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Westpac fined HK$4m in Hong Kong for late customer reviews
The Hong Kong branch of Westpac Banking Corporation is to pay a HK$4 million (US$510,000) penalty after the regulator found it fell behind with periodic reviews of customers between 1 June 2016 and 31 May 2017.
Online Published Date:
02 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
301 - 01 March 2023
APS Bank pays €228,706 fine in Malta for risk assessment, CDD & monitoring faults
Remote examination, in November 2020, exposed a range of anti-money laundering control breaches at APS Bank plc, which led the Maltese Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit to impose a €228,706 penalty on 25 January.
Online Published Date:
04 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
301 - 01 March 2023
Bequant crypto prime broker and exchange firms fined in Malta for risk assessment, CDD, monitoring breaches
Malta-based virtual asset service provider (VASP) Bequant has been fined twice after the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) discovered wide-ranging anti-money laundering failings during a 2021 review: Bequant Exchange Ltd (BEL), which is to relinquish its licence, must pay €220,992, and Bequant Pro Ltd (BPL), was given a €242,243 penalty.
Online Published Date:
04 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
301 - 01 March 2023
Electronic wallet providers would be responsible for AML controls over 'digital pound'
The British government and the Bank of England have said private electronic wallet services would be responsible for anti-money laundering under planned technical systems required to launch a digital version of the UK's Pound Sterling.
Online Published Date:
08 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
301 - 01 March 2023
Restoration - San Marino
Once a stronghold of banking secrecy and a haven for undeclared cash-carrying Italians making deposits in a local micro-state, the Republic of San Marino, the world's oldest republic (founded in the year 301CE),has been working to repair its AML/CFT reputation, find Brenda Dionisi and Keith Nuthall.
Online Published Date:
10 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
301 - 01 March 2023
Temporal demands - Vatican reforms
As Pope Francis continues his overhaul of financial controls in the Vatican City State and The Holy See, including its anti-money laundering/counter financing of terrorism regime, the uneven progress is illustrated by an ongoing major financial crime trial, writes Brenda Dionisi, from Milan.
Online Published Date:
10 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
301 - 01 March 2023
Gold rush
Precious, fungible, transportable, accepted everywhere - gold is made for laundering. Paul Cochrane, in Pietermaritzburg, considers the challenge for regulators and some attempts to meet it.
Online Published Date:
12 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
301 - 01 March 2023
Blue Star Planet fined £620,000 in UK for AML gambling control failings
Blue Star Planet Limited, which holds a remote operating licence from the UK Gambling Commission must pay UK£620,000 for anti-money laundering failings between November 2019 and June 2021.
Online Published Date:
17 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
301 - 01 March 2023
Watch your spending - central bank digital currencies
The European Union (EU) is edging towards a digital Euro, one of several jurisdictions worldwide developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), but there will be consequences for anti-money laundering control and how can this be balanced with data protection and privacy considerations? Sara Lewis, in Brussels, seeks answers.
Online Published Date:
20 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
301 - 01 March 2023
Reach for the SARs? UK approaches one million in a year
The latest Annual Report of the UK Financial Intelligence Unit in the National Crime Agency shows that the total number of suspicious activity reports (SARs) has nearly doubled in the last four years, and defence against money laundering reports (DAMLs) are up 143% in the same period. Ruth Paley, Zia Ullah and Dominic Simon of Eversheds Sutherland work through and comment on the key statistics.
Online Published Date:
22 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
301 - 01 March 2023
FATF suspends Russia from membership; Nigeria, South Africa on grey list
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) hassuspended Russia from membership for its continuing military invasion of Ukraine.
Online Published Date:
27 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
302 - 03 April 2023
UK and USA impose wide new sanctions on Russia - one year after Ukraine invasion
The UK government has marked the anniversary of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by announcing a wide-ranging export ban it says will cover "every item Ukraine has found Russia using on the battlefield to date".
Online Published Date:
27 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
302 - 03 April 2023
EU targets Russian defence industry in invasion anniversary sanctions package
The European Union (EU) - one day late, on 25 February - issued a new sanctions package marking the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine; it targets senior figures in the Wagner Group of mercenaries, which has bolsteredattacks by conventional forces. In total, the EU has imposed 121 new listings targeting the Russian defence industry and financial sector.
Online Published Date:
27 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
302 - 03 April 2023
Tipping Off v Asking Questions
While the UK's Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) has been in place for two decades, debates around the practicalities of suspicious activity reporting continue. The tipping-off offence under s.333 has received particular attention and criticism. In February 2023, the UK National Crime Agency published Guidance on submitting better quality Suspicious Activity Reports. While the Guidance does not explicitly reference s.333 POCA, Mario Menz discusses how and why financial services firms should question customers before filing SARs, and how this should be done without falling foul of the tipping-off offence.
Online Published Date:
27 February 2023
Appeared in issue:
302 - 03 April 2023