KYC/AML/CTF information for 15/December/2022 - 14/January/2023
Here is the most relevant KYC/AML/CTF information for the period 15/December/2022 - 14/January/2023.
??1/[15/December/2022] German AML chief resigns amid row over backlog. German media reported?? that the FIU was sitting on a backlog of more than 100,000 unprocessed SAR that had been growing since early 2020. This was at odds with a statement Schulte (the head of FIU) gave to parliament in February, when he stated that there was no processing delay. The government acknowledged that the FIU did not disclose the backlog to the FATF, that from November 2021 to June 2022 evaluated Germany’s anti-money laundering controls.
??2/[16/December/2022] EU issued?? the 9th package of sanctions against Russia following the Ukraine invasion. The most important (new) measures include bans on 1??investments in the mining sector 2??exports of drone engines 3??exports of dual-use goods and technology 4??provision of advertising, market research and public opinion polling services 5??transactions with the Russian Regional Development Bank 6??broadcasting for four additional Russian outlets 7??additional 141 individuals and 49 entities (among which Credit Bank of Moscow & Far Eastern Bank).
??3/[19/December/2022] Canada seizes?? , for the first time, $26M of Granite Capital Holdings Ltd, a company owned and controlled by designated Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
??4/ [19/December/2022] US New Illicit Drug Trade Sanctions Regulations. Following the declaration of international drug trafficking as US national threat by the US President (Ex.O.14059/12.15.22), OFAC issued?? a new regulation "Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade". OFAC will supplement these regulations with interpretive guidance, definitions, general licenses, and other regulatory provisions.
??5/[22/December/2022] US-FINCEN published?? Financial Activity by Russian Oligarchs in 2022. The conclusions are: 1??Russian oligarchs moved or transferred funds and assets around the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Several Russian oligarchs transferred beneficial ownership of their companies, trusts, or accounts to their children, other family members, or close business associates 2??Russian oligarchs purchased high-value goods or property. This included jewelry, art, and property or real estate in other countries leading up to the invasion.?Residential or commercial real estate, specifically in Turkey and the UAE, has increasingly become a safe haven for Russian wealth, both legitimate and illicit, since the beginning of the Russian invasion. 3??Potential changes in longstanding oligarch-linked financial flows related to U.S. properties and companies. Several oligarchs moved funds from accounts in Russia to accounts in other countries, and used the funds for property-related expenses. While this activity is not inherently illegal or suspicious, the source of funds from Russia was unknown and could be linked to corruption.
??6/[24/December/2022] Canada-FINTRAC issued?? an Operational Alert regarding terrorist activity financing in order to support reporting entities in recognizing financial transactions suspected of being related to terrorist activity financing. The report contains 54 indicators reflecting the types and patterns of transactions, along with contextual factors, that are grouped in 3 main categories:1??Indicators of terrorist activity financing in relation to domestic terrorism; 2??Indicators of terrorist activity financing in relation to support of international terrorist groups; 3??Indicators of terrorist activity financing in relation to extremist travelers.
??7/[27/December/2022] OFAC updated regulatory interpretation?? in several sanctions programs’ regulations to explain that the property and interests of property of an entity are blocked if one or more blocked persons own, whether individually or in the aggregate, directly or indirectly, a 50 percent or greater interest in the entity.
??8/[29/December/2022] Dutch banks introduce new fees for AML checks. Banks say?? the monthly charge is needed to pay for the extra checks they have to make for AML&CTF. High risk customers are being asked to pay additional banking fees to cover the cost of AML investigations. ABN Amro, ING and SNS have already introduced the new fees and Rabobank will follow soon.
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??9/[04/January/2023] The USA Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued?? a joint statement highlighting key risks to banks associated with crypto-assets and crypto-asset sector participants. Based on the events of the past year,?the statement highlights 1?? 8 key risks associated with crypto-assets that could affect banks 2??reminds banks to engage in robust supervisory discussions with their supervisory office regarding proposed and existing crypto-asset-related activities 3??reminds banks that, before launching crypto-asset-related activities, banks should ensure that an activity can be performed in a safe and sound manner, is legally permissible, complies with applicable laws and regulations, and can be conducted in a manner that is fair to consumers.
??10/[06/January/2023] Coinbase will pay a $50 million penalty to New York State DFS for significant failures in its compliance program that violated virtual currency, money transmitter, transaction monitoring, and cybersecurity regulations?? . These failures made the Coinbase platform vulnerable to serious criminal conduct, including, among other things, examples of fraud, possible money laundering, suspected child sexual abuse material-related activity, and potential narcotics trafficking. In addition to the penalty, Coinbase has agreed to invest an additional $50 million in its compliance function over the next two years to remediate the issues and to enhance its compliance program pursuant to a plan approved by DFS.
??11/[10/January/2023] In response to a question from a member of the European Parliament, the European Commission communicated?? that, as of 16 December 2022, EU Member States had reported a total of €18.9 billion of frozen assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs and entities.
??12/[12/January/2023] Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/66?? amending Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2021/821 regarding the list of dual-use items was published in the EU Official Journal. The updated EU control??list??includes??new??entries in the following sectors: 1??electronics, semiconductors and?computers? 2??chemical?and?biological? 3??aerospace and propulsion.
??13/[14/January/2023] FinCEN issued?? an alert on human smuggling.??This alert?provides : 1??modus operandi of human smuggling networks 2??3 illicit finance typologies 3?? 8 financial red flag indicators.????According to the Homeland Security human smuggling along the US SW border generates an estimated $2 billion to $6 billion in yearly revenue for these illicit actors.
?? In the attached PDF file?? find more information (120 records) organized by all categories of information (including mass-media) required for risk assessment at company level (EWRA) in accordance with EBA/GL/2021/02 .
Romanian Version /Limba Romana ??