After a relatively quiet start to the year on the enforcement front, the FCA published three notable Final Notices in June 2020. All relate to areas which have been a focus for the FCA for some time: the fair treatment of customers experiencing financial difficulty (especially important in light of Covid-19); AML controls; and ensuring … Continue Reading
On 7 July 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a report to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors regarding stablecoins. The June 2019 revisions to the FATF Standards place anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) requirements on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The FATF report finds that stablecoins share … Continue Reading
The UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) recent announcements indicate that private equity firms (PE Firms) will see increased regulatory scrutiny over their anti-money laundering (AML) systems and controls. Earlier this year, the FCA issued a “Dear CEO” letter outlining its Alternatives Supervision Strategy, including its view of the key risks of harm that PE and … Continue Reading
On 2 July 2020, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued an updated version of its guidelines on ‘Sound management of risks related to money laundering and financing of terrorism’. The updated version of the guidelines contains a new paragraph 96 in Part IV (role of supervisors) and Annex 5 (interaction and cooperation between prudential … Continue Reading
On 2 July 2020, the European Commission announced that it had referred Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands to the Court of Justice of the European Union, with a request for financial sanctions, for failing to fully implement the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive into their national law. The Commission states that incomplete transposition concerns fundamental aspects … Continue Reading
On 19 June 2020, there was published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ) the Delegated Regulation that the European Commission adopted on 7 May 2020 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 which supplements the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive by identifying those third countries that have strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering and countering the financing … Continue Reading
On 15 June 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) issued a call for input to understand the scale and drivers of ‘de-risking’ at the EU-level and its impact on customers. The call forms part of the EBA’s work to lead, coordinate and monitor the EU financial sector’s anti-money laundering/counter the financing of terrorism efforts and … Continue Reading
On 2 June 2020, the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group updated parts 1, 2 and 3 of its guidance taking into account the feedback received to its earlier consultation on pooled client accounts.… Continue Reading
Introduction: Cannabis and the majority of its derivative substances are controlled drugs in the UK, and their use remains illegal subject to some exceptions. Since November 2018 doctors in the UK have been able to prescribe certain cannabis-based products for medicinal use, but access is still limited because the key UK healthcare provider and regulator … Continue Reading
On 15 May 2020, the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) published a proposed new piece on Pooled Client Accounts in Part I Chapter 5 of its Guidance. A Pooled Client Account (PCA) is a bank account opened with the firm by a customer, for example a legal practitioner or letting agent, to administer funds … Continue Reading
On 7 May 2020, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 supplementing the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive as regards the Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar/Burma, Nicaragua, Panama and Zimbabwe to the table in point I of the Annex and deleting Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Guyana, Lao People’s Democratic … Continue Reading
On 12 May 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published the results of its inquiry into dividend arbitrage schemes, which looked into the actions of prudential and anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML / CFT) supervisors in dealing with such schemes. In May 2019, the EBA carried out a survey of competent … Continue Reading
Further to its communication published last month, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has now published a report into COVID-19-associated money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risks and expected policy responses. Key ML/TF risks The report identified the following key ML and TF risks: Increased remote transactions – given the closure of many physical … Continue Reading
On 28 April 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced that it was temporarily postponing all remaining FATF mutual evaluations and follow-up deadlines. The FATF has also decided on a general pause in the review process for the list of high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action and jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring, … Continue Reading
On 17 April 2020, the Wolfsberg Group released an updated version of its Correspondent Banking Due Diligence Questionnaire (CBDDQ) and Financial Crimes Compliance Questionnaire (FCCQ) with changes focused on greater clarity and ease of use. The Wolfsberg Group has also updated the supporting FAQs, completion guidance and capacity building guidance. The principal changes are: Questions … Continue Reading
Last week, the National Crime Agency (NCA) saw its Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) against the daughter and grandson of a former president of Kazakhstan overturned by the High Court. UWOs are an extension to prosecutors’ powers which were introduced by the Criminal Finances Act 2017. They require a person to disclose to the NCA details of how … Continue Reading
The European Commission intends to propose a number of far-reaching measures in order to increase the EU’s efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. After the deadline for Member States to transpose the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5MLD)) into national law on 10 January 2020, the Commission is due to publish a new Action … Continue Reading
On 17 March 2020, the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) published for consultation the proposed text of a new chapter to be added to Part II of its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) guidance for the financial services sector. The proposed new chapter (referred to as Sector 22) contains sectoral guidance relating … Continue Reading
On 24 February 2020, HM Treasury (HMT) published an updated advisory notice regarding the risks posed by unsatisfactory money laundering and terrorist financing controls in a number of jurisdictions. The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 require firms to put policies and procedures in place in order to prevent activities related to money … Continue Reading
On 21 February 2020, the Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC) published its response on two particular aspects of HM Treasury’s and HM Revenue and Custom’s joint consultation on the Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5MLD) – trusts in financial markets and legal entity identifiers (LEIs). The FMLC notes that questions 1 and 2 of the joint … Continue Reading
On 12 February 2020, the European Commission (Commission) published a press release outlining the key infringement decisions it has taken in February 2020. Among other things, the Commission has sent letters of formal notice to 8 member states urging them to transpose the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5MLD). The member states are: Cyprus, Hungary, the … Continue Reading
On 12 February 2020, the European Commission (Commission) published a roadmap for a proposed communication highlighting the areas in which it intends to focus on to address deficiencies in the EU’s anti-money laundering (AML) framework. The Commission published an analysis of money laundering scandals in July 2019 which illustrated the cross-border nature of money laundering, … Continue Reading
On 5 February 2020, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a report on competent authorities’ approaches to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision of banks. The report summarises the findings from the first year of ongoing reviews of all competent authorities responsible for AML/CFT supervision of banks in the EU. In … Continue Reading
On 5 February 2020, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) jointly published a consultation paper seeking to revise the guidelines that set out factors that firms should consider when assessing the money laundering and terrorist financing (ML / TF) risk associated with their business, and with a business relationship or an occasional transaction with any natural … Continue Reading
