November 2020

International

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

• G20 leaders reaffirmed their support for the FATF as the global standard-setting body to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
• Published Iceland's progress in strengthening measures to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing. Since the 2018 assessment and its 2019 follow-up report, Iceland has taken a number of actions to strengthen its framework.
• Published Georgia and Slovak Republic‘s measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. This evaluation was based on the 2012 FATF Recommendations
• Updated its consolidated assessment ratings which provides an up-to-date overview of the ratings that assessed countries obtained for effectiveness and technical compliance.

Australia

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)

• Issued Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Amendment Instrument 2020 (No. 5) - new Chapter78 inserted regarding TransferWise Australia Pty Ltd including:
• Definition of ordering and beneficiary institutions
• Conditions for reports of international funds transfer instructions
• Application and transitional provisions
• Released the Fintel Alliance Performance Report 2019-20, which outlines the impact the Fintel Alliance is having on protecting the Australian financial system and community from serious and organised crime. Major achievements in the report include:
• arrests of offenders for serious crimes including the importation of child-like sex dolls, money laundering, illicit tobacco, scams, and $22 million of tax liabilities raised
• hardening the Australian border to child-sex offenders resulting in 25 detections of child exploitation material, the arrest of ten individuals for child related offending, and the rescue of children from harm
• protecting Australians from criminal networks that are trying to take advantage of COVID-19 by fraudulently claiming superannuation, government payments, and other criminal activities
• more than 250 intelligence products provided to law enforcement and intelligence agencies, helping detect and investigate a range of crimes, and
• operations covering 24 crime types — of which child sexual exploitation, environmental crime and welfare fraud were the top three.
• AUSTRAC and the Financial Intelligence Unit of the United Arab Emirates (UAE-FIU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the exchange of financial intelligence. Under the MOU, both countries will cooperate in the development, exchange and analysis of financial intelligence related to suspected money laundering, terrorism financing, and other serious crimes.
• Two men have been charged as part of ongoing investigations into an international money-laundering operation.

New Zealand

No major updates this month.

Canada

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

• Published its 2019–20 Annual Report which highlights key activities and operations that FINTRAC carried out in 2019–20 to help protect Canadians and Canada's economy. It played a key role in advancing Canada's innovative public-private sector partnerships aimed at combatting money laundering associated with the trafficking of fentanyl, romance fraud, human trafficking in the sex trade, and money laundering schemes that have their roots in underground banking.
• Imposes an administrative monetary penalty of $206,250 on 9197-9195 Québec Inc. for non-compliance with Part 1 of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its associated regulations. It was found to have committed the following violations:
• Failure to develop and apply written compliance policies and procedures that are kept up to date;
• Failure to assess and document the risk of money laundering and terrorist activity financing, taking into consideration prescribed factors; and
• Failure to submit a suspicious transaction report.
• Announced that it received payment of $147,015 for an administrative monetary penalty that the Centre had imposed on Loto-Québec in 2014, and which was the subject of a legal challenge. FINTRAC imposed the penalty for the following administrative deficiencies related to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its regulations:
• Failure to document the prescribed review of its compliance program;
• Failure to report a suspicious transaction; and
• Failure to properly report the occupation of a client in the case of casino disbursements reports.

United Kingdom

The Gambling Commission

• Published its annual Compliance and Enforcement Report – a document featuring the findings of the regulator’s extensive casework against licence holders and detailing where the industry needs to raise standards. There continues to be a lack of understanding of how to conduct a robust and appropriate risk assessment for the prevention of money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) for gambling businesses. Areas where operators fall down often include:
• Insufficient depth of knowledge demonstrated by Personal Management Licence holders which has led to concerns as to competency and integrity.
• Operators adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach to their Risk Assessment when it should be tailored to the specific ML and TF risks pertinent to their business
• Failure to adequately demonstrate their Risk Assessment has due regard to the Commission’s Risk Assessment and that they are keeping up to date with fluctuating standards in alternative jurisdictions whilst rigorously meeting GB legislation and standards.
• Where the overarching Risk Assessment is deficient, this can naturally lead to ineffective policies, procedures and controls.
• Operators and PML holders failing to learn lessons from the Commission’s compliance and enforcement activity.
• Failure to provide regular, quality training to staff including Money Laundering Reporting Officers and Nominated Officers and possess sufficient ‘Know Your Employee’ data.
• Demonstrating a static and ineffective approach to customer risk profiling and enhanced customer due diligence when it should be dynamic and capable of identifying both current and developing risks.
• An online gambling business (Boylesports Enterprise) has had a series of tougher conditions added to its licence after a Gambling Commission assessment revealed money laundering failures. Licence conditions added to Boylesports Enterprise licence include:
• Maintaining the appointment of an appropriately qualified Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) who holds a Personal Management Licence (PML), and, in appointing the MLRO, ensure that the individual undertakes annual refresher training in AML and be able to evidence this to the Commission.
• Ensuring that all PML holders, senior management and key control staff undertake outsourced anti-money laundering training. All such staff must undertake outsourced refresher training annually thereafter.
• Continuing its review of the effectiveness and implementation of its AML policies, procedures and controls.

In addition to the licence conditions imposed by the Commission, Boylesports Enterprise was also given an official warning and fined £2.8 million for its breaches.

European Union

The European Banking Authority (EBA)

• Published its opinion on how to take into account ML/TF risks in the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP). With this opinion, the EBA calls on prudential supervisors to take into account ML/TF risks in the SREP. When performing the SREP, prudential supervisors are advised to be mindful of the fact that ML/TF risks are not necessarily linked to an institution’s size or financial soundness and that small institutions can nevertheless present significant ML/TF risks. The EBA expects prudential supervisors to consider ML/TF risks in the SREP in particular in the following components of the SREP:
• The monitoring of key indicators;
• Business model analysis;
• Assessment of internal governance and institution-wide controls;
• Assessment of risks to capital; and
• Assessment of risks to liquidity and funding.

United States

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

• In coordination with the Federal Banking Agencies, FinCEN issued a joint fact sheet to provide clarity to banks on how to apply a risk-based approach to charities and other non-profit organizations.

The joint fact sheet highlights the importance of ensuring that legitimate charities have access to financial services and can transmit funds through legitimate and transparent channels, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic.  Also, the joint fact sheet reminds banks to apply a risk-based approach to customer due diligence (CDD) requirements when developing the risk profiles of charities and other non-profit customers.  The fact sheet reaffirms that the application of a risk-based approach is consistent with existing CDD and other Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance requirements.

Hong Kong

No major updates this month.

Singapore

No major updates this month.

Other Jurisdictions

No major updates this month.