Financial Crime

7th September 2020

Some wealth managers to be removed from UK enhanced laundering rules

Some wealth managers and advisers could be removed from a significant tier of anti-money laundering oversight under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) proposals designed to more accurately reflect the risk of criminal exploitation. The obligation to report risk factors under the Annual Financial Crime Report (REP-CRIM) rules was originally introduced in… Read More

7th September 2020

Financial Conduct Authority accused of failing to crack down on boiler room scams

Only four boiler room scams were prosecuted by the City regulator over the past five years, despite its warning that people were losing their homes and savings to “sophisticated” frauds. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also admitted that no boiler rooms had been shut down as a result of its… Read More

7th September 2020

Pandemic is an opportunity to clean house, compliance experts say

The coronavirus pandemic is presenting companies with an opportunity to scrutinize due diligence processes, risk assessments and other routine tasks that help businesses avoid brushes with the law, compliance chiefs say. The effort to make compliance departments more cost-effective is happening as companies grapple with the economic fallout from the… Read More

7th September 2020

Moneyval Outlines Money Laundering Risks of COVID-19 Pandemic

The Council of Europe’s Moneyval Committee published new findings Thursday on the emerging financial-crime risks stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, including fraud schemes linked to medical and protective equipment. The report concluded that, while the overall level of criminality has remained stable since the beginning of the pandemic, countries are… Read More

4th September 2020

Police seize Melbourne property in international corruption case

Federal police have seized properties and cash worth $1.6 million over an alleged scheme to use the Melbourne property market to funnel millions of dollars of funds from a Malaysian government entity to corrupt officials. The seized properties and funds in bank accounts were owned by Australian property developer Dennis… Read More

3rd September 2020

Malta’s FIAU: lawyers can launder criminal monies through sham litigation

Sham litigation and out-of-court settlements, not an uncommon sight in the Maltese courts, have been identified by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit as a way of laundering criminal gains. The FIAU said that although litigation cases do not fall within anti-money laundering rules, lawyers and their clients can conspire to… Read More

25th August 2020

FCA to Extend Annual Financial Crime Reporting Duty to More Firms

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seeking input on a plan that would impose new annual reporting requirements on electronic money institutions, cryptoasset exchange providers and other firms. In a consultation paper published on Monday, the authority said the businesses would be required to submit Annual Financial Crime Reports irrespective… Read More

24th August 2020

Fighting Trade-Based Financial Crime in a Global Pandemic

If financial institutions consider the global trade of physical commodities as a higher-risk product, that’s not without reason. The complexities that arise from the involvement of multiple jurisdictions and various stakeholders throughout several stages of a global trade transaction can be exploited by organised criminal networks to launder money, evade taxes,… Read More

21st August 2020

Over 100,000 Belgian businesses are still not in line with company register rules

More than 100,000 companies in Belgium have still to come into line with a rule introduced in 2019 to fight money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. The new rule involves a register of what are known as UBOs – ultimate beneficial owners – or the people who have executive power… Read More

21st August 2020

Crypto Assets of $50 Billion Moved From China in the Past Year

About $50 billion in cryptocurrency assets have left China in the past year, a possible indication that investors are dodging rules that limit how much capital they’re allowed to transfer from the nation, according to new research by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis. The controversial cryptocurrency Tether accounted for more than… Read More