On 6 June 2023, the European Commission issued a press release welcoming political agreement on the proposal for a Directive on the access of competent authorities to centralised bank account registries through the single access point. The draft Directive complements the Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which establishes the interconnection of bank account registers, by providing law … Continue Reading
On 17 May 2023, the Council of the EU published a draft Commission Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 as regards adding Nigeria and South Africa to the table in point I of the Annex and deleting Cambodia and Morocco from that table. The draft Delegated Regulation notes that the Financial Action Task Force … Continue Reading
On 16 May 2023, the Council of the EU issued a press release stating that it had adopted the Regulation on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain cryptoassets and amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 (recast). The Council agreed its position on the proposed Regulation on 1 December 2021. Trilogue negotiations started on 28 April 2022 … Continue Reading
On 19 April 2023, the European Parliament announced that, MEPs will open talks with the Council of the EU on reforming the EU’s anti-money laundering rules to help authorities crack down on the illicit flow on money and assets. The European Parliament has approved its negotiating mandates for proposals reforming the EU’s policies on anti-money … Continue Reading
On 17 April 2023, the Wolfsburg Group published an updated version of its anti-bribery and corruption compliance programme guidance. The publication is designed to provide guidance to the financial services industry on how to develop, implement and maintain an effective anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) compliance programme, and should be read in conjunction with applicable legislation, … Continue Reading
On 31 March 2023, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published the following documents intended to challenge unwarranted de-risking and safeguard access to financial services to vulnerable customers: Both sets of guidelines will apply three months after publication in all EU official languages.… Continue Reading
On 29 March 2023, the European Banking Authority issued a public consultation on proposed amendments to its guidelines on risk-based anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision (the Risk-Based Supervision Guidelines). The proposed changes extend the scope of the Risk-Based Supervision Guidelines to AML/CFT supervisors of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). The European … Continue Reading
On 28 March 2023, the European Parliament announced that MEPs have approved stricter rules to close existing gaps in combatting money laundering, terrorist financing and evasion of sanctions in the EU. MEPs from the Economic and Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committees adopted their position on three pieces of draft legislation … Continue Reading
On 10 March 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published updated Recommendations which were adopted at its plenary on 15 February 2023. The FATF has reviewed and updated the FATF Recommendations, in close co-operation with the FATF-Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs) and the observer organisations, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the … Continue Reading
On 14 March 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a report on countering ransomware financing. The report analyses the methods that criminals use to carry out their ransomware attacks and how payments are made and laundered. The report highlights that criminals are almost exclusively using crypto, or virtual assets and have easy access … Continue Reading
On 10 March 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published updated guidance that focuses primarily on Recommendation 24 (beneficial ownership transparency of legal persons). In March 2022, the FATF agreed on tougher global beneficial ownership standards in its Recommendation 24 by requiring countries to ensure that competent authorities have access to adequate, accurate and … Continue Reading
On 24 February 2023, there was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/410 of 19 December 2022 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 as regards adding the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gibraltar, Mozambique, Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Table 1 of the Annex to … Continue Reading
On 24 February 2023, the Financial Action Task Force(FATF) published the outcomes of its Plenary on 22-24 February 2023. On 24 February 2023, the second Plenary of the FATF under the Presidency of T. Raja Kumar of Singapore concluded. Delegates from over 200 jurisdictions of the global network participated in these discussions at the FATF … Continue Reading
On 10 February 2023, the Wolfsberg Group published version 1.4 of the Correspondent Banking Due Diligence Questionnaire (CBDDQ) and version 1.2 of the Financial Crime Compliance Questionnaire (FCCQ), along with updated supporting Guidance, Glossary and FAQs documents. The CBDDQ update includes a new section on fraud and additional questions related to whistleblower policy, virtual bank … Continue Reading
On 12 January 2023, the European Parliament announced that MEPs have adopted rules to smoothen investigations into financial crime. The new rules will facilitate access to centralised bank registries. The new rules mandate EU Member States to ensure that the information from centralised registries is available through a single access point to be developed and … Continue Reading
On 7 December 2022, the European Council announced that it has agreed its position on an anti-money laundering (AML) regulation and a new directive (AMLD6). The Council’s press release provides that: The new anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) rules will be extended to the entire crypto sector, obliging all crypto-asset service … Continue Reading
On 6 December 2022, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a Consultation Paper on new guidelines to tackle de- risking. Access to at least basic financial products and services is a prerequisite for organisations and individuals to participate in modern economic and social life. It can also save the lives of vulnerable customers, such as … Continue Reading
On 22 November 2022, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published a final report on guidelines on the use of remote customer onboarding solutions under Article 13(1) of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive (4MLD). This final report sets out a strategic objective to embrace digital finance for the good of consumers and businesses and identifies EU … Continue Reading
On 26 October 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) launched a public consultation on its guidance on beneficial ownership. At the March 2022 Plenary, the FATF adopted amendments to Recommendation 24, and agreed to immediately start the work to update guidance on beneficial ownership with a view to help support the implementation of the … Continue Reading
On 26 October 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) launched a public consultation on Recommendation 25 and its interpretive note (R.25/INR.25) on the transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements. The FATF is also considering amending the definition of beneficial ownership in the glossary to provide more clarity regarding legal arrangements. The FATF’s objective … Continue Reading
On 1 September 2022, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its second report on the functioning of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) supervisory colleges in the EU. The Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) introduced an explicit requirement for competent authorities to cooperate with each other but did not provide a framework of how this … Continue Reading
On 23 August 2022, the Wolfsberg Group published best practice guidance on requests for information (RFIs) initiated as a result of transaction monitoring. An RFI is used when a correspondent (or any other provider of payment services) is seeking to understand the background of a transaction that has been processed through an account or relationship … Continue Reading
On 20 July 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a report intended to help jurisdictions enhance, design and implement information collaboration initiatives among private sector entities in accordance with data protection and privacy (DPP) rules so that the risks associated with increased sharing of personal data are appropriately taken into account. The report … Continue Reading
On 13 July 2022, Elizabeth McCaul, Member of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) delivered a speech at the conference on “The use of artificial intelligence to fight financial crime”. Key points in the speech include: Deficiencies in a bank’s anti-money laundering / countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework are often … Continue Reading
