The U.S. Congress began a series of hearings on Tuesday to consider ways to reform money laundering and illicit finance laws applied to casinos, as a president of a payments company argued the current system is broken and driven by perverse incentives. “Our current anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the finance of terrorism (CTF) is […]

While most solicitors endeavour to comply with their anti-money laundering (AML) obligations and avoid being used as a conduit for offences such as mortgage fraud, there are some whose conduct falls significantly below expected standards. The disciplinary digest covers Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) cases where AML compliance failings or involvement in mortgage fraud have been […]

HSBC (HSBA.L) drew a line under its punishment for lapses in anti-money laundering controls on Monday, saying the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) would end its deferred prosecution agreement, lifting the threat of further penalties. Europe’s biggest bank paid a $1.9 billion fine and entered into the five-year deal in 2012 for failing to prevent […]

The following provides updates on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing developments, both in the UK and internationally, that Comsure has included in its training for the period from May 2017 to October 2017 The Highlights include: 1. PUBLICATION OF MONEY LAUNDERING REGULATIONS 2017 a. The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on […]

How I learned to stop worrying and love HMRC The increasing tide of anti-money laundering and anti-tax evasion legislation has increasingly turned service providers into the first line of defence against tax evasion. The latest iteration of this is the Criminal Finances Act 2017 which came into force on 30 September 2017. This introduces a new corporate […]

Compliance with US anti-money laundering (AML) laws remains a top priority for US regulators.  A combined criminal and civil enforcement action this summer has “huge significance,” according to the FT.  It notably signals the willingness of US authorities to hold foreign parties accountable for AML compliance when they do business with US customers or access […]

Europol’s Financial Intelligence Group has published a report, “From Suspicion to Action – Converting Financial Intelligence into Greater Operational Impact,” which aims to provide insight into the anti-money laundering framework and the extent of suspicious transaction reporting in the European Union. Although more than 1 million suspicious transaction reports (STRs) were received by EU Financial […]

On 20 February 2017, the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) (that is, the EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) published an opinion (JC/2017/07), addressed to the European Commission, on the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the EU’s financial sector. Read here  The aim of the opinion is to inform the Commission’s […]