Global REG-CAP October 2024

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

October 2024
This month’s highlights include:

  • GLOBAL: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has concluded its plenary, and made changes to its list of countries under increased monitoring (the “grey list”).

  • GLOBAL: The Basel Institute has announced it is going to update its AML Index to include fraud as a predicate threat in its assessment methodology.

  • Europe: The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its first consolidated report on sanctions and measures imposed by the National Competent Authorities (NCAs) in Member States in 2023.

  • UK: The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) authorised push payments (APP) fraud reimbursement regime went live on 7 October. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a ‘Dear CEO Letter’ on its expectations on APP fraud reimbursement, including anti- fraud systems and controls, consumer duty, and information on the availability of alternative dispute resolution procedures.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in October? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the RegCap, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP September 2024

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

September 2024
This month’s highlights include:

  • GLOBAL: The Egmont Group published "Best Egmont Cases: Financial Analysis Cases 2021-2023", highlighting 24 money laundering and terrorist financing cases from jurisdictions worldwide, showcasing new typologies and predicate offenses.

  • UK: The FCA made headlines by prosecuting an individual for running an unregistered crypto ATM network, marking the first criminal prosecution under the UK’s anti-money laundering regulations for crypto-related activities.

  • GLOBAL: Leaked documents reveal how the Wagner Group moved funds through global banks, including JPMorgan and HSBC, to finance its operations in Africa, raising concerns about financial institutions' involvement in illicit activities.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in September? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the RegCap, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP August 2024

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

August 2024
This month’s highlights include:

  • EUROPE: The European Banking Authority and the European Central Bank published a joint report on fraud data in the EU (read the RegCap for findings).

  • UK: Transparency International Russia published a paper on illegal money transfers from Russia to the UK through e-payments, highlighting the use of dark web marketplaces where access to business bank accounts is sold.

  • USA: The US announced the designation of nearly 400 individuals and entities in Russia, Asia, Europe and the Middle East for their involvement in helping Russia evade sanctions and sustain its war effort.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in August? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the RegCap, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP July 2024

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

July 2024
This month’s highlights include:

  • GLOBAL: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has released its fifth report on the “Implementation of FATF Standards on Virtual Assets (VAs) and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs),” highlighting progress and challenges in regulatory measures.

  • EUROPE: The European Banking Authority (EBA) has unveiled new Guidelines on the ‘travel rule,’ detailing the necessary information to accompany fund and crypto-asset transfers. These Guidelines specify data requirements for originators and beneficiaries, and establish protocols for handling incomplete information.

  • UK: The Financial Conduct Authority has proposed amendments to its guidance FG17/6, concerning the treatment of politically exposed persons (PEPs). The updated guidance, referenced as GC24/4, aims to provide clearer direction on the identification and management of PEPs and relatives and close associates (RCAs).

  • FINTRAIL PICKS: Singapore has released its updated Terrorism Financing (TF) National Risk Assessment (NRA) and National Strategy for Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) to address evolving terrorism threats.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in July? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the RegCap, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP June 2024

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

June 2024
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held its final plenary under the presidency of T Raja Kumar of Singapore. Jamaica and Turkey were removed from the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring (the so-called “grey list”), while Monaco and Venezuela were added.

  • FATF is in the process of updating its guidance on National Risk Assessments (NRAs) in particular concerning money laundering NRAs, and is inviting contributions from the private sector, civil society and academia.

  • The EU has agreed a new sanctions package against Russia, which for the first time will target supplies of liquified natural gas (LNG), which several member states still import from Russia.

  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that it will delay the output of its review into the treatment of domestic PEP - now expected in July.

  • The Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime (GCFFC) has published a Financial Scams Report: An Assessment of Scams in East Asia - in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. It identifies 20 main types of scams and analyses factors which make countries more attractive targets.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in June? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the RegCap, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP May 2024

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

May 2024
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) published a policy brief on Disabling the Enablers of Sanctions Circumvention which identifies common mechanisms by which professional service providers facilitate sanctions evasion.

  • Interpol published a Global Financial Fraud Assessment that highlights how the increased use of technology is enabling organised crime groups to better target victims around the world.

  • The Council of the European Union (EU) adopted a package of new anti-money laundering (AML) rules that will exhaustively harmonise AML rules for the first time throughout the EU, closing loopholes for fraudsters. It extends the AML rules to new obliged entities, such as most of the crypto sector, traders of luxury goods, and football clubs and agents.

  • The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) opened consultations on a proposition to direct banks and other payment firms participating in CHAPS (the UK’s real- time, high-value sterling payment system) to reimburse their customers who have been victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams.

  • The US Department of Treasury released the 2024 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing, which provides a blueprint of the US government’s goals, objectives, and priorities to disrupt and prevent illicit financial activities.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in May? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the RegCap, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP April 2024

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

April 2024
This month’s highlights include:

  • Over 3,000 law enforcement authorities from over 70 countries and international entities have become connected to SIENA, the secure information exchange channel run by Europol.

  • Europol has issued its first report on the most threatening criminal networks active in the EU, singling out over 800 networks operating in the region and outlining the characteristics that make these criminal actors particularly threatening.

  • The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) released its annual SARs statistical report for the period April 2022 to March 2023. The report highlighted a reduction in SARs for the period, mainly attributed to a reduction in SARs from high street banks.

  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a consultation on proposed updates to its Financial Crime Guide. The most extensive updates are on sanctions and follow the FCA’s 2023 review of firms’ sanctions systems and controls after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

  • A report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) outlines how illegal waste from around the world, and in particular the EU, ends up in Southeast Asia. The report details how black market criminal groups use tactics such as bribing officials and exploiting legal loopholes to import illegal waste worth billions of dollars.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in April? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the RegCap, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP March 2024

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

March 2024
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Wolfsberg Group has made updates to the Country Risk FAQ document, based on members’ current best practices and to suggest how the Group believes those practices should develop over time.

  • The Wolfsberg Group has also published the Principles for Auditing a Financial Crime Risk Management Programme for Effectiveness.

  • The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has updated its guidance on Beneficial Ownership and Transparency of Legal Arrangements following revisions made to Recommendation 25 last year and consultation responses on the topic.

  • The first Global Fraud Summit has been hosted in the UK. As part of the summit, ministers signed up to a communiqué setting out an agreed global framework to tackle fraud and declaring fraud an increasing transnational threat.

  • The UK Government announced changes to strengthen the requirements applicable to banks and other payments service providers when they intend to terminate a contract for payment services (such as a current account).

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in March? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the RegCap, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP February 2024

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

February 2024
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released its 2022-2023 annual report which sets outs the achievement of the FATF in delivering on its mandate and strategic priorities.

  • EU member countries have agreed on a 13th round of sanctions against Russia, which for the first time target companies in mainland China suspected of helping the Kremlin.

  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released its three year strategy for reducing and preventing financial crime. The strategy focuses on four key areas including fraud, sanctions evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing.

  • The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has published a Regulatory and Supervisory Outlook Report outlining its priorities for the next two years which includes a spotlight on financial crime.

  • The US Department of the Treasury released its 2024 national risk assessment covering money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in February? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the RegCap, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP January 2024

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

January 2024
This month’s highlights include:

  • Transparency International released its 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index. 118 countries stayed at the same score as last year, while 28 countries improved their score and 34 countries declined.

  • The European Parliament and the European Council have reached a provisional agreement on new harmonised AML regulations, and the final text of a new 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD).

  • In the UK, an amendment to the Money Laundering Regulations on the treatment of domestic PEPs came into force on 10 January.

  • Local Chinese media has reported that China is amending its AML regulations, the first major update since 2007, to include cryptocurrency transactions.

  • The USA's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and its international partners issued several new sanctions designations throughout January - read the doc for full details.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in January? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the RegCap, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP December 2023

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

December 2023
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published a table of consolidated assessment ratings - an up-to-date overview of the ratings that countries assessed by FATF have obtained for effectiveness and technical compliance.

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a 2023 review of its AML/CTF Strategy looking at financial integrity issues including money laundering, terrorist finding and proliferation financing and key lessons identified since the strategy was adopted in 2018.

  • The European Parliament and Council of the EU have reached an agreement on the scope and legal basis of operation of the new European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA)

  • The UK Government and some of the world’s biggest tech companies have agreed a series of pledges to protect the public from online fraud in an agreement called the ‘Online Fraud Charter’.

  • The Netherlands have loosened the requirements on firms on how they monitor PEP customers.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in December? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the REG-CAP, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP November 2023

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

November 2023
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has had a busy month, updating its Recommendations (specifically Recommendation 8) and new consolidated assessment ratings.

  • The 12th Public Edition of the Basel AML Index 2023 has been published, revealing that the average global ML/TF risk level has increased slightly since 2022.

  • Thirteen national financial intelligence units (FIUs) have formed a task force to disrupt international financial flows to Hamas and other terrorist organisations.

  • The European Banking Authority (EBA) has extended its risk-based AML/CTF supervision guidelines to AML/CFT supervisors of crypto- asset service providers (CASPs). The new guidelines set expectations of the steps supervisors should take to identify and manage ML/TF risks in this sector.

  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a review of anti-fraud controls and complaint handling in regulated firms, with a focus on APP fraud.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in November? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the REG-CAP, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP October 2023

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

October 2023
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a report on the challenges in detecting and preventing terrorist financing through crowdfunding.

  • The FATF has also removed Albania, the Cayman Islands, Jordan, Panama and Switzerland from its list of jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring, due to those countries’ progress in addressing gaps in their financial crime frameworks.

  • The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its 2024 programme of work, which outlines its five key strategic objectives as part of a wider 2024-2026 programme.

  • The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 received its royal assent, and has now become law. The Act introduces a number of key reforms to the UK’s anti-money laundering regime.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in October? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the REG-CAP, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP September 2023

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

September 2023
This month’s highlights include:

  • The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has published a report on the hawala system, a global money transfer service.

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a new working paper that proposes the implementation of a crypto-risk assessment matrix.

  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a report and a letter to the Chancellor detailing the initial findings of its work to investigate reasons for account closures and access to financial services.

  • The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an alert on virtual currency “pig butchering” scams.

  • The Asia Pacific Group (APG) has issued a report on money laundering associated with tax crimes in the Asia Pacific region.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in September? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the REG-CAP, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP August 2023

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

August 2023
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Wolfsberg Group published a consultation response on the EBA's proposed guidelines on factors for consideration by credit and financial institutions when addressing money laundering and terrorist financing risks. The response supports the proposed guidelines but suggests several enhancements.

  • The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) published a report on how global trade and receivables finance mitigates against proliferation financing. The report discusses the challenges of dual-use goods within the financial services sector.

  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a letter setting out its intentions to review how firms comply with their legal and regulatory obligations concerning the risk management and treatment of politically exposed persons (PEPs).

  • The FCA also published a statement on expectations for UK crypto-asset businesses complying with the travel rule, highlighting expectations when sending or receiving a cryptoasset transfer to a jurisdiction without the travel rule.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in August? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the REG-CAP, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP July 2023

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

July 2023
This month’s highlights include:

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a report on taxing cryptocurrencies, examining challenges such as its quasi-anonymous nature, which facilitates tax evasion. The report suggests that current anti-money laundering rules are insufficient to stop tax evasion.

  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released its annual report, which examines advancements against its three-year plan and key strategic objectives.

  • The US House Financial Services Committee approved two bi-partisan crypto regulatory framework bills. Both are seen as an important advancement for US crypto regulation.

  • Australia has established a new Anti-Scam Centre, which will coordinate an investment scam fusion cell to combat the growing problems of investment scams.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in July? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the REG-CAP, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP June 2023

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

June 2023
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published a targeted update on implementing standards for virtual assets and virtual asset service providers. The report finds global implementation is “relatively poor, and compliance remains behind most other financial sectors”.

  • Interpol issued a warning on the prevalence of human trafficking schemes where victims are forced to work in online scam centres.

  • The European Banking Authority (EBA) published a report stating that money laundering and terrorist financing risks in payment institutions are not managed effectively.

  • The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published a policy statement outlining new requirements for reimbursing victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud within the Faster Payments system.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in June? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the REG-CAP, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP May 2023

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

May 2023
This month’s highlights include:

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a book called ‘Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Good Practices to Enhance Effectiveness’, with insights from the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, INTERPOL, Europol, and the United Nations. The book covers topics such as the role of the private sector, sanctions, and international cooperation.

  • The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched a public consultation on proposed amendments to its guidelines on money laundering and terrorist financing risk factors. The changes will extend the scope of these guidelines to crypto- asset service providers (CASPs).

  • The UK government has announced its new fraud strategy, focusing on three principles: stopping scams from reaching people in the first place, bringing more fraudsters to justice, and empowering people to better protect themselves.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in May? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the REG-CAP, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP April 2023

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

April 2023
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Wolfsberg Group published updated guidance on anti-bribery and corruption compliance. The guidance covers firm-wide anti-bribery and corruption policies, governance with roles and responsibilities and access to top management, periodic risk assessment, training and awareness, and monitoring and testing for compliance.

  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its three-year business plan. The plan aims to focus on slowing growth in victims and losses in fraud and Authorised Push Payment (APP) cases.

  • The Virtual Assets Contact Group of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) met to discuss global progress and challenges in regulating virtual assets. The Group acknowledged the failure of many countries to implement the strengthened requirements outlined in Recommendation 15, which includes the ‘travel rule’ that requires obtaining, holding, and transmitting originator and beneficiary information relating to virtual assets transactions.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in April? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the REG-CAP, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

Global REG-CAP March 2023

FINTRAIL produces a monthly summary of FinCrime regulatory changes and publications. This document covers:

  • Key updates from global and local regulators

  • Key updates from industry guidelines

  • Additional insights identified from financial intelligence units

March 2023
This month’s highlights include:

  • The Financial Action Task Force has released guidance relating to Recommendation 24: Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons. It stipulates that countries will need to ensure that authorities have correct information on the true owners of companies.

  • The European Banking Authority launched a public consultation on amendments to its guidelines on risk-based anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CTF) supervision. These changes extend the scope of the guidelines to include crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), including providing sources of information authorities should consider on the ML/TF risks relating to CASPs.

  • The UK government released the Economic Crime Plan 2, which sets out the government’s priorities in tackling financial crime over the next three years. The Plan acts as an overarching document above a forthcoming Fraud Strategy and alongside a new Anti-Corruption Strategy.

What other publications and regulatory changes caught your eye in March? If you are interested in speaking to the FINTRAIL team about any of the items in the REG-CAP, have any ideas for inclusion, or want to discuss any other financial crime topic, please get in touch: contact@fintrail.com

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