Fintrac publishes money laundering indicators related to IWT in support of international efforts to curb wildlife trafficking
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (Fintrac) has published a new operational alert, Laundering the Proceeds of Crime from Illegal Wildlife Trade. It aims to assist Canadian businesses meet legal requirements to identify and report financial transactions related to the laundering of…
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…
Challenges, priorities and trends in AML in Asia Pacific revealed in new report
NICE Actimize and Regulation Asia have published their AML Tech Barometer 2023 report to explore anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud trends based on survey and interview data collected from 289 practitioners in the Asia Pacific region. In the wake of the geopolitical and economic instability…
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…
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…
Confusion in Texas court as US judge questions guilty plea in TBML trial
A judge presiding over a trade-based money laundering (TBML) case in Texas delayed accepting a defendant’s guilty plea when he questioned on what charge the defendant was indicted if he was not aware that the goods he was buying and selling were part of an…
Information from financial institutions a core function for FIUs says Egmont Group
Analysis of information received from financial institutions is a core function of financial intelligence units (FIUs), particularly in the asset recovery process according to a new report by the Egmont Group of FIUs. The group facilitates and prompts the global exchange of information, knowledge, and…
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…
US government lost US$640 billion in a year through trade-based tax evasion and money laundering
Trade-based tax evasion and money laundering cost the US government more than US$640 billion in taxable income during 2021 according to a new report commissioned by Sēk Strategies, a Washington-based consultancy firm focused on transparency, accountability, human rights and the environment. The report is based…
Canada’s AML regulator issues special bulletin on Russia-linked money laundering related to sanctions evasion
Canada’s anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regulator and financial intelligence unit has published a Special Bulletin on Russia-linked money laundering related to sanctions evasion. Ottowa has imposed a significant number of new sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine….
