TOP STORY

Apr

To Combat Opioid Epidemic, Congress Grants FinCEN New Blacklisting Power

Tucked into a bill that allocates tens of billions of dollars towards Ukraine’s defense is a provision that newly empowers U.S. officials to unilaterally designate foreign banks, accounts and transactions as a “primary money laundering concern” when linked to fentanyl trafficking.

More News

Weekly Roundup: AML Breaches Cost TD Bank, US Investigators Suspect Fentanyl Laundering Scheme, and More

Whistleblower draws attention to U.S. fintechs, U.K. authorities will auction seized artwork, and more, in the weekly roundup.

May 3, 2024

Netherlands Shelves AML Reforms After EU Adopts Single Rulebook

By Koos Couvée

Officials in the Netherlands have hit pause on sweeping anti-money laundering reforms first proposed five years ago after the EU adopted a regulation that will harmonize the application of AML rules across the bloc from 2027 onwards.

May 3, 2024

SAR Surge Inundates Switzerland’s FIU

By Gabriel Vedrenne

The annual volume of suspicious activity reports filed in Switzerland rose tenfold over the past decade, a surge that has brought MROS, the country's financial intelligence unit, to the "limits of its human and technical resources," the agency warned Thursday.

May 2, 2024

Midweek Roundup: Binance Founder Gets Light Sentence, TD Bank Anticipates $450 Million Penalty, and More

U.K. chancellor opposes FCA's name-and-shame strategy, Austrian regulators warn Raiffeisen Bank, and more, in the midweek roundup.

May 1, 2024

Republicans Take Aim at Corporate Transparency Act

By Fred Williams

Congressional Republicans have stiffened their opposition to the Corporate Transparency Act months after U.S. officials brought a key feature of the law online: a new, federal database of beneficial owners designed to block criminals from using shell companies to hide their finances.

May 1, 2024

Enforcement Actions

FINTRAC Fines Toronto-Dominion Bank CA$9,185,000 for AML/CTF Failures

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada penalized the Toronto, ON-based bank for failure to comply with the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, and related regulations.

May 2, 2024

FTC: BlueSnap Inc., BlueSnap Payment Services Ltd. Agree to Pay $10 Million for Credit Card Laundering, Fraud

The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement agreement with the Waltham, MA-based financial services company and its London-based payment services affiliate to resolve allegations of credit card laundering and fraud.

May 1, 2024

Legs & Regs

UK Announces Sanctions on Violent Settlers in West Bank

The U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced sanctions targeting four individuals and two groups that have incited, supported, and perpetrated violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

May 3, 2024

HMT Adds Four Individuals, Two Entities to Global Human Rights Sanctions List

HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation issued a notice concerning the addition of four individuals and two entities to the consolidated list pursuant to the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.

May 3, 2024

OFSI Amends One Russia Sanctions List Entry

HM Treasury’s Office of Sanctions Implementation amended one consolidated list entry pursuant to the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

May 3, 2024

OFAC Removes Two Entities, Seven Aircraft from Russia Sanctions List

The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department issued a notice concerning the removal of two entities and seven aircraft from the Specially Designated Nationals List with respect to Russia.

May 3, 2024

Financial Crime Matters: Finance Professor Discusses Crypto, DeFi

September 7, 2023

In the latest episode of Financial Crime Matters, Kieran Beer, editor in chief of ACAMS moneylaundering.com, and Seoyoung Kim, an associate professor of finance at Santa Clara University, discuss the U.S. legal and regulatory tangle over digital assets.

Edmund Fitton-Brown on Yemen and the Houthis

March 11, 2024

In the latest episode of Sanctions Space, Justine is joined by Edmund Fitton-Brown, senior advisor at the Counter Extremism Project and former U.K. ambassador to Yemen. They discuss the ongoing tensions in the Red Sea, the political situation in Yemen and the origin and aspirations of the Houthi group, as well as sanctions actions taken by the U.S. and others against the Houthis.

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DATE: 05/7/24 - 05/8/24

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Money laundering-related red flags associated with virtual assets and virtual asset service providers include:

A. The use of the same IP-address for a large number of seemingly unrelated virtual asset wallets.
B. Depositing virtual assets and then immediately withdrawing them.
C. Both A and B.
D. None of the above.