KYC & AML Articles

Closer Look: Standard Chartered’s $1.1 Billion Settlement

Not all deferred prosecution agreements go gentle into that good night. Such at least was the lesson learned Tuesday, when Standard Chartered Bank and the US Justice Department disclosed a 2-year extension to a 7-year-old settlement that required the institution to adopt a host of remedial steps to its sanctions… Read More

Navigating Group Compliance Risks in Third Countries: EU Regulations

Following HSBC’s 2012 money laundering scandal, the Financial Action Task Force called on financial and credit institutions to adopt group-wide financial crime policies. The Fourth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD), passed in 2015, implemented a similar requirement for European institutions. But to address situations when international firms could not fully… Read More

New Lessons from the Barclays Whistleblowing Case

KYC360 readers will remember that in May 2018 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) jointly fined Barclays CEO Jez Staley £642,430 for violating a conduct rule requiring individuals to act with due skill, care and diligence. The penalty related to his two attempts to identify whistleblowers… Read More

What Najib Razak’s corruption trial means for Malaysia – and the region

By James Chin, University of Tasmania The corruption trial of Najib Tun Razak, the former prime minister of Malaysia, has finally begun following two postponements and an attempt on the opening day of the trial for a third. Many Malaysians were starting to wonder if Najib would… Read More

The art and style of a well written suspicious activity report (SAR) — Shawki Ahwash

Financial institutions today face scrutiny at an unprecedented level and may be subject to civil and criminal penalties for any wrongdoing, involvement in money laundering schemes and terrorism financing. As a result, FIs are rigorously searching and vetting their data haystacks to ensure they don’t onboard clients with tinted monies… Read More

Why Aren’t Hedge Funds Required to Fight Money Laundering?

By Heather Vogell, ProPublica For many years, the federal government has required banks, brokerages and even casinos to take steps to stop customers from using them to clean dirty money. Yet one major part of the financial system has remained stubbornly exempt, despite experts’ repeated warnings that it is… Read More

Confessions of a compliance officer: Do bankers really believe in the new culture?

The issue of culture and conduct is a big deal in the banking sector, the authorities say. Basically, following big scandals and ensuing damages caused, regulators want bankers to change the way they behave, and make them more accountable for their actions. Banks have admitted the need for change… Read More

Pursuing unexplained wealth in Nigeria: It’s time to take on the enablers

Despite the efforts of the incumbent President to fight corruption, Nigeria remains one of the countries that constantly top the world’s corruption rankings. According to Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Perception Index, Nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, ranking number 148 out of 180 countries covered… Read More

Banking Scandals Highlight AML’s Weakest Link: People

Recent headlines on “money laundering scandals,” “laundromats” or [INSERT SENSATIONAL NICKNAME HERE] have gotten the attention of policymakers, governments and banks in such a way that it might like seem like the underlying criminality is a new phenomenon. But none of it should be surprising to those tasked with fighting… Read More

Breakdown: The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act

On January 9th, US Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) introduced H.R. 389, a measure that would “authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to pay rewards under an asset recovery rewards program to help identify and recover stolen assets linked to foreign government corruption and the proceeds of such corruption hidden… Read More