FCA Sees Industry Weaknesses in Sanctions Due Diligence, Trade Compliance
Financial firms have improved their sanctions controls but persistent weaknesses in due diligence, screening, and asset-freezing controls continue to drive compliance violations, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a multi-firm review published Thursday.
Singapore Tells Private Banks to Speed Up Onboarding for Wealthy Clients
Singapore’s financial regulator has directed private banks to reduce account opening wait times to within one month by year-end, as the city-state moves to reassert itself as a global wealth management hub after a series of money-laundering scandals.
U.S. Regulators to Consider Citizenship Status of Bank Customers a Risk Factor
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing federal financial regulators to treat undocumented immigrants as potential credit and compliance risks.
Denmark’s FSA Refers Nordea Unit to Police over AML Concerns
Denmark’s financial regulator has reported a local unit of Nordea Bank to police over suspected breaches of anti-money-laundering rules and asked authorities to open a criminal investigation, the authority disclosed Monday.
U.S. Banks Left in the Dark on New Citizenship-Verification Expectations
U.S. banks have heard little from the Trump administration about the scope of an expected executive order that would require them to collect citizenship or immigration-status data on their customers, leaving the industry warning of multibillion-dollar costs and the prospect of millions of Americans being shut out of the banking system.
FINTRAC Warns of Rise in Extortion Schemes Targeting Indian Students
Canada’s financial intelligence agency has issued a bulletin warning banks and other institutions to be on alert for money laundering linked to an escalating extortion campaign targeting South Asian diaspora communities, particularly in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario.
AMLA Draft Rules Could Lead to ’Significant’ Bank Burden, ITFA Says
Proposed European anti-money-laundering (AML) standards could place a “significant operational burden” on banks by potentially requiring customer due diligence checks on counterparties that are not traditional bank clients, a trade finance industry body has warned.
DOJ Hits Southern Poverty Law Center with Financial-Crime Charges
The U.S. Justice Department indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on charges that the civil-rights organization fraudulently paid informants inside extremist groups and concealed those payments with bank accounts opened for nonexistent companies.
Republicans Threaten FinCEN’s Budget over Corporate Transparency Rule
U.S. House Republicans are threatening to block all funding for the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) until the agency finalizes a rule requiring companies to report beneficial ownership information.
Handelsbanken Dinged for ‘Serious’ AML Deficiencies
Norway’s financial watchdog has found “serious deficiencies” in anti-money-laundering compliance at Svenska Handelsbanken AB’s Norwegian branch.