Tweet The Financial Conduct Authority released an interesting soft study on the incidents of derisking affecting companies in the UK and pursuant to the study, MSB, charities and FinTechs are the three business client groups whose bank accounts are most frequently closed because they are too risky for the bank (a practice known as derisking). […]
Tweet Terrorist groups are not a financial island This article has been updated and replaced with the White Paper on ISIS’ Terrorist Financing available here.
Tweet The government of Australia is set to announce sweeping new counter-terrorism laws early next week according to several news reports. The new anti-terrorism laws will, inter alia: Authorize police to secretly search the home of suspected terrorists. Allow the incarceration for up to five years of persons convicted of preaching radical extremists acts (presumably related […]
Tweet How correspondent banking relationships are used to launder funds My favorite resource for correspond banking is the US Senate Report on Correspondent Banking published several years ago. Despite its age, it remains timely because it deals specifically with how the US financial system is used by correspondent banks in, mainly offshore tax havens to, […]
Tweet In a weird case of real life emulating fiction, the mass hunt for the alleged prospective suicide bomber, the so-called black widow of Chechnya, Ruzana Ibragimova, before the Sochi Olympic Games is playing out a little like the film From Paris With Love, the fictional story of a female terrorist in France aligned with […]
Tweet Delegates from the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF“) and the G20 Working Group on Anti-Corruption (“G20 ACWG“) met in Paris today to discuss ways in which both groups could liaise to further initiatives to enforce anti-money laundering (“AML“) and anti-corruption legislation worldwide. Pursuant to the meeting, the delegates determined that the following areas in […]
Tweet Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore has issued a number of fines, warnings, reprimands and compliance orders to 69 financial institutions for multiple failures to comply with anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing requirements. The move is Singapore’s effort to appear to be strengthening its anti-money laundering laws to preserve its reputation as the hub […]
Tweet The Financial Action Task Force (“FATF“) has released its list of high risk jurisdictions for money laundering and counter terrorist financing. Reporting entities are generally required to apply enhanced due diligence when dealing with funds from jurisdictions that are high risk. The high risk countries are: Vietnam Syria Iran Kenya Ecuador Korea Ethiopia Indonesia […]
Tweet U.S. Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, David Cohen, was in Europe this week warning government agencies against the increase in kidnappings for ransom by terrorist organizations (listed entities). In the past decade, al Qaeda is estimated to have received ransom payments of US$120 million from kidnappings that occurred mostly in North Africa, […]