US treasury secretary announces international commitment to enhance beneficial ownership transparency
US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said on Tuesday that she was launching a commitment by Washington and more than twenty foreign governments and authorities to enhance beneficial ownership transparency. Speaking at the Biden-Harris Administration’s second Summit for Democracy, she said the participants in the project would…
FinCEN publishes first guidance on beneficial ownership reporting requirements for businesses
The US treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on Friday published its first set of guidance materials to aid the public, and in particular the small business community, in understanding upcoming beneficial ownership information reporting requirements taking effect on 1 January 2024. Banks are…
UBS, Credit Suisse and US bankers under scrutiny for possible breaches of Russian sanctions
Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are among banks under investigation by the US justice department in a probe into whether bankers helped Russian oligarchs evade sanctions, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources. Subpoenas were sent to individual bankers before the crisis that led to UBS’s…
ABA calls on FinCEN to make changes to proposed beneficial ownership rule
The American Bankers Association (ABA) is urging the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to make changes to the form that entities will use to report beneficial ownership information to the registry that FinCEN is creating to store this information. Financial institutions have so far not…
Washington continues blitz on third-country entities linked to sanctions evasion
The US is continuing its blitz of sanctions on third-country entities that Washington believes are helping sanctioned entities to continue doing business in global markets. The latest sanctioning of 39 entities in Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey and the UAE relate to them allegedly forming a…
Australia focusing even more on TBML with new multi-agency taskforce
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is launching a multi-agency taskforce to target criminals who are laundering tens of millions of dollars in Australia every day to bankroll lavish lifestyles and further crime. Taskforce Avarus will target criminal syndicates involved in, amongst other things, trade-based money…
FATF updates guidance on beneficial ownership
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published its updated guidance paper outlining tougher global beneficial ownership rules aimed at preventing criminals from hiding their illicit activities and money behind secret corporate structures. Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons (Recommendation 24) aims to close loopholes and…
AfDB and CoDA launch US$5.9 million project to address financial crime, money laundering and tax avoidance
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) have launched a three-year support project to improve regional coherent and coordinated responses to illicit financial flows (IFFs). The project aims to ensure that policies and practices are mobilised to address financial…
Stolen chicken-wings may be linked to organised IVTS and TBML schemes
The alleged theft of US$1.5 million of chicken wings by a former director of food services of a school district in Chicago may be linked to a major money laundering ring that was apparently disabled four years ago. Vera Liddell is alleged to have stolen…
New US sanctions target Russian banks, metals and mining sector, and third-country actors linked to sanctions evasion
In one of its most significant sanctions actions to date, the US treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated over a dozen more Russian banks and financial institutions and announced a new determination targeting Russia’s metals and mining sector. It is also imposing…
