Will universities learn their lesson on money laundering?
A new report into potential money laundering involving universities’ overseas students is the latest warning of the higher education sector’s vulnerability. The imperative to act grows stronger by the day. What is banned in the UK’s scrapyards but perfectly legitimate
Client monitoring: reducing false positives and leveraging STP
Despite the massive cost and reputational risks Financial Institutions (FI) are exposed to, efficient fraud & AML systems largely remain elusive. Furthermore, incumbent fraud systems generate a large volume of false positives in the process of detection, where a
Banks face tough battle against crypto money launderers
Bank bosses can no longer bury their heads in the sand. Virtual currencies such as bitcoin are becoming mainstream and many traditional banking customers are transacting with cryptocurrency exchanges. The institutions must ensure robust anti-money laundering (AML) and counterterrorist
The money mule pandemic which continues to challenge banking AML
There have been a multitude of negative aspects to life during the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK has recently surpassed the one-year mark since locking down for the very first time to reduce hospital admissions and reduce the infection rate.
Between Covid & Compliance – the current highs and lows of the dope industry
The decriminalization of marijuana has been gathering increased momentum in recent years, particularly in the United States. At least 35 states currently allow the use of marijuana in one way or another (recreational vs medicinal). Driven by exceptional demand and
The rise of adverse media screening in KYC, AML and CDD
In highly regulated industries, the need for enhanced due diligence (EDD) on customers and counterparties has never been so necessary. In the case of tier one banks and other large financial institutions (FIs), compliance protocols can differ between jurisdictions
Where is FinCEN on Virtual Currencies?
Virtual currencies (sometimes referred to as cryptocurrencies) continue to move into established commerce. The number of merchants accepting the currencies is growing, as are the number of people looking to the currencies as investment vehicles, and to use them
Why property is front and centre of the AML battle
The real estate sector is under pressure to improve its AML practices, as criminals step up their efforts to launder their dirty money through property. The UK’s property market has become a prime target for international money laundering, with high-end
Cybercrime: Virtual Threats, Real-World Impacts
In the old days, to rob a bank, the robbers would have had to go into the bank to hold it up and make off with the bags full of cash. Today, they can rob a bank from the
COVID-19: A Crisis or a Catalyst for Corruption?
Back in 2008, during an interview with Wall Street Journal, then-President-Elect Obama’s Chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel said ‘You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.’ While he meant that the silver lining to catastrophes can be
The future of AML compliance for US investment advisors
Highly regulated financial firms operating in the United States are witnessing significant anti-money laundering (AML) legislative and regulatory changes with the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 (NDAA) and rule changes proposed by the Financial Crimes
The FinCrime Files – Q&A with Colette Best, Solicitors Regulation Authority
In this edition of our FinCrime Files interview series, we caught up with Colette Best, Director of anti-money laundering at the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Q. Hi Colette, could you tell us a little about yourself and your current role? I have