the authority should be “operational in its seat location by the beginning of 2024”, according to an EU briefing. It…
Diamond traders and Wagner official with gold trade links sanctioned
Two diamond traders and a Wagner Group official in the Central African Republic (CAR) linked with the gold trade are among the entities and individuals named in Washington’s latest round of Russian sanctions. The US treasury department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed…
Bancrédito fined as US sets sights on offshore lenders
Puerto Rico-based Bancrédito International Bank and Trust Corporation, now in liquidation, has been fined US$15 million by the US treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The bank admitted “wilful violations” of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and its implementing regulations regarding suspicious activity monitoring…
Capgemini eyes growing market for financial crime compliance with Exiger acquisition
One of the world’s largest consulting and IT services firms, Capgemini, has underlined its interest in the growing global market for financial crime compliance (FCC) by acquiring a key division of New York based Exiger, a global regulatory and financial crime, risk, and compliance company….
Europol report focuses on TBML and examines contexts of financial and economic crime
A comprehensive report published by Europol describes how trade-based money laundering (TBML) is used alongside other money laundering typologies by professional money launderers that have established a parallel underground financial system to process transactions and payments away from surveillance mechanisms governing the legal financial system….
AML/CFT regulations, compliance and geopolitical volatility widen trade finance gap to record size
The global trade finance gap widened to a record US$2.5 trillion in 2022 from US$1.7 trillion two years earlier according to the latest edition of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB’s) flagship Trade Finance Gaps, Growth and Jobs Survey. Financial crime compliance, anti-money laundering and counter…
EU financial watchdogs warn about closer economic ties to Andorra, Monaco and San Marino
Allowing Andorra, Monaco and San Marino more access to the European Union’s (EU’s) single market presents a fundamental risk to the bloc’s financial integrity and could open a backdoor for illicit financial flows into the EU, according to Europe’s top financial regulators. The chairs of…
Misrepresentation by suppliers suspected in latest metals sector scandal
Misrepresentation on trade documents appears to feature in the latest scandal revealed in the metals sector by Hamburg-based copper recycling giant, Aurubis. It says metals worth hundreds of millions of euros have disappeared from its inventories in a conspiracy suspectedly involving suppliers and employees. Europe’s…
Switzerland initiates consultation on strengthened AML framework
Switzerland has published new draft regulations aimed at reinforcing its anti-money laundering (AML) regulations in its efforts to shed its image as a safe haven for illicit funds. The proposed measures would establish a non-public register of beneficial owners; make lawyers and consultants responsible for flagging…
