Themis and Diligencia partnership to expand financial crime intelligence capabilities in the Middle East and Africa
Digital financial crime platform Themis has announced a new strategic partnership with UK-based Diligencia, which provides corporate intelligence and due diligence solutions in the Middle East and Africa. Themis, which operates out of the UK and the UAE, uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine…
Wolfsberg Group updates correspondent banking due diligence and financial crime materials
The Wolfsberg Group has released version 1.4 of its correspondent banking due diligence questionnaire (CBDDQ) and version 1.2 of its financial crime compliance questionnaire (FCCQ), along with updated supporting guidance, glossary and FAQs documents. The association of global banks that aims to develop frameworks and…
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…
Traders in Russian gold across the world now face prospect of US sanctions
Traders in Russian gold based anywhere in the world now face the prospect of US sanctions under the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023,which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on 29 December 2022. Not later than 90 days after that…
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…
Singapore court upholds J P Morgan’s refusal to pay L/Cs on grounds of sanctions violations
Singapore’s High Court has ruled in favour of J P Morgan Chase Bank after it was sued for refusing to pay a coal trader under two letters of credit (L/Cs) because its sanctions screening revealed that doing so would have violated US sanctions. The case…
Companies in several jurisdictions sanctioned by US for facilitating business with Iran
Companies in several jurisdictions have been sanctioned by the US for facilitating the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products to buyers in East Asia. This latest tranche of sanctions underlines the determination of the US treasury department’s…
Financial institutions in Singapore reminded to continue to refer to latest FATF statements on DPRK, Iran and Myanmar
Financial institutions in Singapore have been advised by the country’s regulator that they should continue to refer to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) statement of February 2020 in respect of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran as well as the latest…
Banks caused to violate sanctions to launder millions of dollars for Russian oligarchs and proscribed entities
US banks were caused to process tens of millions of dollars in schemes to evade sanctions and export controls applicable to Russia according to an indictment charging five Russian nationals and two oil traders with global sanctions evasion and money laundering. The defendants allegedly obtained…
Back-to-back and standby L/Cs used in sanctions evasion and money laundering says MENA financial crime guide
Back-to-back letters of credit (L/Cs) can be used as a sanctions evasion technique according to multiple sources who contributed to a new guide published by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) chapter of the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime (GCFFC) and the MENA…
Latest news
Trade Based Financial Crime
Trade Based Financial Crime
This online training course provides you with the technical knowledge required to succeed within the trade finance compliance landscape.