i-law

Money Laundering Bulletin

PKB Private Bank convicted in Switzerland after "aggravated money laundering" by staff

PKB Private Bank SA must pay a CHF750,000 (US$821,376) fine after the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland found that between 2011 and 2014 its controls had failed to prevent criminal "aggravated money laundering" by two employees in connection with the "Lava Jato" corruption case, centred on Brazil.
Online Published Date:  16 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

UK parliamentarians propose economic crime policy agenda

Two UK all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) of MPs have published an Economic Crime Manifesto, second edition, cataloguing reforms they say are needed to shift the country's status from "haven for illicit wealth" to a "global leader in the fight against corruption,fraud and dirty money".
Online Published Date:  18 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

First FS & LA of Lorain agrees to US OCC directive on CDD, AML staffing and training

Ohio, USA bank First FS & LA or Lorain has entered into a formal agreement with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to upgrade its anti-money laundering controls to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) as part of a larger, strategic plan to address "unsafe or unsound practices".
Online Published Date:  18 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Is FATF on the right track?

In late 2024, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will celebrate 35 years as the global standard-setter for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) - an opportunity, critics tell Paul Cochrane, to review and potentially reform its role in the fight against illicit finance.
Online Published Date:  20 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Commerzbank fined €1.45m in Germany for CDD breaches

BaFin, the German financial services regulator, has ordered Commerzbank and its comdirect Bank arm to pay a €1.45m (US$1.55m) penalty for customer due diligence failings.
Online Published Date:  22 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

MEPs block removal of UAE, Gibraltar, Panama from EU AML/CFT blacklist

The European Parliament has pushed the European Commission into a politically awkward position by refusing to follow the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) lead in removing the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Gibraltar and Panama from the European Union (EU) ML blacklist.
Online Published Date:  24 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Toke stock - Canada, cannabis and criminal proceeds

Nationwide legalisation of marijuana consumption by adults in Canada in 2018 was experimentation on a grand scale, so how's the trip been so far - high, mellow or gone to pot? Keith Nuthall explores the changing market and money flows.
Online Published Date:  24 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

European Parliament passes AML reforms

Legislation underpinning major revision of the European Union's (EU) anti-money laundering framework was voted through by the European Parliament on 24 April.
Online Published Date:  25 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Gilt edge - Zimbabwe

A shiny new currency - Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) - will not, of itself, cure the country's economic ills, and certainly not if the authorities fail to assert control over the trade in physical gold, report Ceaser Mhukahuru, in Harare, and Keith Nuthall.
Online Published Date:  26 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Two US community banks take FDIC consent orders to rectify BSA compliance

River Bank & Trust, Alabama and Exchange Bank, Oklahoma have agreed to overhaul their Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money Laundering compliance frameworks after inspection by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
Online Published Date:  28 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Canada's FIU requests STRs via generic messaging service after hack

FINTRAC, Canada's financial intelligence unit (FIU), has asked obliged entities to file their most sensitive suspicious transaction reports (STRs) via a commercial file-sharing system after the AML agency was hacked in March.
Online Published Date:  29 April 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Binance founder sentenced to 4 months in US prison for flawed AML programme

Changpeng Zhao, founder and ex-CEO of leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was given a four-month jail term, on 30 April, after pleading guilty to one charge of failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme; he was also fined US$50 million.
Online Published Date:  01 May 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Up and down - UK AML/CFT supervision findings

In the introduction to its AML/CFT Supervision Report 2022-23, HM Treasury asserts that the UK government approach to economic crime is "robust and holistic", with "sustained action to improve the response" and regulatory oversight a "critical component". Does the evidence match the rhetoric? Partly.
Online Published Date:  02 May 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Spending patterns - the rise and risks of CBDCs

If wild swings in price and criminal use have tarnished the image of digital currencies, the blockchain technology on which they rest offers scope for state-backed variants, which could just make life harder for the money launderer. Keith Nuthalllooks at developments in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Online Published Date:  02 May 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Toronto-Dominion Bank pays Can$9.2m for reporting, risk rating, record keeping breaches

Five violations of Canada's Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) mean that Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), headquartered in Toronto, paid a Can$9,185,000 (US$6,712,350) penalty, levied on 9 April, according to a FINTRAC notice.
Online Published Date:  05 May 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

First Citizens Bank of Butte reaches agreement with US Fed on BSA/AML remediation

Montana, USA-based First Citizens Bank of Butte undertakes to rework its Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) model in a written commitment made to the US Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Montana Division of Financial Institutions, signed on 2 May.
Online Published Date:  08 May 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

FinCEN shows how Iran funds militant allies

USA financial intelligence unit the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has released detailed guidance on how Iran funds Middle East allies labelled as terrorist groups by Washington, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Yemen's Houthis and militias in Iraq and Syria.
Online Published Date:  09 May 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Binance fined Can$6m for registration and reporting breaches

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance was issued with a Can$6,002,000 (US$4,386,350) financial penalty by FINTRAC, the Canadian financial intelligence unit, on 9 May, for anti-money laundering breaches before it ceased operations in the country on 25 September 2023.
Online Published Date:  10 May 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

Suspicion - it's a skill

At the core of anti-money laundering is what might be termed 'confident doubt', a 'more than merely fanciful' sense that something's not quite right and warrants investigation, but can such discernment be learned? Keith Nuthallfinds out.
Online Published Date:  13 May 2024
Appeared in issue:  314 - 03 June 2024

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