Canada’s federal government failing to address TBML says Cullen report
Federal investigative agencies have done little to address trade-based money laundering (TBML) according to the final version of a report commissioned by British Columbia into money laundering following revelations of widespread trade-based financial crime in the Canadian province (Trade-based Financial Crime, 12 June 2019). “This…
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…
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…
FACT Coalition “applauds” proposals for revised US beneficial ownership reporting
A non-partisan alliance of more than 100 US and international organisations working toward a fair tax system has “applauded” the proposal by the US treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for revised rules on beneficial ownership information reporting requirements (Trade-based Financial Crime, 30 December 2021)….
Difficult to assess FinCEN’s beneficial ownership reporting proposals say US banks
The American Bankers Association (ABA) has responded to the proposal by the US treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for revised rules on beneficial ownership information reporting requirements (Trade-based Financial Crime, 30 December 2020). The association says it supports the creation of the registry…
Pakistan first country in the region to join Tradelens to strengthen TBML controls
Pakistan Customs has become the first authority in the region to sign an agreement with TradeLens, a blockchain-underpinned logistics platform supported by five out of six of the world’s largest ocean carriers to digitise import-export documentation of containerised cargo. Jointly developed by Maersk and IBM, the…
NatWest fined £264.8 million for AML failings
National Westminster Bank (NatWest) has been fined £264.8 million (US$349.4 million) following convictions for three offences of failing to comply with money laundering regulations. The bank pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this year in the first ever case in which the UK’s Financial Conduct…
Wholesale banking, retail banking and wealth management sectors pose greatest money laundering risk
The wholesale banking, retail banking and wealth management sectors in the UK remain vulnerable to financial crime and pose the greatest money laundering risk based on sector risk assessments by the country’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). According to the UK treasury’s Anti-money laundering and counterterrorist…
NatWest profits dented by expected fine for AML breaches
NatWest Bank has booked a £294 million (US$402 million) litigation charge in its quarterly results released 29 October to pay for anti-money laundering (AML) failures that led to censure from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A huge fine is in prospect. The bank in…
Master of trade-based money laundering extradited to and charged in US
Alleged financier to embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Alex Saab, has been charged in an indictment with laundering the proceeds of violations of the US’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to take advantage of Venezuela’s government-controlled exchange…
