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…
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…
Germany announces new authority in major shake-up of anti-money laundering and sanctions control efforts
Germany plans to create a national financial crime authority with the aim of effectively fighting white-collar crime, vigorously enforcing sanctions and overcoming its reputation as a money-laundering hub. A central element of the plan is to bundle the most important anti-money laundering and sanctions control…
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…
Misinvoicing amongst TBML typologies used to cover up environmental crime
Allowing environmental, conservation, and anti-corruption organisations to access export invoices and trade data to identify misinvoicing could help curb environmental crime, including illegal mining, logging, fishing, and wildlife trafficking, according to a virtual convention on environmental crime related illicit financial flows. Transparent beneficial ownership information,…
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…
GCFFC urges FATF to recognise benefits of PPPs in fight against financial crime
Enabling increased information sharing in all ways – public to private, public to public, private to private, local to global – is an important factor in improving the ability of all stakeholders to fight financial crime more effectively according to a paper published by the…
US agencies urge banks to avoid de-risking
US agencies have issued a joint statement reminding banks that no customer type presents a single level of uniform risk or a particular risk profile related to money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illicit financial activity. Consequently, they say banks should adhere to a risk-based…
