International alignment and business considerations should feature in EBA’s de-risking guidance say Wolfsberg and IIF
The Wolfsberg Group, the association of global banks that aims to develop frameworks and guidance for the management of financial crime risks, and the Institute of International Finance (IIF), the global association of the financial industry, have submitted joint comments in response to the European…
Top EU court judgment allowing beneficial owners anonymity to general public may hinder AML/CFT compliance processing
The decision of the European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) that beneficial owners of registered companies can remain anonymous to the general public may hinder the ability of financial institutions seeking to quickly and easily obtain beneficial ownership in the course of their anti-money laundering…
Integrity of the global trade system and financial industry under threat from TCOs, collaboration needed says WCO and Egmont Group
The integrity of the global trade system and financial industry as well as both regional and global security are under growing threats posed by transnational criminal organisations (TCOs) and terrorist organisations according to the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the Egmont Group (EG) of Financial…
Wolfsberg publishes RFI best practice guidance
The Wolfsberg Group has published a guidance paper on requests for information (RFIs) as used in anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) transaction monitoring processes. The guidance is focused primarily on inquiries initiated as a result of transaction monitoring, and is not intended to…
Landmark World Bank report kicks off review of risk-based AML/CFT approach
Nearly a decade after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) introduced requirements for National Risk Assessments (NRAs) of money laundering and terrorism financing (ML/TF) risks, the international community is at the right point to review the past 10 years and assess whether the risk-based approach…
Malta-based bank fined for AML/CFT shortcomings
A Malta-based bank owned by a Dutch billionaire has been fined by Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) for failings in its anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) processes. Novum Bank, owned by Dutch entrepreneur Marcel Boekhoorn, has been ordered to pay a…
Dutch financial supervisors’ informal warnings miss opportunities to use full range of sanctions
Despite two recent high profile out-of-court settlements involving major Dutch banks, some of the Netherland’s supervisors still heavily rely on informal enforcement actions and warning letters according to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In its Mutual Evaluation Report Netherlands-2022, the FATF says that whilst the…
Germany could do more to tackle money laundering says FATF
Germany has drawn criticism from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for not doing enough to tackle money laundering, such as not implementing reforms to its anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime and prosecuting very few for money laundering. In its Mutual Evaluation…
Financial services firms lacking resources and talent to cope with fog of Russian sanctions
Global banks and businesses face unprecedented challenges in applying sanctions, export controls, and prohibitions against providing certain services to Russia since its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, according to a white paper published by Thomson Reuters. Entitled The fog of sanctions, the paper observes that…
Financial sanctions imposed on six UAE banks for non-compliance
Six banks operating in the UAE have been fined for failing to comply with the OECD’s Multilateral Administrative Agreement for Automatic Exchange of Information and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) according to a Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) statement. The CRS is a global methodology…
