On May 13, 2022, the US Department of the Treasury published the 2022 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing. Read our full update here.… Continue Reading
On 11 May 2022, the Wolfsberg Group published FAQs on how undertaking screening for negative news and other forms of adverse information can enhance a financial institution’s awareness of potential financial-crime risk posed by both existing and prospective customers. The Wolfsberg Group recognises that there is no universally agreed and accepted definition of negative news. … Continue Reading
On 19 April 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a report providing an overview of the state of global efforts to tackle money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing. The report finds that in terms of laws and regulations, 76% of countries have now satisfactorily implemented the FATF’s 40 Recommendations. This is a significant … Continue Reading
On 7 March 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a public statement regarding amendments it had adopted to Recommendation 24 and its Interpretative Notes on 4 March 2022. The Recommendation requires countries to prevent the misuse of legal persons for money laundering or terrorist financing and to ensure that there is adequate, accurate … Continue Reading
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis have recently published the results of research showing that there has been a huge increase in the use of decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols to launder money over the last year. DeFi is an emerging financial technology based on secure distributed ledgers similar to those used by cryptocurrencies. In 2021, there was … Continue Reading
Since the pandemic began in March 2020, there has been a rise in fraudulent behaviour as fraudsters look to take advantage of members of the public and financial institutions (FIs). Phishing, text scams and small-scale fraudulent activity targeting the British public were up 285% in the first half of 2021; HM Revenue and Customs estimates … Continue Reading
As 2021 draws to a close, we look ahead to the trends and new requirements that we may see over the next twelve months for financial institutions (FIs) in the white collar crime sphere as regulators, legislators and individuals continue to adapt to the pandemic and prevailing public opinion. 1. An increase in fraud-related investigations … Continue Reading
On 13 December 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank published a report setting out a draft framework and methodology for risk assessment in remittance corridors having the potential of being identified as “safe remittance corridors”. At its October 2020 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, the G20 endorsed the Roadmap … Continue Reading
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has made it clear: fighting corporate crime is one of the administration’s top priorities. This week, as part of DOJ’s coordinated roll-out of a suite of new corporate-related policies, deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco issued a memorandum that significantly revises DOJ corporate criminal enforcement policies and practices. In … Continue Reading
On 28 October 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published updated guidance for a risk-based approach for virtual assets (VA) and virtual asset service providers (VASP). This guidance mentions how the FATF plans to closely monitor the VA and VASP sector for any material changes that necessitate further clarification of the FATF standards. This … Continue Reading
On 1 July 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published: A stocktake report that examines commercially available or emerging technologies that facilitate advanced anti-money laundering / countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) analytics within regulated entities or collaborative analytics between financial institutions, while respecting data privacy and protection. A report that highlights the necessary … Continue Reading
On 30 June 2021, there was published: Report from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on ethnically or racially motivated terrorism financing. The report, which is based on inputs from around 30 jurisdictions, focuses on the funding behind ethnically or racially motivated terrorism, also referred to as extreme right-wing terrorism. The report highlights the challenges … Continue Reading
On 29 June 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published guidance on proliferation financing risk assessment and mitigation. The guidance seeks to develop a common understanding about the impact of the changes that FATF made in October last year to Recommendation 1 and its Interpretative Note to require countries and private sector entities to … Continue Reading
On 28 June 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published: A press release concerning the outcomes of the FATF Plenary held on 20-25 June 2021. The press release for the plenary reports that delegates finalised work in a number of important areas. These include a report that details the financial flows linked to environmental … Continue Reading
The Coalition for Integrity has published a report summarising how machine learning (or AI) can be used in anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) compliance programmes (the Report). The Report provides companies with key points to consider in determining whether (and if so how) they should consider developing or using machine learning solutions for their ABC programmes. … Continue Reading
2021 Financial crime Outlook series 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. Our financial crime compliance … Continue Reading
The National Defense Authorization Act became law on January 1, 2021, after the U.S. Congress overrode a presidential veto. Division F of the Act is the “Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020” (AMLA). In her latest The New York Law Journal column, “ AML Act of 2020: Topics of interest for international banks,” Kathleen Scott, Senior … Continue Reading
2021 Financial Crime Outlook Series 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. Our financial crime compliance … Continue Reading
On 19 March 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a public consultation on proposed revisions to its 2019 guidance on the risk-based approach to virtual assets (VAs) and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The FATF is proposing to update its guidance in order to: Clarify the definitions of VA and VASP to make … Continue Reading
On 18 March 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced that in February it had launched a new project to study and mitigate the unintended consequences resulting from the incorrect implementation of the FATF Standards. The project will look at four areas: De-risking. Financial exclusion. Suppression of non-profit organisations (NPOs) or the NPO sector … Continue Reading
On 11 March 2021 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Egmont Group published a joint report on trade-based money laundering (TBML) risk indicators. This follows on from a report published in December last year by the same bodies highlighting pertinent trends and developments with respect to TBML for market participants to be aware of. … Continue Reading
2021 Financial crime Outlook series 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. Our financial crime compliance … Continue Reading
On 4 March 2021 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released new guidance aimed at supporting the application of a risk-based approach to anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CTF) supervision. This builds on previous guidance released in 2015, but widens the scope of the guidance to enhance applicability to more recently AML regulated … Continue Reading
FATF consults on guidance relating to Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment and Mitigation On 2 March 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) launched a consultation aimed at private sector stakeholders in relation to guidance which the FATF is developing regarding risks associated with the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (proliferation financing). This … Continue Reading
