News
Austrac’s Dinging of PayPal May Draw Attention of Other Regulators, Say Consultants
By Brian Monroe
printA recent penalty by an Australian financial regulator against e-commerce site PayPal for weak anti-money laundering controls could prod U.S. regulators to more closely scrutinize companies with similar business models. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) said on Nov. 23 that it had issued an enforcement action against the Australian division of the online payment processor for "breaches of Australia's anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing laws (CTF)," specifically citing how PayPal Australia determines the risk of its customers. PayPal, which has 200 million accounts and operates in more than a dozen countries, has "contravened and continues to...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
PayPal will pay the U.S. Treasury Department nearly $7.7 million for processing hundreds of transactions in violation of sanctions against weapons proliferators.
Large banks need to clearly delineate which senior executives are responsible for Bank Secrecy Act compliance violations, the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency said in a speech Monday.
An influential Senate subcommittee will hear testimony on tax evasion through offshore banks, Switzerland agrees to follow automatic data exchange standards and more, in this week's news roundup.
Last year, I told you not to believe any of that "best of years, worst of years" stuff à la Charles Dickens with regard to 2012. But if 2013 was less eventful than the prior year, every indication is that 2014 will be "challenging" for financial institutions and regulators.
The U.S. Justice Department seizes digital funds tied to an Internet black market, Republicans line up behind effort to fight FATCA and more, in this week's news roundup.
Ahead of expected anti-money laundering regulations for investment advisers, some private equity firms may find themselves subject to such oversight for a reason few would have guessed: their fee structures.
Lawmakers should expand financial safe harbor protections to allow banks to better share their suspicions about money laundering and its predicate crimes, a top U.S. regulatory official said Sunday.
Amid all of the political rhetoric and bombast that accompanied television coverage of the 16-day government shutdown last month, one question never seemed to get any airtime: what did it all mean for the financial compliance industry?
JPMorgan Chase launches AML SWAT team as the bank's legal costs mount, Turkey blacklists over 350 entities in an effort to comply with United Nations sanctions, and more, in this week's news roundup.
The United States has done little to address gaps identified in 2006 by an international anti-money laundering watchdog, despite a follow-up national review expected within the next two years, say consultants.
U.S. lawmakers threaten to impose sanctions on Russia for harboring Edward Snowden, Switzerland transfers $962 million for backdated taxes, and more, in this week's news roundup.
As the compliance expectations of European regulators grow, banks should proactively move to adopt future changes outlined in proposals for the EU's Fourth Money Laundering Directive, according to the former global head of compliance at ABN Amro.
The decision by PayPal early last month to freeze the account of a British blogger reflects the compliance uncertainties companies face when processing donations, say consultants.
Canada's primary financial regulator is looking into whether Bank of Montreal violated anti-money laundering rules following the issuance of two enforcement actions Friday by federal U.S. agencies, a spokesperson confirmed.
The median salaries of compliance officers tasked with identifying money laundering and other financial crimes rose nearly six percent from 2011 to 2012, according to an industry survey released Thursday.
Some jurisdictions will likely struggle to comply with a call by the world's top anti-money laundering watchdog to assess their own vulnerabilities to financial crime, say industry experts.
A group of investigative journalists reveal the identities of thousands of suspected tax evaders, U.S. prosecutors increasingly turn to a civil fraud statute to prosecute money launderers, and more, in this week's news roundup.
Citigroup, Inc. must improve its anti-money laundering compliance risk management across business lines and subsidiaries, under a consent order disclosed Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Board.
A federal judge's ruling that online auctioneer eBay is not responsible for determining whether items sold on its website are counterfeit is likely to increase online vulnerabilities to money launderers, say analysts.
A U.S. prosecutor in eastern Missouri has used a powerful money laundering law that was strengthened by the USA Patriot Act to threaten PayPal with criminal and civil charges for transmitting criminal proceeds.