AML News - April 2024

Australia

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC)

• Announced the release of a second consultation on proposed AML/CTF reforms. A key element of the reforms is to expand Australia’s AML/CTF regime to include additional industries. Feedback is due on 13 Jun 2024.

New Zealand

Department of Internal Affairs (DIA)

• Issued new and updated guidelines on Customer Due Diligence, Enhanced Customer Due Diligence, and Beneficial Ownership ahead of the regulations due to come into effect from 1 Jun 2024.

Canada

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada (FINTRAC)

• Implemented the new Suspicious Transaction Report Form, which can now be submitted through FINTRAC's API report submission tool.
• Published new technical resource documents to help reporting entities prepare for changes to the Electronic Funds Transfer Report Form and the Casino Disbursement Report Form.

United Kingdom

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

• Issued a consultation paper on proposed updates to the Financial Crime Guide in relation to sanctions, proliferation financing and transaction monitoring. Comments on the consultation are due by 27 Jun 2024.

National Crime Agency 

• Published the Annual Statistical Report on Suspicious Activity Reports. The report covers April 2022 to March 2023. SAR submissions were down 5% from the previous year, with the decrease in submissions from high street banks driving the reduction.

European Union

European Parliament

• Announced that the United Arab Emirates and other countries (Gibraltar, Panama, Uganda) will remain on its list of high risk third countries despite being removed from the FATF's list of Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring (i.e. the "grey list").

European Council 

• Announced the adoption of the EU law criminalising the violation or circumvention of EU sanctions. Certain actions will now be considered criminal offences in all member states, for example, helping to bypass a travel ban, trading in sanctioned goods or performing prohibited financial activities. Inciting, aiding and abetting these offences can also be penalised.

United States

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

• Issued a reminder to Financial Institutions to remain vigilant in identifying and reporting suspicious activity related to environmental crimes. Environmental crimes frequently involve transnational criminal activity related to several of FinCEN’s AML/CFT National Priorities, including corruption, fraud, human trafficking, and drug trafficking.
• Announced the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs), which require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in non-financed purchases of residential real estate.

Department of the Treasury (OFAC)

• Announced the termination of the Zimbabwe Sanctions Regulations. This ends the Zimbabwe sanctions regime, which started in Mar 2003 and was issued in response to the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and other persons to undermine Zimbabwe’s democratic processes or institutions.

Hong Kong 

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

• Issued key observations and good practices identified in a recent thematic review of Authorized Institutions’ (AIs) transaction monitoring (TM) systems. The review examined the end-to-end processes of design, implementation and optimisation of AIs’ TM systems, including governance and oversight, data quality, detection scenario, threshold setting and periodic review with a focus on strengthening effectiveness and output into the AML/CFT eco-system.

Singapore

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

• Expanded the scope of regulated entities to include digital payment token (DPT) service providers. The amendments will empower MAS to impose requirements relating to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, user protection, and financial stability on DPT service providers.
• Launched COSMIC, the first centralised digital platform to facilitate the sharing of customer information among financial institutions (FIs) to combat ML/TF globally. Information sharing is currently voluntary and focused on three key financial crime risks in commercial banking, namely: (a) misuse of legal persons; (b) misuse of trade finance for illicit purposes; and (c) proliferation financing.

South Africa

Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC)

• Published a report on a terrorist financing risk assessment for the non-profit organisation (NPO) sector that will result in focused, proportionate, and risk-based measures to mitigate the identified risks. The sector risk assessment is in line with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) global standards to combat ML/TF, as well as South Africa’s follow-up action plan to address grey-listing by the FATF in 2023.

Other Jurisdictions

No major updates this month.