The case against TD Bank, Egmont’s judgment in taking UAE donation questioned and major new role for Patricia Sullivan

CANADA’s second biggest lender TD Bank may wish to revise its strategy of saying nothing about the AML problems which forced it to jettison the takeover of a US bank. There is now a steady flow of information coming out about its woes in the US – including allegations bank leadership knew six months in advance about the money laundering issues but chose not to reveal them publicly. It’s now also emerged an employee in a New Jersey branch is accused of taking bribes from a Colombian drugs gang, opening accounts for them and issuing debit cards – then used in 17,000 ATM withdrawals, accounting for $1.9M in cash. We have the full story for?AML Intelligence?Members.

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It’s fair to say that eyebrows were raised this week when the Egmont Group of FIUs took a “substantial” but undisclosed donation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Remember #Egmont is the organisation that acts as the central body for some 170 police Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) around the world. There are a number of issues around the donation acceptance. First, the #UAE is still on FATF’s greylist. Second, the country is accused of giving safe harbour to international crime bosses – such as the Kinahan cartel leaders, each of whom have bounties of $5M from the US Treasury Department; the country is also known for its excruciating extradition processes. Finally, UAE is accused of acting as a clearing house for Russian dirty money and even facilitating arms shipments. Moreover, last year the Emiratis hosted Egmont’s annual conference at a glittering convention centre in Abu Dhabi.

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There have been a flurry of calls from Anti-Financial Crime commentators for Egmont to come clean on the quantum of the donation – and also the donation from other entities. At the same time, defenders say Egmont is cash and resource starved and urgently requires funding. It’s a story that isn’t going away – and one that requires at the very least transparency from a body that needs to stand for the highest principles of probity.

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In Britain this week the Home Office has published its guidelines for banks on closing suspicious accounts of below ￡1,000. You’ve still got to tell the #NCA, says the guidance.?

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Also in the UK, global law firm Clyde & Co was hit with a hefty fine of ￡500K for multiple breaches of money laundering regulations linked to a long-standing client. We follow the twists and turns of this case. In another UK case, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) fined Iain Mark Hunter, former CEO of Wyelands Bank Plc, for multiple breaches of the PRA's conduct rules.?

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Hearings with the nine bidding cities for AMLA take place at the European Parliament later this month. Parliamentarians will quiz the various cities about why they should win the prize of up to 750 well-paid EU jobs and up to 10,000 more jobs in bank and FSI compliance roles. ?

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In other news, AFC veteran Patricia Sullivan has taken on a powerful new role with #Deutsche Bank as the lender’s global head of Institutional Cash Management (ICM).?Congratulations?Patricia!

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Now here's your Friday news digest:

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THE US CASE AGAINST TD BANK:?THE FULL details of the US case against a TD Bank employee for money laundering have been?disclosed?in court documents. It is not yet clear if the case against New Jersey-based #TD staffer Oscar Nunez-Flores is the specific case that spectacularly scuttled the Canadian lender's takeover of a US bank. The bank has continued to remain silent on what specific US anti-money-laundering investigation led to its disclosure to shareholders in August.

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'GREYLISTED' UAE’s ‘SUBSTANTIAL DONATION’ TO EGMONT:?GREYLISTED UAE has made a "substantial donation" to the?funding?of the body representing the world's police Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). The Egmont Group of FIUs represents most of the main FIUs and held its most recent annual conference at a glittering venue in Abu Dhabi. On Wednesday, the Egmont Group announced it had received "a substantial donation from the United Arab Emirates Financial Intelligence Unit (UAEFIU) to help support the Egmont Centre of FIU Excellence and Leadership (ECOFEL) Program."

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UK SARS GUIDANCE:?BRITAIN's Home Office on Wednesday, issued?guidance?on money laundering reporting obligations on accounts under ￡1,000. The guidance reminds banks the Defence Against AML (DAML) exemption does not mean an account with a balance under ￡1,000 can be closed and funds returned where there is a suspicion of money laundering without reporting it. "It's a reminder you cannot just close a suspicious account and return the funds if the balance is under ￡1,000. You must also report it to the National Crime Agency (NCA)," one expert said.

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BRITISH LAW FIRM FINED:?Global law firm Clyde & Co was?fined?￡500,000 ($635,613) on Thursday for multiple breaches of money laundering regulations relating to a long-standing client. The London-founded firm admitted it failed to conduct adequate due diligence on a shipping industry client – identified only as Company A – in relation to 14 transactions between 2014 and 2018.

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BREACHED CONDUCT RULES:?The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has fined Mr Iain Mark Hunter, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wyelands Bank Plc (Wyelands), for multiple?breaches?of the PRA's conduct rules. Mr Hunter has been fined a total of ￡118,808 by the #PRA for violating three PRA Conduct Rules during the period from 7 March 2016 to 28 May 2020.

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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT FRAUD PREVENTION EFFORTS:?Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are set to?examine?the ongoing efforts to combat fraud within the EU budget and delve into the monitoring procedures surrounding the utilization of funds by non-governmental organizations (NGOs).? A draft report, scheduled for a plenary vote on Thursday, highlighted the alarming revelation that EU funds were subject to fraudulent or irregular expenditure in 2022.

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COMMERZBANK PARTNERS WITH GLOBAL PAYMENTS:?German lender #Commerzbank and Global Payments on Thursday said they were?setting?up a joint venture controlled by the U.S. payments firm to serve small retailers in the euro zone's biggest economy. Atlanta-based Global Payments already partners with Spain's #CaixaBank and Austria's #Erste Group Bank in Europe.

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DEUTSCHE'S NEW ICM GLOBAL HEAD:?Deutsche Bank’s fincrime chief Patricia Sullivan has been?appointed?the lender’s new global head of Institutional Cash Management (ICM). On January 1, Ms Sullivan moved from her role as bank's global head of financial crime and compliance business control after two-and-half years.

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Have a great Friday ??

Stephen?and the team at AMlintelligence.