i-law

Money Laundering Bulletin

First Farmers & Commercial Bank ordered to build effective AML program by US regulator

A Tennessee community bank has acceded to a consent order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that calls for a wholesale reconstruction of its anti-money laundering/counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) framework to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act.
Online Published Date:  11 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  312 - 21 February 2024

Gemini Trust Co fined $37m in New York, in part for CDD failings

A New York limited trust company that directed customers to make unsecured loans to an unregulated third-party company it had not adequately checked, leaving 200,000 of them unable to access their virtual currency deposits, will pay US$37 million under a consent order signed with the New York Department of Financial Services at the end of February.
Online Published Date:  11 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  312 - 21 February 2024

Refit for purpose - the UK Money Laundering Regulations

The politics is clear in the ministerial foreword - ensuring UK regulation is "attractive to investors and supports economic growth" - but for all that, HM Treasury's consultation on how to improve the Money Laundering Regulations, the legislative nuts and bolts of the AML/CFT regime, is a thoughtful, thorough piece of work, and accompanied by a survey on the costs of compliance.
Online Published Date:  13 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  312 - 21 February 2024

Wise words

All AML/CFT practitioners, however experienced, need to keep current - stay up to date with the ever-evolving global trends; after all, it's curiosity and willingness to learn that maintains both expertise and interest. Some high-profile professionals generously shared their recommendations for instructive and inspiring written, video and audio content with Brenda Dionisi, as well as some nuggets of advice based on long experience at the financial crime frontline.
Online Published Date:  14 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  312 - 21 February 2024

MEPs approve new criminal asset confiscation law

The European Parliament has approved a European Union (EU) directive negotiated with the EU Council of Ministers that will insist the 27 member states have appropriate regulations and procedures to freeze and confiscate the proceeds of crime.This legislation was prompted by concerns that only 2.2 % of the proceeds of EU-focused crime are currently confiscated.
Online Published Date:  15 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  312 - 21 February 2024

EFG pays US$3.7m in US over Cuba, Kingpin, Russia sanctions breaches

Swiss private banking group EFG International AG will pay US$3,740,422 to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for apparent violations of various US sanctions programmes between 2014 and 2023.
Online Published Date:  15 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  312 - 21 February 2024

Shared endeavour - AML utilities

Duplication of effort is inefficient but persists in compliance, most notably in customer due diligence, where utilities were hailed as the answer: Keith Nuthalllooks at whether they still are.
Online Published Date:  19 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  313 - 19 March 2024

Hard ascent - Swiss law reform

The Swiss national government, its Federal Council, is making another attempt to bring Switzerland's anti-money laundering law into line with international standards - but once again it faces stiff opposition from the legal profession, finds Sara Lewis.
Online Published Date:  25 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  313 - 19 March 2024

Ex-president of Sterling Bank & Trust pays US$150,000 for 'unsound' practices, including BSA faults

Thomas Lopp, who served in various executive positions - president, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and others - at Sterling Bank & Trust, FSB in Michigan, USA, has submitted to a consent order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) under which he is barred from acting in any such capacity without written regulator permission and will pay a US$150,000 penalty after he "demonstrated continuing disregard for the safety and soundness of the bank".
Online Published Date:  25 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  313 - 19 March 2024

Banque Audi (Suisse) SA fined CHF3.9m plus CHF19m capital surcharge for PEP control breaches

FINMA, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, has ordered Banque Audi (Suisse) SA, the private banking arm of a Lebanese group, to disgorge CHF3.9m (US$4.3m) in "illegally generated profits" and imposed an additional capital charge of CHF19m (US$21.1m) after an onsite inspection, in 2021, revealed "serious shortcomings" in anti-money laundering compliance around politically exposed person (PEP) accounts.
Online Published Date:  25 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  313 - 19 March 2024

USA scores technical compliance upgrade on beneficial ownership in latest FATF report

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), effective 1 January 2024, is enough to have earned the United States of America a 'largely compliant' rating on technical compliance with Recommendation 24 - 'Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons' - by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Online Published Date:  27 March 2024
Appeared in issue:  313 - 19 March 2024

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