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AUSTRAC proposes amendments to AML/CTF rules
OPINION: On 14 July 2020, AUSTRAC, the Australian Government agency responsible for protecting the community from financial crime such as money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF), has released for public consultation proposed amendments to Chapter 46 of the AML/CTF rules. Chapter 46 outlines rules related to “Applicable Customer Identification Procedures” (ACIP) and these proposed amendments…
Read MoreAchieving AML/CTF compliance in the legal sector
OPINION: NEW ZEALAND DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS PUBLISH FINDINGS ON AML/CFT COMPLIANCE IN THE LEGAL SECTOR: On 21 July 2020, the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) published the findings for the legal sector (law firms and sole practitioners) on the compliance assessments that it had carried out between January 2019 and January 2020. …
Read MoreCustomer Insights – July 2020
It’s been a busy month as we developed and released the latest version of AML Accelerate, hosted the first in a series of User Forums, welcomed a host of new users, and responded to some great questions from our community. Product News We’re pleased to announce the latest update to AML Accelerate. The new release…
Read MoreEU Update – July 2020
MALTA: Malta is at risk of being the first EU country to be grey listed by Moneyval Prime Minister Robert Abela has tried to reassure MPs and the public that he is confident they will pass the assessment due to take place in October. MFSA CEO Joseph Cuschieri has said the regulator is ready to bolster its…
Read MoreNews in Brief – July 2020
COVID-19 continues to take it’s toll on the global economy as the virus is spreading across different countries rapidly and continues to pave new avenues for financial criminals to take advantage of. Some countries have been able to manage the spread and are now enjoying the reprieve. There have also been recent financial crime breaches…
Read MoreJuly 2020 Note from CEO
As we continue to watch the rapid acceleration of COVID-19 both in Australia and overseas create wide-reaching impacts on our business and personal lives it is hard to see a return to anything that resembles business as usual anytime soon. As with any crisis there are always opportunists looking to make a fortune from others…
Read MoreNews in Brief – June 2020
AUSTRAC annual compliance report is due 30th June AUSTRAC’s has made an example of one of the large 4 banks and other regulated firms are looking to ensure their affairs are in order to avoid the scrutiny and fines FCA fines Commerzbank AG (London branch) £37,805,400 over anti-money laundering failures European Parliament has released a…
Read MoreIs your AML/CTF compliance program up to scratch?
OPINION: On June 4th, Westpac released its 48-page response to AUSTRAC’s statement of claim following the conclusion of the Promontory led Advisory Panel tasked with identifying the primary causes for the well documented AML/CTF failings. The findings in this report are by no means exclusive to Westpac. Many of these issues can be commonly found…
Read MoreJune 2020 Note from CEO
Since we issued our last newsletter an incredible amount of activity has been happening in the financial crime space globally, that it’s made drawing up a shortlist of things to talk about a bit challenging…! In Australia, the most significant development occurred on June 4th, when Westpac released its 48-page response to AUSTRAC’s statement of…
Read MoreEU Update – June 2020
UK regulator issued second largest fine for AML failings. The FCA has fined Commerzbank London £37,805,400 over anti-money laundering failures between 2012 and 2017. The original fine was reduced from £57,007,800 as Commerzbank agreed to resolve the matter at an early stage Commerzbank breached Principle 3 of the FCA’s Principles for Businesses, which requires firms…
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