March 2020

International

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

Reported the United States' progress in strengthening measures to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing. The United States is now compliant on 9 of the 40 Recommendations and largely compliant on 22 of them. It remains partially compliant on 5 of the 40 Recommendations and not compliant on 4 of them. The United States remains in enhanced follow-up and will report back to the FATF on progress to strengthen its implementation of AML/CFT measures.
Updated its consolidated assessment ratings which provides an up-to-date overview of the ratings that assessed countries obtained for effectiveness and technical compliance.

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)

The Compliance Report 2019 is due to be submitted to AUSTRAC by 31 March 2020. Due to the exceptional circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, AUSTRAC will keep accepting 2019 compliance reports until 30 June 2020, without risk of compliance action.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA)

New Zealand money remitter (Jiaxin Finance Limited) convicted for anti-money laundering failures. This is the first time criminal action has been taken under the Act by any of the AML/CFT supervisors.
Updated the Designated Business Group (DBG) Formation and Change guidance document. The primary change to this guidance document is that there is now just one form to be used for either forming a new DBG or making any changes to an existing DBG. It also clarifies that DIA reporting entities can use AML Online in place of the form.
Published developed some specific guidance that relates to the identity verification requirements under COVID-19 alert level 4. Reporting entities must operate in a way that limits the risk of the spread and transmission of COVID-19.
Issued March 2020 AML/CFT Newsletters.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

Published guidelines to notice PSN01 and PSN02 on prevention of money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism for Specified Payment Services and Digital Payment Token Service.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

Penalizes U.S. bank official for corporate anti-money laundering failures. FinCEN issued a $185 million civil money penalty against U.S. Bank for, among other things, willfully violating the BSA’s requirements to implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program and to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) in a timely manner.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)

FINTRAC received 2,754 voluntary information records from Canada’s police, law enforcement and national security agencies in 2018–19, essentially doubling in number over the past five years. These records contain information on alleged criminals and terrorist financiers and are often the starting point for the Centre’s analysis and the financial intelligence that it is able to generate and disclose.
The top three predicate offences related to FINTRAC’s financial intelligence disclosures were fraud, drugs and tax evasion.
The top three recipients of FINTRAC’s financial intelligence were the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, municipal police forces and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
FINTRAC works closely with businesses to support and enforce their compliance with the obligations under the Act. In 2018–19, the Centre carried out 135 outreach and engagement activities and conducted 497 compliance examinations, the largest number of which were focused on the real estate sector, money services businesses and securities dealers.
FINTRAC received an award for Excellence in Regulatory Openness and Transparency from the Community of Federal Regulators for its Transparency Initiative in 2018–19.
In December 2018, FINTRAC published the Terrorist Financing Assessment, the first of its kind in Canada and internationally. The Centre also published an Operational Alert regarding Professional Money Laundering Through Trade and Money Services Businesses.

No major updates this month.

No major updates this month.

No major updates this month.

No major updates this month.