Inadequate due diligence and beneficial ownership transparency facilitating US$23 billion illegal fishing industry
Lax supply chain due diligence and a lack of beneficial ownership transparency are amongst factors allowing one-fifth of the global fisheries market to be captured by operators involved in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a new report from the Financial Transparency Coalition (FTC) and…
FATF seeks comments on legal aspects of beneficial ownership
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is seeking comments to its updated guidance paper to its Recommendation 24 (R24) on the transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons. Separately, the task force is seeking comments on its review of Recommendation 25 (R25) and its interpretive…
UK tax and customs authority developing TBML strategic action plan
Britain’s tax and customs authority, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), is developing a strategic action plan to significantly degrade the ability of organised crime groups to use trade-based money laundering (TBML). Writing in the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) newsletter, a member of HMRC’s…
DRC, Mozambique, Tanzania added to FATF grey list
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique and Tanzania have been put on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ‘grey list’ of jurisdictions under increased monitoring it was announced at the end of the global financial watchdog’s plenary meetings in Paris last week. All three…
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…
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,…
Stakeholders respond to the FATF consultation on transparency and beneficial ownership draft amendments
Several stakeholders have commented on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) draft amendments to its Recommendation 25 (R25) on the transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements (Trade-based Financial Crime, 29 June 2022). Financial institutions are amongst those stakeholders the FATF is seeking views from…
Trade finance and correspondent banking amongst highest ML, TF and PF risks at South Africa’s banks
Trade finance products and services as well as correspondent banking are amongst the bank offerings at South African banks at highest risk for money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF) according to a report by the Prudential Authority of the South African…
Designated Russian individuals turning to TBML to evade sanctions
Sanctioned Russian individuals are using a range of methods, including trade-based money laundering (TBML), to evade sanctions imposed on them following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine according to financial intelligence sources consulted by the UK’s Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT). Other methods include using family…
TBML tops list of increased exposures to financial crimes by Australian financial institutions
Australian financial institutions have reported increased exposure to trade-based money laundering (TBML) and supply chain corruption amongst various other financial crimes over the past 18-24 months according to the latest LexisNexis True Cost of Compliance Study – Australia. The firms also reported increased vulnerability to…
