Financial institutions have so far not been provided the relief from the burdens of onboarding and customer due diligence they had hoped for as a result of the final version of the beneficial ownership rule issued in September by the… Read More ›
trade-based financial crimes
Back-to-back and standby L/Cs used in sanctions evasion and money laundering says MENA financial crime guide
Back-to-back letters of credit (L/Cs) can be used as a sanctions evasion technique according to multiple sources who contributed to a new guide published by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) chapter of the Global Coalition to Fight Financial… Read More ›
MENA trade-based financial crime reference guide launched
With a long tradition of trade, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region shares trade-based financial crime (TBFC) typologies with other global trading hubs, according to a new guide published by the MENA chapter of the Global Coalition to… Read More ›
Malta-based bank fined for AML/CFT shortcomings
A Malta-based bank owned by a Dutch billionaire has been fined by Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) for failings in its anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) processes. Novum Bank, owned by Dutch entrepreneur Marcel Boekhoorn, has… Read More ›
Germany announces new authority in major shake-up of anti-money laundering and sanctions control efforts
Germany plans to create a national financial crime authority with the aim of effectively fighting white-collar crime, vigorously enforcing sanctions and overcoming its reputation as a money-laundering hub. A central element of the plan is to bundle the most important… Read More ›
UK network the world’s biggest financial secrecy supplier says TJN
UK overseas jurisdictions, collectively with the UK itself, make up the world’s biggest enabler of financial secrecy, according to analysis by the Tax Justice Network (TJN). While the UK overseas jurisdictions, some of which have a reputation for operating as… Read More ›
Stakeholders respond to the FATF consultation on transparency and beneficial ownership draft amendments
Several stakeholders have commented on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) draft amendments to its Recommendation 25 (R25) on the transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements (Trade-based Financial Crime, 29 June 2022). Financial institutions are amongst those stakeholders the… Read More ›
Canada’s federal government failing to address TBML says Cullen report
Federal investigative agencies have done little to address trade-based money laundering (TBML) according to the final version of a report commissioned by British Columbia into money laundering following revelations of widespread trade-based financial crime in the Canadian province (Trade-based Financial… Read More ›