TD Bank’s US$13.4 billion takeover of US regional bank First Horizon collapsed over regulators’ concerns about the Canadian lender’s anti-money laundering (AML) practices, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). On May 4 2023, TD Bank informed First Horizon that… Read More ›

AML
Europe edging towards overturning ban on public access to beneficial ownership information
Two key committees of the European Parliament have both voted to have Europe’s ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) registers reopened to people holding a legitimate interest. Such individuals include journalists, civil society organisations and higher education institutions. These individuals were banned… Read More ›
Traders in Russian gold across the world now face prospect of US sanctions
Traders in Russian gold based anywhere in the world now face the prospect of US sanctions under the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023,which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on 29 December 2022. Not later than… Read More ›
London-based GTBank’s ‘particularly egregious’ conduct and serious AML weaknesses lead to US$9.4 million fine
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Guaranty Trust Bank UK (GT Bank) £7.7 million (US$9.4 million) for serious weaknesses in its anti-money laundering (AML) systems and controls between October 2014 and July 2019. The bank provides export, import,… Read More ›
Challenges, priorities and trends in AML in Asia Pacific revealed in new report
NICE Actimize and Regulation Asia have published their AML Tech Barometer 2023 report to explore anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud trends based on survey and interview data collected from 289 practitioners in the Asia Pacific region. In the wake of… Read More ›
Kenyan anti-corruption chief meets FBI director as Nairobi’s AML progress goes into reverse
The CEO of Kenya’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Twalib Mbarak, has been meeting with US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials at their Washington headquarters. The meetings took place in the context of pressure for US agencies to work… Read More ›
Crown dependencies put plans for public beneficial ownership register on hold
The crown dependencies of the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey have put on hold their plans to open up their beneficial ownership registries to the public. The three territories, that are not part of the UK but are self-governing… Read More ›
Santander fined £108 million by UK regulator for repeated AML failures
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Santander UK nearly £108 million (US$133 million) for repeated anti-money laundering (AML) failures. The regulator of financial services firms and financial markets in the UK says it found “serious and persistent gaps”… Read More ›