On 14 January 2021, the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) issued a note concerning the impact of the end of the Brexit transition period on its guidance. The note explains that the JMLSG guidance is based on The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs) (as … Continue Reading
Senior management and boards are increasingly acknowledging the threat of financial crime as a critical risk to their business that must be addressed. This has been exacerbated in the last 12 months through the impact of the pandemic as well as rising domestic and international tensions. Norton Rose Fulbright’s financial crime compliance specialists, located in … Continue Reading
On 17 December 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a methodology for carrying out risk assessments under Article 9a of the revised EBA Regulation. These risk assessments are part of the EBA’s new role to lead, coordinate and monitor the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) in all EU Member States. The … Continue Reading
On 16 December 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a paper providing entities with additional information on COVID-19 related money laundering and terrorist financing risks. The paper covers both changes in predicate offences and changes in money laundering and terrorist financing activity. It provides selected case studies, displaying criminal activity that has occurred … Continue Reading
On 17 December 2020, the UK Government published its 2020 UK National Risk Assessment (NRA) of money laundering and terrorist financing. The report follows on from the previous UK NRA published in 2017. The 2020 NRA reflects on the positive outcomes achieved by the UK in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluation conducted … Continue Reading
On 15 December 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its first report on progress made by competent authorities with the setting up of colleges to enhance supervisory cooperation for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) purposes. The EBA’s work on monitoring colleges is part of its new role to lead, coordinate … Continue Reading
On 11 December 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published an opinion that focuses on the provision of information to depositors linked to a deposit guarantee scheme (DGS) pay-out based on real-life experiences of DGS interventions where there were anti-money laundering / counter the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) concerns. Although the EBA is aware of … Continue Reading
On 7 December 2020, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation 2016/1675 supplementing the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, as regards deleting Mongolia from the table in point I of the Annex. The explanatory memorandum to the Delegated Regulation explains that the Commission has concluded that, at this stage, Mongolia no longer has … Continue Reading
In November 2020 the UK’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) within the National Crime Agency (NCA) published its Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) Annual Report 2020 (here) covering the period April 2019 to March 2020. The report indicates a continued increase in SARs submitted to the NCA (a 20% increase from the previous period). In addition, similar … Continue Reading
On 19 November 2020, the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) published their 2020 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) Annual Report. The Report provides that: Between April 2019 and March 2020, the UKFIU received a record number of SARs: 573,085 SARs were submitted, which is almost a 20% increase on the previous year. … Continue Reading
In October 2020 the UK Government published The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 which amend The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR17). Whilst some provisions within this new regulation came into force on 6 October, others will not take effect until … Continue Reading
On 4 November 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) issued an opinion setting out how prudential supervisors should consider money laundering and terrorist financing risks in the context of the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP). With this opinion, the EBA calls on prudential supervisors to take into account money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) … Continue Reading
On 21 to 23 October 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held its final quarterly plenary of 2020 as a virtual event. The discussions over three days mostly focussed on Strategic Initiatives reacting to the Covid-19 pandemic and progress made on country specific processes. The FATF also provided an update on their strategic focus … Continue Reading
On 30 September 2020, the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) published updated anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CTF) guidance targeted at the accountancy sector. This updated guidance reflects the changes made to the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations with respect to the provisions of the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive, and aims to … Continue Reading
On 18 September 2020, the FCA issued a statement in response to queries from cannabis-related companies interested in listing in the UK. The FCA statement is pending a guidance consultation which will follow in due course. Key points in the statement include: While medicinal cannabis was legalised in the UK in 2018, investment in overseas-licensed … Continue Reading
On 16 September 2020, the European Commission published a report to the European Parliament and the Council assessing whether Member States have duly identified and made subject to the obligations of the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4MLD) all trusts and similar arrangements governed under their laws. Article 31 of the 4MLD requires trustees or persons … Continue Reading
On 14 September 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a report, Virtual Assets – Red Flag Indicators of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. The report is based on more than 100 case studies and is designed to help national authorities and financial institutions identify potential money laundering and terrorist financing activity involving virtual … Continue Reading
On 10 September 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its response to the European Commission’s (EC’s) call for advice on the future of the EU anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) framework. The EBA set out a number of recommendations, in summary these include: Harmonising specific aspects of the Fifth AML Directive, including: … Continue Reading
The financial crime landscape has evolved significantly in recent years through, for example, the implementation of the 4th and 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives; diversification of scope of financial crime to include linked disciplines like tax evasion and market abuse; and rapid developments of new technology. Further regulatory changes are also on the horizon, including … Continue Reading
On 2 September 2020, MONEYVAL (the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism) published a report detailing the money laundering and terrorist financing trends emanating from the Covid-19 pandemic, identified through feedback from jurisdictions within MONEYVAL’s remit. MONEYVAL notes that, so far during the pandemic, whilst the … Continue Reading
In September 2020, SWIFT (a global member-owned cooperative and provider of secure financial messaging services) published a report to support market participants in understanding the money laundering techniques which underpin large-scale cyber-attacks. The report sets out the end-to-end journey commonly used by criminals to launder funds obtained through illicit cyber-crime related activities, and focusses on … Continue Reading
On 2 June 2020 the European Parliament posed questions relating to the registration and monitoring of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in Member States as required by the provisions of the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD). VASPs include virtual currencies, fiat currencies and custodian wallet providers. Responses were received from the Financial Markets Law … Continue Reading
On 26 August the Institute of International Finance (IIF) provided feedback to the European Commission on its Action Plan for a comprehensive Union policy on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, published in May 2020. The IIF notes that a more coordinated approach to implement and oversea the EU’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorism … Continue Reading
On 24 August 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation paper (CP20/17) focused on extending its annual financial crime reporting obligation to include firms that carry on regulated activities that potentially pose a higher money laundering risk. This follows its 2019/20 Business Plan commitment to consider extending the reporting obligation to more firms. … Continue Reading
