FATF seeking views on potential changes to beneficial ownership recommendations
Financial institutions are amongst stakeholders the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is seeking views from in its review of its Recommendation 25 (R25) on the transparency and beneficial ownership (BO) of legal arrangements. The objective of the review is to improve R25 and its interpretive…
FATF grey list: Gibraltar added, Malta removed, Pakistan remains
Gibraltar has been added to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ‘grey list’ of jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring for failing to adequately implement anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures. Malta, after 12 months of increased monitoring, is now off the grey…
FATF restricts Russia’s role in the task force but stops short of blacklisting
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a new statement last week at its plenary meetings in Berlin that restricts Russia from playing any significant role in the activities of the task force. But while the global financial watchdog continues to call Russia’s invasion of…
Banks should include all forms of TBML in compliance processes says new NGO
Financial institutions should include all forms of trade-based money laundering (TBML) in their standard due diligence, record keeping, and financial intelligence reporting according to a new report by a recently formed national security non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Washington. The report by the International Coalition…
TBML and IWT amongst four money laundering typologies drawing more attention
An analysis by consultants at Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA) of anti-money laundering (AML) trends and challenges has identified trade-based money laundering (TBML) and the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) as two of the four money laundering typologies that have recently received more attention from regulators and…
Ukraine’s finance minister calls on counterparts to blacklist and expel Russia from FATF
Ukraine’s finance minister Sergii Marchenko says he has called on 37 other finance ministers of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) member states to support Kyiv’s appeal for Russia to be expelled from the FATF and included on its list of high-risk jurisdictions, often referred to…
Banks and institutions cannot be used for AML/CFT to combat virtual assets says Moneyval
Traditional forms of control that banks and institutions have on financial flows and services cannot be used to combat emerging money laundering and terrorist financing risks related to virtual assets according to the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) watchdog,…
Ministers commit to swift and decisive action to improve compliance and implementation of FATF standards
The ministers of the Financial Actional Task Force (FATF) at their biennial meeting in Washington last week said they “note with concern” that effectiveness of measures in place to fight money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing, remains insufficient in many countries. They committed to…
Landmark FATF report: “tick-box” approach not enough, focus on results and implementation needed
Most countries have yet to make sufficient progress on preventing legal persons and arrangements from being abused for money laundering and terrorist financing according to a landmark report published by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Report on the State of Effectiveness and Compliance with…
Financial crime trends guidance issued by accountants
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) have produced an instalment on financial crime trends for their Anti-Money Laundering: The Basics educational series. It looks at the trends in criminal activity that underpin money laundering operations and provides…
