Insights

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued guidance for central bank-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) on conducting institutional risk assessments (IRAs). In addition to setting out firms’ regulatory obligations, the paper offers practical guidance on identifying, analyzing, and understanding the […]

Nikhil Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has set out the regulator’s data-led strategy to embrace and mitigate the risks of digital platforms. In a speech delivered at the Peterson Institute of Economics, Rathi outlined the […]

Texas-based money transfer company, Ping Express, has pleaded guilty to federal charges that it failed to adequately maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) program, allowing $167 million to move overseas without appropriate oversight or controls. Two of the FinTech’s executives and […]

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has announced a campaign targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) that have fled to South-East Asia to evade law enforcement. The AFP believes groups including the Comanchero, Hells Angels, Bandidos, and Lone Wolf are responsible for […]

The UN’s Special Rapporteur, Alena Douhan, has issued a stark warning on the consequences of over-compliance with sanctions. Douhan notes resorting to extreme measures to reduce legal, business, and regulatory risk has become tempting as governments issue more unilateral sanctions.  […]

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Obed Christian Sepulveda Portillo for trafficking high-caliber firearms from the US to one of Mexico’s top drug organizations.  Obed Sepulveda was acting on behalf of the Cartel de Jalisco […]

On July 1, 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published its objectives for July 2022 – June 2024. Under its new Singapore Presidency, the FATF will prioritize work in the following areas: Strengthening asset recovery Countering illicit finance related […]

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) have warned financial institutions (FIs) to be aware of entities attempting to avoid US export controls related to the ongoing conflict between Russia and […]

The European Parliament has outlined new legislation that ensures the traceability of crypto-assets. The rules are part of a wider anti-money laundering (AML) package that will align with the Markets in Crypto-assets rules (MiCA).  The legislation extends the Financial Action […]

As financial crime typologies, payments use cases, and regulatory technologies evolve, how should compliance teams in remittance and cross-border payment firms build and scale their anti-money laundering (AML) programs? This guide explores.

This guide covers the essentials of building and scaling a crypto AML program, how to navigate regulatory change, and the emerging use cases – and threats – compliance teams should look out for.

This report takes a look at the evolution of the current international sanctions environment, and the key issues in sanctions today: the key regimes, underlying geopolitical risks, sanctions evasion, and the development of national policy in some of the key regimes, national perspectives, and thematic trends.

For many early-stage, fast-growing fintechs, implementing anti-money laundering compliance tools and processes can be a challenge. This guide is designed to provide startups with practical tips to enable them to build a compliance function that can scale with their businesses.

This annual report, based on a global survey of 800 compliance professionals across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific explores some of the biggest financial crime challenges firms are facing.

Following a review of its AML/CFT framework, the European Union is preparing to introduce a suite of new regulations that will have significant implications for firms operating in, or doing business with, EU countries.

Banks offering digital-first services are redefining how consumers worldwide access and interact with their money. This guide explores how digital banks can successfully build and scale an AML program.

This report will explore the state of financial crime in 2021 so far across three key areas:

Geopolitics and sanctions
Regional regulatory trends
The regulation of cryptocurrencies and innovation in decentralized finance (DeFi)

Brexit and AML/CFT: What Does the Future Hold for the UK & EU? The UK and EU opted for a “minimalist” approach on the management of AML/CFT, with only broad agreement on following shared norms and cooperation. No formally defined […]

TransferMate is one of the world’s leading B2B payments infrastructure-as-a-service companies. Based in Ireland, the company enables individuals and businesses to make seamless, cost-effective cross-border payments in more than 201 countries and 141 currencies.

As a leading global provider of software and data analytics to the real estate industry, RealPage provides a suite of cloud-based software that helps residential real estate owners and operators manage the tenant lifecycle.

HTB is working to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving financial crime landscape, and the growing sophistication of fraudsters. To support this work it was looking for a transaction monitoring and screening solution that would meet the needs of its growing customer base while safeguarding the bank’s reputation.

The Outcomes ComplyAdvantage’s comprehensive data coverage means OakNorth Bank is now able to use one single platform to onboard and monitor customers against all relevant databases. The solution’s customizability has made it easy to configure search algorithms and select the […]

IPT Africa’s compliance team can now make informed decisions about client risk, escalate potential high-risk cases, and take actions in real-time, which ultimately shortens the time it takes to onboard new customers.

Santander UK has successfully cut the customer onboarding cycle time from 12 days mean cycle time to 2 days.

Paxos was able to reduce their manual processes and completely automate their onboarding workflow.

The flexible, user-friendly transaction monitoring platform allows Earthport to easily incorporate the varied risk profiles of the many parties involved in an end-to-end international payments chain.

Ziglu was able to demonstrate they have the right AML controls in place, when onboarding new customers and receiving their e-money license from the FCA.

As financial crime evolves, regulators and financial institutions alike strive to refine their risk-based approach to AML. The vast amounts of data involved in AML compliance, and the increasing complexity of criminal methodologies, mean that financial institutions must constantly find […]

Is Cryptocurrency Legal in Malaysia? Cryptocurrencies: Not legal tender Cryptocurrency exchanges: Legal, must register with the Malaysian Securities Commission  Although cryptocurrencies are legal in Malaysia, they are not considered legal tender. The country’s central bank, Bank Negra Malaysia, has issued […]

Most financial institutions (FIs) understand the importance of taking a risk-based approach to compliance. But what this means when it comes to client risk management practices differs by sector, organization and channel.  Clients expect to be able to onboard and […]

For financial institutions looking to become directly authorized as investment firms by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it can be difficult to know exactly which permissions are necessary to apply for. Understand the process and uncover which permissions investment firms need to apply for here.

Understand the Financial Conduct Authority’s Threshold Conditions and uncover the Do’s and Don’ts of submitting an application for authorization or registration.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital representations of a real-world object, bought by collectors and usually sold online. They are supported by blockchain technology – often the Ethereum blockchain – and contain built-in authentication, which serves as proof of ownership.

The war in Ukraine has triggered global sanctions and embargoes on an unprecedented scale. With Western countries increasingly keen to avoid direct military confrontations, the ability to impact the economies of ‘aggressors’ has become an important diplomatic tool.  The growing […]

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Treasury have issued significant updates to the UK’s current and proposed crypto regulatory framework in recent months. But as the industry evolves and matures at a rapid pace, the government’s wider strategy around […]

Driven by advances in blockchain technology, the spread of cryptocurrency has introduced new financial possibilities in jurisdictions around the world. However, the opportunities and benefits of cryptocurrencies have been accompanied by new risks, as criminals use regulatory blindspots to launder […]