Germany's financial regulator is more thoroughly reviewing how domestic banks vet their correspondent clients amid reports of Deutsche Bank's indirect ties to illicit finance in the Baltic states, sources familiar with the agency's objectives told ACAMS moneylaundering.com.
The rigor with which real estate agents, notaries and even bankers in Germany pinpoint and report suspicious property transactions has come into question amid indications that criminals are increasingly using residential and commercial land deals to launder their profits, say sources.
Germany’s financial intelligence unit has cleared a backlog of thousands of unprocessed suspicious transaction reports, or STRs, but still faces an uphill struggle to regain the confidence of bankers and compliance officers, sources told ACAMS moneylaundering.com.