Financial Crime Digest

The Aperio Intelligence Financial Crime Digest is a monthly newsletter, targeted at investment and compliance professionals, which provides a synopsis of the latest regulatory and financial crime developments in the UK and worldwide. It provides technical and regulatory updates as well as a review of press and media coverage of topics including money laundering, terrorist financing, bribery and corruption, and sanctions.

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Financial Crime Digest April 2022

This issue includes:

  • UK FCA review finds shortcomings in certain challenger banks’ financial crime controls
  • UK, US and EU sanctions on Russia throughout April
  • US FinCEN publishes kleptocracy advisory
  • PLUS a special feature: War creates tough questions over critical Ukraine payments as de-risking threats loom
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Financial Crime Digest March 2022

This issue includes:

  • US, UK and EU sanctions throughout March in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine
  • UK Foreign Affairs Committee launches inquiry into Wagner Group
  • FATF plenary outcomes include amendments to beneficial ownership standard
  • PLUS a special feature on controlling crypto: have digital assets escaped Pandora’s box?
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Financial Crime Digest February 2022

This issue includes:

  • UK fines Barclays Bank for oversight failings
  • UK government fast tracks economic crime bill following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
  • EBA concludes its Luanda Leaks investigation
  • PLUS a special feature on the private sector and the “unprecedented” sanctions on Russia
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Financial Crime Digest January 2022

This issue includes:

  • US DOJ issues open procedure release in response to FCPA-related request
  • Europol publishes report on illicit use of cryptocurrencies
  • ECJ Advocate General issues opinion on public access to beneficial ownership information
  • PLUS a special feature on the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine spurs sanctions plans
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Financial Crime Digest December 2021

This issue includes:

  • UK FCA fines NatWest for violations of the AML regulations
  • US FinCEN publishes proposed rule on beneficial ownership reporting
  • White House unveils anti-corruption strategy
  • PLUS a special feature on financial crime in 2021: a year in review
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Financial Crime Digest November 2021

This issue includes:

  • UK PSR consults on plans to fight APP scams
  • Swiss AG orders SBM Offshore subsidiaries to pay £5.6M for failure to prevent bribery in Africa
  • EU proposes blacklisting transport operators involved in migrant smuggling at Belarus border
  • PLUS a special feature on Italy’s largest mafia trial for decades: will the UK come under scrutiny?
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Financial Crime Digest October 2021

This issue includes:

  • US issues sanctions guidance for virtual currency industry, FinCEN publishes ransomware trends analysis
  • ENISA releases 2021 threat landscape report
  • UK, US and Switzerland fine Credit Suisse for due diligence failings over Mozambique loans
  • PLUS a special feature on greenwashing and ESG adaptability
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Financial Crime Digest September 2021

This issue includes:

  • UK SFO secures conviction against Petrofac
  • EU consults on blocking statute amendment
  • EU Data Protection Supervisor calls for greater clarity on AML legislative package
  • PLUS a special feature on the Pandora Papers
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Financial Crime Digest August 2021

This issue includes:

  • UK OFSI fines TransferGo over transactions with Russian National Commercial Bank
  • US issues new EO, and imposes coordinated sanctions with the UK and Canada on Belarus
  • EBA consults on new guidelines on the role of AML/CFT compliance officers
  • Two indepth special features on the situation in Afghanistan
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Financial Crime Digest July 2021

This issue includes:

  • EU proposes creation of central AML/CFT authority
  • UK NCA annual report finds 2020/21 was the “most successful” year operationally
  • US issues Hong Kong business advisory, OFAC designates seven individuals
  • A special feature on the rise of police operations against encrypted organised crime communications
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EU’s Green Investment Rules: A Sea-Change for ESG

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Financial Crime Digest June 2021

This issue includes:

  • UK FCA Dear CEO letter highlights AML weaknesses, mandates gap analysis by mid-September
  • FATF consults on proposed changes to beneficial ownership standards
  • Amec Foster Wheeler Energy enters $177 million global settlement over bribery scheme
  • A special feature on ten years of the UK Bribery Act
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Financial Crime Digest May 2021

This issue includes:

  • ECJ Advocate General opinion on Bank Melli case against German telco on the EU Blocking regulation and US secondary sanctions
  • UK NCA publishes national strategic assessment of serious and organised crime
  • UK reports on its progress on the Economic Crime Plan
  • A special feature on the UK FCA’s Digital Sandbox
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Financial Crime Digest April 2021

This issue includes:

  • UK launches global anti-corruption sanctions regime and designates 22 individuals
  • US FinCEN issues consultation on beneficial ownership reporting
  • UK SFO case against former Serco managers collapses, statement of facts published
  • A special feature on sanctions on Venezuela
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The Clean Energy Transition: Geopolitical Implications for the Renewables Sector

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Financial Crime Digest March 2021

This issue includes:

  • UK FCA launches criminal proceedings against NatWest for AML violations
  • EU proposes law on corporate due diligence and supply chain accountability
  • UK Crown Prosecution Service publishes first ever Economic Crime Strategy
  • A special feature on the US reversal of the licence issued to Dan Gertler and anti-corruption efforts in the DRC
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Forced labour in the supply chain: connecting the dots

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Financial Crime Digest February 2021

This issue includes:

  • FATF plenary outcomes include crypto consultation
  • EU supervisory bodies publish draft proposal on sustainability disclosures
  • UK consults on digital ID and trust framework
  • A special feature on countering financial crime with the help of AI
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Financial Crime Digest January 2021

This issue includes:

  • Deutsche Bank to settle US FCPA violations and spoofing case
  • EU Commission publishes new sanctions strategy
  • UK Treasury select committee publishes evidence to economic crime inquiry
  • A special feature on the role of privacy enhancing technologies in combatting financial crime
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Regional Trends 2021

As 2021 begins to gather pace, we asked our six regional teams at Aperio Intelligence to pick out the developing stories they will be keeping a close eye on this year. From structural reforms at the Vatican, rapprochement in the Gulf, and ESG in China, we hope you enjoy reading their contributions.

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Financial Crime Digest December 2020

This issue includes:

  • UK publishes national ML/TF risk assessment
  • UK-EU trade and cooperation agreement includes framework on financial crime
  • Vitol Inc to pay US and Brazilian prosecutors $164m to resolve bribery offences
  • A special feature on internal malfeasance as the pandemic recedes
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Financial Crime Digest November 2020

This issue includes:

  • ESMA’s Wirecard report finds deficiencies in German supervisory system
  • OECD working group lauds US efforts to fight foreign bribery
  • UK government launches review of laws on corporate liability for economic crime
  • An interview with UNODC’s Regional Representative for Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa
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Financial Crime Digest October 2020

This issue covers:

  • Goldman Sachs Group agrees global resolution over 1MDB scandal
  • FATF October plenary adopts amendments on proliferation financing risk
  • UK Treasury Committee launches new economic crime inquiry
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Financial Crime Digest September 2020

This issue covers:

  • UK sets out plans to reform Companies House register
  • EU Digital Finance Package aims to harmonise the regulation of cryptoassets
  • US announces decision to reimpose all UN sanctions on Iran
  • A special feature on the FinCEN Files: a renewed push towards more effective AML/CFT efforts
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Financial Crime Digest August 2020

This issue covers:

  • US sanctions Chinese companies and officials over actions in South China Sea
  • UK FCA proposes extending financial crime reporting to cryptoasset exchange providers
  • An exclusive interview with the Head of the Financial Crime Unit in the EU Commission’s DG FISMA
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Financial Crime Digest July 2020

This issue covers:

  • UK introduces global human rights sanctions regime
  • New York regulator fines Deutsche Bank over Epstein ties and correspondent relationships
  • A special feature on Germany’s draft human rights and environmental due diligence law
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Financial Crime Digest June 2020

This issue covers:

  • Commerzbank London fined by UK Financial Conduct Authority for AML failings
  • FATF issues first report on money laundering and the illegal wildlife trade
  • A special feature on the new wave of US sanctions against Syria, which have come into force
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Financial Crime Digest May 2020

This issue covers:

  • European Commission proposes wide-ranging AML/CFT action plan
  • US to impose sanctions on China in response to Hong Kong national security law
  • A special feature on organised crime in Mexico during the Covid-19 pandemic
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Financial Crime Digest April 2020

This issue covers:

  • US authorities fine Korean bank for AML failings and sanctions breaches
  • Chinese money laundering groups control hundreds of UK bank accounts, finds NCA report
  • A special feature on the financial crime implications of the Covid-19 pandemic
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Financial Crime Digest March 2020

This issue covers:

  • Swedbank fined for AML breaches, and the publication of its AML compliance report
  • US charges Venezuela’s Maduro and high-ranking officials with ‘narco-terrorism’
  • A special feature on the UK Court of Appeal’s dismissal of Zamira Hajiyeva’s UWO appeal
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