Banks filed record number of SARs last year, Russian sanctions a factor
Banks are providing by far the greatest number of suspicious activity reports (SARS) to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) according its latest report which features statistics covering the years 2020-21 and 2021-22. The agency’s 2022 Suspicious Activity Report (SARs) Annual Report also shows that…
Financial crime, fraud and environmental crime expected to rise in 2023 say compliance professionals
Financial crime is set to soar while fraud and scams will continue to evolve during 2023, according to a new report by financial crime and fraud risk detection firm, ComplyAdvantage that says 99 per cent of firms say they are reevaluating their risk appetite due…
FinCEN analysis of Russian oligarchs’ funds flows highlights value of data from financial institutions
Russian oligarchs are increasingly purchasing high-value goods or property as they reroute their finances in response to their country’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent slew of international sanctions imposed on them, according to new analysis from the US treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network…
Austrac publishes prevention of TBML guidance targeted at trade finance providers
Australia’s government agency for detecting, deterring and disrupting financial crime has published guidance providing indicators and behaviours to help financial service providers – particularly those engaged in trade financing – to detect and report suspicious financial activity. The guidance by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis…
Focus on TBML in FATF report on money laundering linked to trade in fentanyl and synthetic opioids
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published a report that aims to raise awareness about the opioid trade, including the use of precursor chemicals, and the related global financial flows. Money Laundering from Fentanyl and Synthetic Opioids looks at the way proceeds are laundered…
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…
Research exposes industrial-scale abuse of UK LLPs for financial crime
More than one in ten of all Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) ever incorporated in Britain bear the hallmarks of shell companies used for serious financial crimes, according to a new report published today by Transparency International UK (TI). The independent anti-corruption organisation now wants 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…
EU-UN study suggests sanctions for Eastern European banks for SARs and customer identification failures
Illicit financial flows (IFFs) in the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) region, can be estimated at around €29 billion (US$31 billion) every year according to a new study released by the EU and the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute. One of its recommendations to…
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…
