EBA reports 143 ‘serious’ AML breaches over three months in EU banks, lessons from Singapore and much more...

THE EUROPEAN Banking Authority has reported 143 serious AML breaches across 57 banks during the summer period.?Most material weaknesses relate to institutions’ customer due diligence (CDD) policies and procedures, and in particular weaknesses in institutions’ approaches to transaction monitoring. Fines and administrative pecuniary sanctions were the most common penalties applied. The most serious measure applied between June and August was the withdrawal of authorisation of a bureau de change, the authority said.

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Britain’s FCA on Tuesday imposed restrictions on rebuildingsociety.com Ltd to restrict it from approving cryptoasset financial promotions. The authority used its powers under section 55L of the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) to impose the restrictions, preventing the society from acting for Binance in the UK. The FCA can impose requirements on a firm in circumstances where it concludes that it is necessary to do so to advance one or more of the FCA's operational objectives, which includes securing an appropriate degree of consumer protection.

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PUBLIC Private Partnerships (PPPs) must play a greater?role?in fighting financial crime, said Jim Lee , the US's chief of IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI). Lee was speaking at an AML conference in the Netherlands and discussed what Europe can learn from the US. Chief Lee began and ended his speech with a phrase taught to him by FIOD colleague Niels Obbink: “Eendracht maakt macht” which means, “Unity, makes strength.”

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SINGAPORE's banks are taking longer than usual to perform due diligence on clients and closing accounts in some cases, sources said, as procedures tighten after the financial hub's biggest money laundering scandal, which involved $2 billion in assets. We have a special report on the fallout and reaction.

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A SIGNIFICANT challenge to the development of good AML systems is the unavailability of real, publicly accessible data sets with bank transactions. Could synthetic data generation may be a possible solution, asks Rasmus Ingemann Tuffveson Jensen in article for AML Intelligence. ?The approach seeks to harness statistical relationships from real data via probabilistic, machine learning, and artificial intelligence models. The models can then be used to synthesize new observations that may be shared publicly. He says SynthAML is a synthetic data set to benchmark and test AML methods. Unlike models based on hypothesized behavior, our dataset leverages statistical patterns in real AML alerts and transactions. While SynthAML might not perfectly mimic real money laundering patterns, it is an attempt to usher in open AML research and foster the development of sophisticated AML detection algorithms. Moreover, we believe that it can augment our collective understanding of money laundering patterns, trends, and risks. Read his special report on?AML Intelligence.

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Your news updates so far this week:

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EBA REPORTS 143 SERIOUS AML FAILURES:?THERE were 143 serious?AML?deficiencies across 57 European banks over the summer period, the European Banking Authority (EBA) revealed Tuesday. The disclosure came as the authority said operational risks remain a key concern in the bloc's banks. In its quarterly risk dashboard released this afternoon, the EBA said the two top risk drivers were ICT and cyber related risks along with AML- related shortcomings. Check out the story here:?EBA reports 143 serious AML failures across 57 EU banks over summer period

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BRIDGING THE AML GAP:?The legendary American?engineer?W. Edwards Deming once remarked: “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” The quote is an important (albeit uncomfortable) reminder for the field of AML, where regulation is rife but data-driven research is scarce. A significant challenge to the development of good AML systems is the unavailability of real, publicly accessible data sets with bank transactions. The problem, however, is not without reason. Read the story here:?How to bridge the AML data gap with synthetic data

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PPPS MUST PLAY A GREATER ROLE:?PUBLIC Private Partnerships (PPPs) must play a greater?role?in fighting financial crime, said Jim Lee, the US's chief of IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI). Lee was speaking at an AML conference in the Netherlands and discussed what Europe can learn from the US. Chief Lee began and ended his speech with a phrase taught to him by FIOD colleague Niels Obbink: “Eendracht maakt macht” which means, “Unity, makes strength.” Read the full story here:?Use PPPs for greater fincrime agility, urges IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) chief at Dutch AML conference

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CLOSING ACCOUNTS AND PROLONGED CDD:?SINGAPORE's banks are taking?longer?than usual to perform due diligence on clients and closing accounts in some cases, sources said, as procedures tighten after the financial hub's biggest money laundering scandal, which involved $2 billion in assets. Banks such as Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC) , Citigroup Inc and United Overseas Bank (UOB) are demanding more documents than usual in some cases to verify sources of wealth, two of the sources said. Also, wait times for wealthy individuals opening bank accounts have risen significantly from the one to three months typical before the scandal, said the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is sensitive. You can catch this breaking news-story here:?Closing accounts and prolonged CDD – how Singapore banks have responded to $2BN money laundering scandal

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INDIA ARRESTS VIVO EXEC:?India's financial crime agency?arrested?four industry executives including one Chinese national working for smartphone maker Vivo in India in a case of alleged money laundering, according to legal papers and lawyers working on the case. The arrest adds to the legal troubles of the Chinese phone maker in India and comes amid rising tensions between Beijing and New Delhi over issues ranging from border disputes to India's increasing scrutiny of Chinese businesses and investment. Find the full report here:?India arrests Vivo exec, three others in money laundering case

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Have a great Wednesday ??

Stephen?and the team at AMlintelligence.