NatWest pays for nasty behaviour towards Compliance Officer undergoing cancer treatment, AML checks on Singapore’s family offices. Your mid-week news.

NATWEST bank in the UK has hardly filled itself with glory over the last few weeks. Following hot on the heels of the debacle involving the highly subjective de-risking of politician Nigel Farage, it’s been revealed the bank sacked a senior Risk & Compliance Officer just two days after her cancer surgery. Thankfully, an employment tribunal has seen through the sham firing and found that Adeline Willis was discriminated against over her illness. The Risk & Compliance Officer who had been earning ￡160,000pa has been awarded almost ￡90,000 after an internal report showed she was key to a new project but her manager felt her cancer treatment would affect roll-out of the project. Adeline, well done on your tenacity and victory at the tribunal! Not a nice look (again) #NatWest.

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In Spain three major banks have joined forces to fight financial fraud. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria?(BBVA), Banco Santander and #CaixaBank will support the development of new-build ‘FrauDfense’, which will be led out by ceo Carlos Requena and president for the first two-year term, Natalia Ortega Gómez of BBVA. Good luck all on this very interesting initiative which will we watch with interest.

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Over in Singapore the Monetary Authority has proposed tightening money laundering surveillance of family offices, which handle the financial affairs of the super rich. The authority has launched a public consultation on the changes, which include requiring Single Family Offices (SFOs) to hire an MAS-regulated financial institution to check for money laundering, as well as report on their total assets at the end of each calendar year.

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On the tech front, provider AML RightSource has?furthered its application of AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to allow AML practitioners to reduce time spent on labor intensive, low-value tasks and increase their ability to focus on risks that truly warrant attention.

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The newly advanced?Adverse Media Monitoring (AMM)?capability optimizes KYC and AML processes, addressing the inherent complexity and costs associated with manually conducting customer due diligence (CDD). AML RightSource says it has addressed these challenges with its industry-leading global database of adverse media information. The newly enhanced AMM capability draws on a proprietary media library across 220 jurisdictions and in 98 languages that boasts two billion searchable news articles with 800,000 articles and documents added daily from 15,000 curated risk-relevant sources. This bank of data sources surfaces risks that are hard to find and often missed by other solutions and is continuously enhanced via advanced technologies, says the company.?“Our team would remind you that we have been advancing AI since before it was cool,” added ceo Frank Ewing . That is true Frank.

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Stateside it is interesting to see the pushback from the Big Four who are resisting federal attempts to make them responsible to detecting fraud on behalf of investors. We report on how the world's biggest accounting firms are fighting the new US rules which will force them to take greater responsibility for uncovering fraud at clients.?Why are we not surprised? Then again it’s the Big Four so don’t underestimate their ability to influence. Read this dispatch from Alisha H. .

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Back to the NatWest saga where it’s been revealed (surprise, surprise) that Nigel Farage is taking legal action against the group over his astonishing de-risking by subsidiary Coutts Bank. This must be a case study already in many academic institutions on how not to deal with a PEP and de-banking. We’ve seen two bank ceos lose their jobs over the fiasco but the group still hasn’t agreed to apologise in person. Farage is rightly looking for a personal apology and a face-to-face meeting with bank leaders. We can’t believe this has still not happened. Wake up NatWest and take ownership of this very sorry saga before it drags on even further into the summer. As we are reminded by one former boss, it’s better to be counter-intuitive in these circumstances and offer an apology straight up when you’re wrong rather than go full on “into the bunker” defensive mode.

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Now for your mid-week news headlines:

NATWEST SACKED RISK & COMPLIANCE OFFICER DAYS AFTER CANCER SURGERY:?A SENIOR RISK & Compliance executive at NatWest bank who was?sacked?just two days after cancer surgery has received an almost ￡90,000 payout.?Adeline Willis (45) sued the bank for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal when she was made redundant from her ￡160,000-a-year role. Ms Willis was “humiliated” when her boss told her she was not needed at morning meetings on her first day back at work after having chemotherapy for colon cancer. Read the full story here:?Senior NatWest Risk & Compliance officer sacked two days after cancer surgery wins her discrimination case, awarded ￡90,000

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AML RIGHTSOURCE EXPANDS AI APPLICATION:?AML Right Source has furthered its?application?of AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to allow AML practitioners to reduce time spent on labour intensive tasks.?This new Adverse Media Monitoring (AMM) capability uses a proprietary media library that spans 220 jurisdictions and is available in 98 languages with two billion searchable news articles. 800,000 articles and documents are added each day by 15,000 curated risk-relevant sources.?“When matched with our world class AML?expertise, these solutions?become?the?key to reimagining compliance programs and fighting?financial crime?more efficiently and effectively,” said Chief Executive Officer at AML?RightSource, Frank Ewing.?We have the full story here:?AML RightSource advance AI innovation in compliance services

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SPANISH BANKS JOIN FORCES ON FRAUD:?Three Spanish banks have joined?forces?to exchange relevant information and data to help prevent financial crime.?Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria?(BBVA), Banco Santander and CaixaBank have created?FrauDfense, a company that will unite the anti-fraud initiatives at the three lenders. The new entity has been presented to the various supervisors and regulators.?In a statement, #BBVA revealed in the first phase, “the alliance will address the creation of an information exchange tool to share fraudulent ‘modus operandi’ and successful countermeasures.”?Find the story here:?Spanish banks join forces in the fight against financial crime

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BIG FOUR PUSH BACK ON FRAUD RESPONSIBILITY:?Several of the world's biggest accounting firms are fighting new US rules that would?force?them to take greater responsibility for uncovering fraud at clients.?During the final days of the consultation period for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) proposal, the Big Four accounting firms tried to rally their clients to oppose the plan. They claim audit fees will rise if the changes are implemented. New PCAOB rules will expand auditors' responsibilities to examine whether a company complies with laws and regulations, and to communicate more of their concerns to the board of directors.The proposal comes amid frustration in Washington that audit firms are not protecting investors from their clients' wrongdoing. Read the story here:?US audit industry fights against expansion of fraud detection role

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SIGNAPORE’S TACKLES AML IN FAMILY OFFICES:?Singapore's central bank said on Monday it was proposing?measures?to tighten money laundering surveillance of family offices, which handle the financial affairs of the super rich. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in a statement, said it had launched a public consultation on the changes, which include requiring Single Family Offices (SFOs) to hire an MAS-regulated financial institution to check for money laundering, as well as report on their total assets at the end of each calendar year. "These measures will allow MAS to better monitor SFOs operating in Singapore and address any ML (money laundering) risks in the sector," the statement said. Currently, SFOs can apply for certain exemptions, MAS said. Read the story here:?Singapore seeks to tighten money laundering audits for family offices

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RAIFFEISEN ATTEMPTS RUSSIA SPIN-OFF:?Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International AG , the largest Western lender still?operating?in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, is aiming for a spin-off of its business there by the end of 2023, its chief executive Johann Strobl said. The European Central Bank has been pressing RBI to unwind its highly profitable Russian business. And while the Austrian bank has long said it is working on a solution, it has delayed plans to leave Russia, #Reuters reported previously. Find this here:?Austria’s RBI aims for Russian spin-off by end-2023

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FARAGE LAUNCHES LEGAL ACTION:?Nigel Farage has revealed #Coutts has offered to?allow?him to keep his accounts, which amounts to a full reversal of course by the bank.?But the politician is now also embarking on legal action demanding a full apology, compensation and a face-to-face meeting with the bank’s new management. “I have today sent a legal litigation letter to Coutts where I want some full apologies, I want some compensation for my costs but — more important than all of that — I want a face-to-face meeting with the bank’s bosses,” Mr Farage said . Read the story here:?Farage launches legal action against Coutts Bank which is now allowing him to keep account

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CHINA ‘UNDERGROUND BANKING’ WARNING FROM CANADA’S FINTRAC:?CANADA watchdog the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) issued a?warning?last week warning regulators to be on the lookout for indicators of "underground banking schemes" that are primarily linked to China. One of the primary factors identified by #FINTRAC as a result of said schemes was “incoming wire transfers from entities or individuals in China, notably in Hong Kong, followed by the movement of these funds through financial institutions.”?Find the full story here:?Canada’s FINTRAC sends warning shot towards regulators linking to China

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SEC ASKS COINBASE TO TRADE ONLY BITCOIN:?The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had asked Coinbase to stop?trading?in all cryptocurrencies except bitcoin before suing the cryptocurrency platform in June, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing CEO Brian Armstrong . "We really didn't have a choice at that point. Delisting every asset other than bitcoin, which by the way is not what the law says, would have essentially meant the end of the crypto industry in the U.S.," Armstrong told the FT. Read the story here:?SEC asked Coinbase to trade only in bitcoin before suing crypto exchange

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Have a great Wednesday???

Stephen?and the team at AMlintelligence.