Tag: AML

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Article: Intertrust Cayman receives administrative penalty

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Intertrust Cayman receives administrative penalty

Intertrust Group, 14 May 2021

PRESS RELEASE: Amsterdam – 14 May 2021. Intertrust N.V. (“Intertrust”) [Euronext: INTER], a global leader in providing tech-enabled corporate and fund solutions to clients operating and investing in international business, announces that on 13 May 2021, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) issued to Intertrust Corporate Services (Cayman) Limited, a subsidiary of Intertrust N.V., formal notice of an administrative fine in the amount of CI $4,232,607.50 arising from breaches of specific statutory obligations under the Cayman Islands Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Regulations identified during an onsite inspection conducted in February 2020. The breaches alleged are administrative in nature and there is no suggestion that Intertrust has engaged in or facilitated its clients engaging in money laundering activities. Continue reading “Article: Intertrust Cayman receives administrative penalty”

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Article: Citibank Taiwan, DBS Bank Taiwan hit for AML failings

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Citibank Taiwan, DBS Bank Taiwan hit for AML failings

Kao Shih-ching, 13 May 2021

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday fined Citibank Taiwan Ltd (花旗台灣) NT$10 million (US$357,194) and DBS Bank Taiwan (星展台灣) NT$6 million for breaches of the nation’s anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

The NT$10 million fine is the highest penalty that it has imposed on a domestic bank, the commission said.

Citibank Taiwan failed to set up a sound mechanism for evaluating clients’ risk of money laundering and for detecting suspicious transactions, Banking Bureau Deputy Director-General Huang Kuang-hsi (黃光熙) told a news conference in New Taipei City Continue reading “Article: Citibank Taiwan, DBS Bank Taiwan hit for AML failings”

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Article: EU to name and shame banks that fail to fight money laundering

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EU to name and shame banks that fail to fight money laundering

Jon Ihle, 08 May 2021

The European Banking Authority (EBA) is setting up a centralised database to name and shame financial institutions in the EU that have weak anti-money laundering (AML) controls.

The EBA, which is responsible for creating a single rulebook for bank regulation in the EU, said the new database would be a “key tool” for coordinating the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. Continue reading “Article: EU to name and shame banks that fail to fight money laundering”

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Article: THESE ARE THE TEN BIGGEST BANK FINES OF 2020

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THESE ARE THE TEN BIGGEST BANK FINES OF 2020

ValueWalk, 07 May 2021

Banking regulators around the globe were busy last year despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Like any other year, the regulators imposed heavy fines on banks and financial institutions for a range of indiscretions, including money laundering, tax evasion and market manipulation. It is estimated that total bank fines amounted to more than $14 billion in 2020, with the U.S. accounting for the majority of them with 12 bank fines. Anti-money laundering (AML) breaches were the most common violation last year. Detailed below are the ten biggest bank fines of 2020. Continue reading “Article: THESE ARE THE TEN BIGGEST BANK FINES OF 2020”

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Article: Regional Report – Netherlands: One of country’s largest banks, ABN Amro, pays nearly $600 million penalty for longstanding AML failings, lax risk ranking, missed reports on suspicious activity

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Regional Report – Netherlands: One of country’s largest banks, ABN Amro, pays nearly $600 million penalty for longstanding AML failings, lax risk ranking, missed reports on suspicious activity

Brian Monroe, 28 April 2021

Dutch authorities have hit the third largest bank in the Netherlands with a penalty of more than a half a billion dollars for longstanding failings in nearly every area of its fincrime compliance program, including lax customer risk scoring, shoddy alert investigations and missed reports of potential suspicious activity.

The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service (NPPS) has settled its probe into Amsterdam-based ABN Amro Bank for 480 million euros, or just less than $583 million, for falling “seriously short” of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program requirements and being considered “culpable” in aiding criminal groups in cleansing ill-gotten gains. Continue reading “Article: Regional Report – Netherlands: One of country’s largest banks, ABN Amro, pays nearly $600 million penalty for longstanding AML failings, lax risk ranking, missed reports on suspicious activity”

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Article: $69 million in suspicious transactions in S’pore intercepted by authorities since 2019

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$69 million in suspicious transactions in S’pore intercepted by authorities since 2019

David Sun, 27 April 2021

SINGAPORE – About $69 million transferred through suspicious accounts here has been intercepted by the authorities since 2019.

The figure was revealed in a keynote speech on Tuesday (April 27) by Ms Loo Siew Yee, the assistant managing director for Policy, Payments and Financial Crime at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Speaking at the 12th Annual Anti-Money Laundering and Anti Financial Crime Conference, organised by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, Ms Loo said the successful interceptions were a result of collaborative efforts by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), MAS, and the key banks here. Continue reading “Article: $69 million in suspicious transactions in S’pore intercepted by authorities since 2019”

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Article: BC Government Figures Call Allegations of Criminal Ties Offensive

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BC Government Figures Call Allegations of Criminal Ties Offensive

Mike Johnson, 26 April 2021

Commenting on the issue, former B.C. finance minister Mike de Jong argued that the allegations mounted against the province were “offensive,” missing to mention the fact that Ross Alderson, the former director of anti-money laundering (AML) at the B.C. Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has been missing since March.

Alderson was the key witness and main whistleblower in the case against the alleged corruption in BCLC and the province. De Jong, though, argued vehemently the accusations against the government were unfounded and frustrating. Continue reading “Article: BC Government Figures Call Allegations of Criminal Ties Offensive”

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Article: FinCEN Rules Seen As Potential ‘Killer’ Of Art, Antique Shops

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FinCEN Rules Seen As Potential ‘Killer’ Of Art, Antique Shops

Al Barbarino, 20 April 2021

The recent overhaul of federal anti-money laundering laws could drive small- and mid-sized antiquities and art shops out of business over what some experts believe are overblown links to terrorist financing and other illicit activity.

The rules in the works at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network through the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021 aim to uncover what lawmakers have argued is a billion-dollar industry for the illicit trade of antiques and fine art.

But if small businesses aren’t exempt, the rules would weaken a sector of the industry that is still reeling from the impacts of COVID-19 with costly and time-consuming reporting requirements, industry attorneys said. Continue reading “Article: FinCEN Rules Seen As Potential ‘Killer’ Of Art, Antique Shops”

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Article: ABN AMRO to pay $575M in money laundering settlement with Dutch authorities

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ABN AMRO to pay $575M in money laundering settlement with Dutch authorities

Jaclyn Jaeger, 19 April 2021

Dutch bank ABN AMRO on Monday reached a €480 million (U.S. $575 million) settlement with the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service (NPPS) to resolve money laundering charges.

The NPPS first informed ABN AMRO in 2019 the bank was the subject of a criminal investigation relating to potential violations of the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act (AML/CTF Act). Recently, the NPPS added new charges of “damaging money laundering” to the case. Continue reading “Article: ABN AMRO to pay $575M in money laundering settlement with Dutch authorities”

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Article: Are Nonfungible Tokens Subject to US Anti-Money Laundering Requirements?

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Are Nonfungible Tokens Subject to US Anti-Money Laundering Requirements?

Jamie Boucher, Eytan Fisch, 19 April 2021

Rapidly growing interest in nonfungible tokens (NFTs) has been fueled by recent headlines of multimillion-dollar transactions, such as the $69 million sale of an NFT by digital artist Beeple — the third-highest price ever paid for the work of a living artist. An NFT is a certificate of ownership stored on a blockchain typically associated with a digital asset, such as art, videos, music, games, or tweets. Unlike certain other virtual assets on the blockchain, such as cryptocurrencies, NFTs are unique or “nonfungible.”

While the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)1 has not yet indicated whether certain NFT market participants (e.g., creators, sellers, dealers, marketplace operators) are or may become subject to U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) regulatory requirements, recent developments and concerns of U.S. lawmakers and regulators regarding the financial crime risks associated with virtual assets make regulatory scrutiny of NFTs likely..

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Article: FICO Survey Finds UK Banks Struggled With Covid-19 Financial Crime Surge

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FICO Survey Finds UK Banks Struggled With Covid-19 Financial Crime Surge

Polly Jean Harrison, 10 April 2021

As cases of fraud and money laundering rose during the pandemic last year, banks in the UK faced unforeseen challenges. In a new study by global analytics software provider FICO and independent research firm OMDIA, 79 per cent of respondents from UK banks said that working from home had a high or major impact on the effectiveness of their financial crime prevention.

“Just as the pandemic put huge stresses on the health care system, it put huge stresses on fraud and financial crime management teams,” explained Toby Carlin, senior director for fraud consulting at FICO. “Teams that collaborate in person and work with large software systems that have restricted access found that working from home hurt their productivity. This was compounded as the volume of fraud attacks rose.” Continue reading “Article: FICO Survey Finds UK Banks Struggled With Covid-19 Financial Crime Surge”

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Article: FinCEN’s $390 Million Case Against Capital One – And What It Means For AML Enforcement

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FinCEN’s $390 Million Case Against Capital One – And What It Means For AML Enforcement

Seetha Ramachandran and Hena Vora,  29 March 2021

As the financial services industry prepares for expanded criminal and civil enforcement under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) with the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, FinCEN’s recent case against Capital One shows how FinCEN’s approach to AML enforcement is evolving.

On January 15, 2021, FinCEN assessed a $390 million civil money penalties against Capital One for violations of the BSA related to Capital One’s Check Cashing Group (the “CCG”). CCG is a business unit under Capital One’s commercial bank through which Capital One provides banking services including processing checks and providing customers with armored car cash shipments. In issuing its decision, FinCEN determined that, between 2008 and 2014, Capital One’s CCG failed to report millions of dollars in suspicious transactions. Specifically, FinCEN found that Capital One: Continue reading “Article: FinCEN’s $390 Million Case Against Capital One – And What It Means For AML Enforcement”

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Article: FinCEN’s $390 Million case against Capital One – And What it Means for AML Enforcement

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FinCEN’s $390 Million case against Capital One – And What it Means for AML Enforcement

Seetha Ramachandran, Hena Vora,  26 March 2021

As the financial services industry prepares for expanded criminal and civil enforcement under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) with the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, FinCEN’s recent case against Capital One shows how FinCEN’s approach to AML enforcement is evolving.

On January 15, 2021, FinCEN assessed a $390 million civil money penalties against Capital One for violations of the BSA related to Capital One’s Check Cashing Group (the “CCG”). CCG is a business unit under Capital One’s commercial bank through which Capital One provides banking services including processing checks and providing customers with armored car cash shipments. In issuing its decision, FinCEN determined that, between 2008 and 2014, Capital One’s CCG failed to report millions of dollars in suspicious transactions. Specifically, FinCEN found that Capital One: failed to maintain an AML program to guard against money laundering as per 31 U.S.C. § 5318(h); failed to file suspicious activity reports (SARs) on suspicious transactions in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5313; and failed to file currency transaction reports (CTRs) for the CCG in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5313. Continue reading “Article: FinCEN’s $390 Million case against Capital One – And What it Means for AML Enforcement”

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Article: FinCEN Signals Suspicion of Art Market Even Before AML Study Begins

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FinCEN Signals Suspicion of Art Market Even Before AML Study Begins

Nicholas O’Donnell, 24 March 2021

In connection with the late-2020 amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to include “dealers in antiquities” as a result of its inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a notice of “Efforts Related to Trade in Antiquities and Art.”

The notice is a combination of guidance to entities now covered by the BSA, but it is also a potential backdoor around the entities that Congress chose not to regulate with respect to potential or perceived money laundering risks: art dealers. It also raises concerns about the objectivity of the forthcoming study of the art market that Congress instructed FinCEN to conduct. In either event, it is further evidence that momentum continues to gather for stricter oversight and regulation of the U.S. art market, and the importance of the art trade demonstrating more transparency and diligence if it hopes to modify or mitigate that regulation. Continue reading “Article: FinCEN Signals Suspicion of Art Market Even Before AML Study Begins”

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