Financial Crime Digest

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

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

EU’s Green Investment Rules: A Sea-Change for ESG

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

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

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

The Clean Energy Transition: Geopolitical Implications for the Renewables Sector

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

Forced labour in the supply chain: connecting the dots

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Financial Crime Digest February 2020

This issue covers:

• Swiss regulator finds serious AML failings at Julius Baer
• UK consults on creating freeports with ‘simplified’ declaration rules
• A special feature on money laundering and the art market

Financial Crime Digest January 2020

This issue covers:

• Airbus pays record €3.59 billion to settle bribery charges in UK, France and US
• UN Security Council report identifies terrorism financing typologies
• A special feature on real estate agents: the UK’s weak link in money laundering?

Financial Crime Digest December 2019

This issue covers:

• Ericsson’s USD 1 billion fine for violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• EU Council adopts conclusions on strategic priorities for AML/CFT
• A special feature on the financial crime trends in 2019 and beyond

Financial Crime Digest November 2019

This issue covers:

• AUSTRAC’s application for a court-ordered civil penalty against Westpac Banking Corporation
• Escalating allegations concerning Swedbank and SEB over their operations in Estonia
• A special feature on the Gunvor fine on bribery and corruption charges

Financial Crime Digest October 2019

This issue covers:

• The outcomes of the Financial Action Task Force plenary
• FinCEN’s final rule identifying Iran as a “jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern”
• UK Solicitors Regulation Authority AML assessment finds failings at “many firms”

Financial Crime Digest September 2019

This issue covers:

• The European Parliament’s resolution on the implementation of AML legislation
• British Arab Commercial Bank’s settlement with OFAC over alleged sanctions violations
• A special feature on counter-terrorist financing: old foes and new threats