On 5 January 2023, the threshold amount specified in section 339A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) was increased from £250 to £1,000 following the coming into force of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) (Threshold Amount) Order 2022 (SI 2022/1355) made on 15 December 2022. The threshold amount is the value of … Continue Reading
Avis du ministère de la Justice américain sur une violation en vertu de la FCPA – est-ce que cela se produirait au Canada? En janvier, le ministère de la Justice américain (Ministère) a rendu un avis à une société américaine sur la question de savoir si le fait de payer un tiers pour la libération … Continue Reading
In January, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an opinion to a US company on whether paying a third party for release of its employees would breach the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).[1] The DOJ said it would not bring charges against the company if it made a payment to prevent imminent threat to … Continue Reading
The Canadian federal government is bolstering Canada’s anti money laundering (AML) regime by bringing forward plans to introduce a beneficial ownership registry in 2023. A beneficial ownership registry would require corporations to register and verify the identity of companies’ beneficial owners, making it more difficult to use shell companies to conceal criminal activity. The need … Continue Reading
On 24 March 2022, there was published a letter from the European Banking Authority (EBA) to John Berrigan (Director General, Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union) and others regarding the European Commission’s anti-money laundering / countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) package and issues related to supervisory cooperation and selection criteria … Continue Reading
On 22 March 2022, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published the findings from its assessment of Member State competent authorities’ (NCAs) approaches to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision, but the EBA has found that significant challenges remain in key areas such as the identification and assessment of money laundering (ML) … Continue Reading
Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regulator, AUSTRAC, has released its guidance with respect to new laws that require digital currency exchange (DCE) providers to register and comply with AML/CTF obligations. AUSTRAC takes a broad approach in interpreting what is covered within the legal definition of a DCE. Essentially, any operation that converts fiat … Continue Reading
In light of today’s geo-political climate and public concerns over the threat of terrorist attacks, we see a trend of governments placing greater focus on countering the funding of terrorist groups. Indeed, the United Nation’s International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, which Australia has ratified, has been in force since 2002 … Continue Reading
Ever since the infamous Silk Road website was investigated and shut down by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2013, and again in 2014, for facilitating the trafficking of illegal narcotics on the “darknet” using Bitcoin, the world of digital currencies has never been the same. Once upon a time Bitcoin was often used … Continue Reading
