Financial Crime Digest

Financial Crime Digest September 2022

This issue includes:

• OFAC designates Iran’s Morality Police and senior security officials over Mahsa Amini and protester’s deaths
• US fines and charges Wall Street broker-dealers with widespread recordkeeping failures
• Fraudulent investments appearing more ‘tempting’ as cost-of-living crisis deepens, UK watchdog warns
• Q&A with Natia Seskuria, defence and security expert and founder of the Tbilisi-based Regional Institute for Security Studies
• PLUS a Special Feature: Inside the UK’s suspicious activity report regime

Financial Crime Digest August 2022

This issue includes:

• UN states serious human rights violations in Xinjiang “may constitute crimes against humanity”
• Najib Razak reportedly imprisoned for 12 years immediately after losing final appeal in 1MDB corruption case
• Iranian steel producer at heart of £2bn corruption scandal, parliamentary report states
• Q&A with Ruta Bajarunaite, independent financial crime expert
• PLUS a Special Feature: Are Guyana’s fiscal prospects hostage to bad oil deals?

Financial Crime Digest July 2022

This issue includes:

• UK register of overseas entities comes into force, critics warn of “flaws and loopholes”
• International community condemns Myanmar executions, UN Special Rapporteur calls for sanctions
• “Sobering” reviews into Serco, Unaoil cases underscore “fundamental” issues at UK SFO
• Q&A with Graham Barrow and Ray Blake, hosts of the Dark Money Files podcast
• PLUS a Special Feature: Can US sanctions avert chaos in Bosnia?

Financial Crime Digest June 2022

This issue includes:

• FATF plenary outcomes include changes to grey list, Russia statement, report on virtual assets requirements implementation
• Lithuanian woman sentenced to eight years for role in Danske Bank money laundering conspiracy
• G7 leaders commit to fighting corruption, sanctions evasion, hybrid threats, and human rights abuse
• Q&A with member of Bank of England’s CBDC Engagement Forum and former head of corporate affairs at SWIFT Natasha de Terán
• PLUS a Special Feature: Poaching the poachers: is the UK failing to tackle illegal wildlife trade?

Financial Crime Digest May 2022

This issue includes:

• Queen’s Speech includes pledge to tackle economic crime
• ‘Xinjiang Police Files’ reveal thousands of images of detainees, “shoot-to-kill” police protocols and officials instigating violence
• Glencore reaches $1bn settlements in Brazil and US related to decade-long bribery scheme
• Q&A with Tom Stocks, Senior Investigator at OCCRP
• PLUS a special feature: UK campaigners smell victory on economic crime legal reform after Ukraine upends status quo

Financial Crime Digest April 2022

This issue includes:

• UK FCA review finds shortcomings in certain challenger banks’ financial crime controls
• UK, US and EU sanctions on Russia throughout April
• US FinCEN publishes kleptocracy advisory
• PLUS a special feature: War creates tough questions over critical Ukraine payments as de-risking threats loom

Financial Crime Digest March 2022

This issue includes:

• US, UK and EU sanctions throughout March in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine
• UK Foreign Affairs Committee launches inquiry into Wagner Group
• FATF plenary outcomes include amendments to beneficial ownership standard
• PLUS a special feature on controlling crypto: have digital assets escaped Pandora’s box?

Financial Crime Digest February 2022

This issue includes:

• UK fines Barclays Bank for oversight failings
• UK government fast tracks economic crime bill following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
• EBA concludes its Luanda Leaks investigation
• PLUS a special feature on the private sector and the “unprecedented” sanctions on Russia

Financial Crime Digest January 2022

This issue includes:

• US DOJ issues open procedure release in response to FCPA-related request
• Europol publishes report on illicit use of cryptocurrencies
• ECJ Advocate General issues opinion on public access to beneficial ownership information
• PLUS a special feature on the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine spurs sanctions plans

Financial Crime Digest December 2021

This issue includes:

• UK FCA fines NatWest for violations of the AML regulations
• US FinCEN publishes proposed rule on beneficial ownership reporting
• White House unveils anti-corruption strategy
• PLUS a special feature on financial crime in 2021: a year in review

Financial Crime Digest November 2021

This issue includes:

• UK PSR consults on plans to fight APP scams
• Swiss AG orders SBM Offshore subsidiaries to pay £5.6M for failure to prevent bribery in Africa
• EU proposes blacklisting transport operators involved in migrant smuggling at Belarus border
• PLUS a special feature on Italy’s largest mafia trial for decades: will the UK come under scrutiny?

Financial Crime Digest October 2021

This issue includes:

• US issues sanctions guidance for virtual currency industry, FinCEN publishes ransomware trends analysis
• ENISA releases 2021 threat landscape report
• UK, US and Switzerland fine Credit Suisse for due diligence failings over Mozambique loans
• PLUS a special feature on greenwashing and ESG adaptability

Financial Crime Digest September 2021

This issue includes:

• UK SFO secures conviction against Petrofac
• EU consults on blocking statute amendment
• EU Data Protection Supervisor calls for greater clarity on AML legislative package
• PLUS a special feature on the Pandora Papers

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