FATF Compliant, and Struggling to Fight Corruption
Financial-crime authorities across the Middle East and North Africa hold powers that look adequate on paper but fail in practice, with anti-corruption agencies unable to freeze assets, prosecutors acting as political gatekeepers, and high-risk sectors filing almost no suspicious activity reports.
FATF Sees Progress, Gaps, and Growing Risks in Latest Singapore MER
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed Singapore from its enhanced follow-up list but the city-state’s beneficial-ownership safeguards, money-laundering prosecutions, and proliferation-financing controls are still falling short of the risks it faces as one of the world’s largest financial centers.
How UK High-Street Shops Serve as ‘Hidden’ Front for Crime Groups
Thousands of seemingly legitimate UK high street shops are being used by organized-crime groups to launder illicit cash, sell illegal goods, and feed wider criminal networks, with at least £47 billion a year drained from the British economy by the schemes.
Austria Falls Short on Dirty-Money Prosecutions, DNFPB Supervision: FATF
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed Austria in enhanced follow-up after finding the country’s framework for investigating and prosecuting money laundering remains weak more than a decade after similar concerns were first raised.
Australian Gatekeepers to Face Massive Fines for Ties to Criminal Groups
Accountants, lawyers and real estate agents in Australia will face multimillion-dollar fines for assisting the illicit tobacco trade under a sweeping expansion of anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism financing laws taking effect on July 1.
Explainer: What’s in the EU’s 20th Russia Sanctions Package?
The European Union on Thursday formally adopted its much delayed 20th package of restrictive measures against Russia and the bloc’s biggest package of designations in two years. Here’s what’s in it.
FATF Calls on Italy to Fix Ownership Register, Tighten DNFBP Oversight
Italy has passed a sweeping review of its anti-money-laundering regime but must urgently fix a suspended corporate ownership registry and tighten oversight of non-financial businesses, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said in a report published on Thursday.
ENRC Wants $168mn for Mishandled SFO Probe That Spanned a Decade
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation is seeking more than $168 million in compensation from the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), law firm Dechert, and former Dechert partner Neil Gerrard over losses it says arose from a decade-long criminal investigation.
Defendant’s Chatbot Conversation Can Be Used in Fraud Case, Court Rules
U.S. lawyers are increasingly warning clients not to treat artificial-intelligence chatbots as confidential sounding boards after a federal judge in New York ruled that a former financial-services executive could not withhold chatbot-generated materials from prosecutors in a securities-fraud case.
UBS Says It Won’t Release Nazi-Era Settlement Files after Court Setback
UBS AG said it will not hand over privileged documents sought in an investigation into Credit Suisse’s handling of Nazi-linked accounts after a U.S. judge declined to give the bank assurances that doing so would not expose it to new legal claims.