Archive

The Covid-19 pandemic forced many AML/CFT practitioners to work remotely, forcing training away from the face-to-face learning that has been dominant in the past. But now, as the pandemic wanes, combining innovative remote AML/CFT learning practices developed during Covid-19 with longer established in-person training is under consideration.…

The publication in its official journal of the European Union’s (EU) sixth sanctions package against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine has shown the EU bent over backwards to secure unanimity in its agreed restrictions of Russian oil imports.

Not only have all pipeline imports of crude oil from Russia been excluded from sanctions for the time being, Bulgaria was excluded from an otherwise unanimous block on tankered crude oil imports, which in any case will be phased out over six months.…

A new paper on virtual assets (VAs) and related service providers (VASP) from FATF has warned that regulation is failing to prevent these instruments – including cryptocurrency – from being abused by money launderers and terror financiers.

Of particular concern is the slow implementation in law of FATF’s ‘travel rule’, which requires VASPs “to obtain, hold, and transmit required originator and beneficiary information, immediately and securely, when conducting VA transfers”.…

A spate of recent high-profile investigations into suspected money laundering through cryptocurrency and a failure to prevent it have drawn attention to the capacity of law enforcement to tackle AML/CFT activity in the crypto sphere.

In July 2021, the UK’s Metropolitan Police force in London said it had seized a record GBP180 million (USD219 million) worth of cryptocurrency linked to international money laundering.…

The creation crypto-currency units through the arcane process of ‘crypto-mining’ presents peripheral money laundering risks, during the initial validation of a crypto coin and where the transaction is mined. There could be a need for a new type of KYC – KYM, ‘Know Your Miner’.…

The publication in its official journal of the European Union’s (EU) sixth sanctions package against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine has shown the EU bent over backwards to secure unanimity in its agreed restrictions of Russian oil imports.

Not only have all pipeline imports of crude oil from Russia been excluded from sanctions for the time being, Bulgaria was excluded from an otherwise unanimous block on tankered crude oil imports, which in any case will be phased out over six months.…

Gaps in the international regulation of cryptocurrency and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) could aid money laundering, even in countries where these financial instruments are highly regulated, according to United States President Joe Biden. He warned in a March 9 Executive Order (1) on ensuring the responsible development of crypto assets that there was a need for international cooperation on crypto regulation if the US were to control its virtual currency-linked ML risks.…

Bangladesh’s knitwear industry has criticised the failings that caused a major fire at a storage depot holding clothing and textiles for export from the country’s major port at Chittagong, killing 44 people and losing sector companies more than USD110 million.

Mohammad Hatem, first vice-president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) expressed regret that despite the major improvements in factory safety made since the Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013, port facilities and associated depots were not covered by these investments.…

Sri Lanka’s clothing sector is “bracing for a 20-25 per cent drop in export earnings” between June to August thereby missing the USD6 billion export target set for 2022, as the country’s unprecedented political and economic crisis continues unabated, the country’s Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) has said.…

Sri Lanka’s clothing sector is “bracing for a 20-25 per cent drop in export earnings” between June to August thereby missing the USD6 billion export target set for 2022, as the country’s unprecedented political and economic crisis continues unabated, the country’s Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) has said.…