Regulatory Compliance Journal
How to write the perfect SAR?
Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) drafted by financial institutions contain some of the most valuable information available to law enforcement agencies in the fight against financial crime. Yet, the FinCEN Files scandal of 2020 has shown that major banks have consistently failed to write and s...
- 11 min read
Why do most AML programs fail?
Despite the consistent efforts adopted by banks to fight money laundering and financial crime, fines for AML breaches have hit an all-time high. In 2020, financial institutions were fined a grand total of $15.13 billion (€12.79 billion) worldwide, a 51.3% increase compared to 2019, with U...
- 10 min read
What are the impacts of Financial Data Leaks?
In the past decade, a series of leaks from insider sources have shed light on the complex systems of money laundering, tax evasion, and fraud perpetrated by certain countries and wealthy individuals. The profound work carried out by international journalists in publishing the wrongdoings have ...
- 10 min read
AML: What is adverse media or negative news?
The digital era has given KYC analysts unprecedented access to a plethora of information on individuals and companies. Newspaper articles, online blogs, and social media are accessible and filterable with one click and may reveal important news on a financial institution’s customer. However, ...
- 11 min read
Financing terrorism: The billion-dollar blood antiquities art dealing
The destruction of the ancient city of Palmyra and the beheading of its Antiquities Chief, Khaled al-Asaad, in 2015 by the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq & Syria (ISIS) are still fresh in the minds of many. Beginning in 2014, the terrorist group has wrecked havoc across the Middle East and...
- 10 min read
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KYC Business: tax havens, embargoes & sanctioned countries
Financial Sanctions, OECD, Financial firms, KYC, Compliance, Tax Havens, Red Flags, AML, Risk Based Approach, EU, Corruption, Know your Customer,Each year we are entitled to different lists about tax havens issued by governments or international organisations, but what is the difference between these lists? In March 2019, the European Union updated its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdi...
RBA - Risk Based Approach: strengths and weaknesses
RBA, Risk Based Approach, Risk, Financial firms, AML, Conduct Risk, Risk Management, GAFI, Financial Institutions, Due Diligence, EWRA, Anti Money Laundering, Compliance, Terrorism Financing,In today’s financial challenging environment, institutions are exposed to numerous economic abuses making it necessary to activate preventive measures to decrease the risks. Among these, money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF), corruption, ...
Intro to DLU4: Foreign accounts and Fiscal Regularisation
Reporting, Tax Havens, Belgium, Consultant, Ethics, EU, Compliance expert,What is DLU and how has it evolved through the years?DLU stands for "Déclaration Libératoire Unique", which is a Single Discharge Declaration. By introducing the DLU concept, the scope of the Belgian tax authority was to give a chance, to people w...