Newsletter – 01 August 2019
What we’re hearing…
Over the last month or so, we have seen a number of high-profile activities from our local regulator AUSTRAC indicating that they are starting to get serious on non-compliance with the AML/CTF Act.
Since the Annual Compliance Reporting deadline passed at the end of March, a data mining exercise is underway by AUSTRAC to analyse responses provided by reporting entities. As a result of this exercise, many have since received strongly worded ‘please explain’ letters. With statements like “AUSTRAC’s records indicate that when completing the 2018 compliance report your responses in our view indicate that you are likely in breach of your obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act)”, there must be a few AML Compliance Officers having sleepless nights about the state of their risk assessment and compliance programs.
We have also seen AUSTRAC take action, where they have identified concerns with compliance with AML/CTF laws by ordering the appointment of an external auditor to Afterpay, to examine its compliance with the AML/CTF Act and just a few days ago Afterpay announced that they had appointed Neil Jeans from Initialism, (our co-founder in AML Accelerate), to undertake this audit.
And to cap off a busy month, last Sunday saw the airing of a 60 minutes program on money laundering allegations against Crown Resorts which has dominated headlines and raised quite a few eyebrows in relation to what level of knowledge the Australian Government has had about fast-tracking short-stay visas to Chinese high-rollers, flying in on private jets to gamble at Crown.
These matters highlight the importance of understanding your businesses vulnerabilities to money laundering by conducting an adequate ML/TF risk assessment and then building an AML Program that is appropriate and proportionate to the identified risks.
At Arctic Intelligence’s, market-leading AML Accelerate helps hundreds of regulated businesses to refresh their risk assessments, so if you are at all concerned, don’t be as there are tools at their that can help you manage your risks effectively.
– Anthony Quinn, CEO and Founder, Arctic Intelligence
News in brief
FATF has published a guide to terrorist financing risk assessment. Recognising there isn’t a one-size-fits all approach when assessing terrorist financing risk, the guide provides relevant information and considerations for different country contexts. Read more.
The U.S. Department of Justice has updated guidance related to what is expected of corporate and financial crime compliance programs to gain credit when failings occur – a key shift toward the effectiveness of company efforts, rather than just having detailed policies and procedures. Read more.
AUSTRAC recently announced a relaunch of its website to make it easy for people to access the information they need on how to comply with Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing legislation. Read more.
The Directors of a security firm based in Sydney have been arrested over their alleged role in running the business as a “front” for an $100 million money laundering syndicate linked to organised crime groups in Australia and abroad. Read more.
From 1 August 2019, high value dealers (HVDs) covered by the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AML/CFT Act) in New Zealand will have compliance obligations. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has indicated that their initial focus will be on working with HVDs to help them understand their AML/CFT.
The latest from Arctic insights
To browse our full catalog of articles, press releases, case studies and interviews click here.
On the Blog: What do dinosaurs and spreadsheets have in common?
50% of companies are still using spreadsheets to manage their AML compliance, according to an audience poll conducted during a recent webinar. Read more.
Client Case Study – Unity Bank
“If you think compliance is expensive, try non-compliance. Paying for the right tools, systems and resources always pays off!”
Veronica Michael – Legal & Compliance Officer
Podcast with the Governance Risk and Compliance Institute of Australia
Arctic Intelligence CEO, Anthony Quinn, spoke with the Governance Risk and Compliance Institute about concepts of ‘explainability’ and ‘defendability’ in the context of AML/CTF risk and compliance frameworks. Listen to the podcast here.
Upcoming event
ACAMS Annual Conference: Las Vegas, USA, 23-25 September 2019
We’re excited to be exhibiting at the annual ACAMS AML and financial crime conferences in Las Vegas and Toronto! If you’re planning to attend, please stop by our booth and say Hi! If you’d like to book a demo pre, post, or during either conference, please email [email protected].
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