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The invasion of Ukraine by Russia risks undermining AML/CFT, said FATF in its post-plenary communiqué issued in March. (1) But how this unprovoked military action will disrupt the policing and detection of dirty money remains to be seen, noted Carol Van Cleef, chair of the blockchain and digital assets practice, at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, Washington DC.…

The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly today (March 9) for a European Union (EU)-wide ban on golden passports or citizenship by investment (CBI) schemes by 2025. In a 595 for, 12 against and 74 abstentions vote, MEPs approved a report on ‘citizenship and residence by investment schemes’ (1) which said schemes operated by 12 EU countries (2) “pose several serious security risks for Union citizens” notably corruption and money laundering.…

To go after the money launderers, should law enforcement efforts be more oriented towards intervention in laundering networks to disrupt the movement and hiding of dirty money? Many AML specialists say yes – absolutely.

There is so much money to target.…

The European Union (EU) has launched potentially crippling sanctions against Russia’s iron and steel industry, banning imports to the EU. It bought 753,958 tonnes of Russian pig iron and 1.4 million tonnes of Russian steel slab in 2020. The move is part of a fourth wave of sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU Council of Ministers over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which by March 15 had killed at least 636 civilians, said the UN.…

Turkey’s clothing manufacturing sector, the world’s fifth largest garment exporter, after China, the European Union, Vietnam and Bangladesh has (1) rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic and has set its sights on overtaking its rivals. The industry has been investing in new machinery and capitalising on the trend for near-shoring.…

The Vietnamese apparel sector is a great success story, but to maintain its strong position, the country will have to build backward linkages, while mitigating some deep-rooted cost and labour challenges. Data from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) shows that from the 1990s, the country’s garment industry has risen from a low base to overtaking Bangladesh’s exports’ sales in 2020, with USD29 billion overseas sales revenues, ranking second worldwide.…

A senior lawyer in Brazil who has defended criminals accused of money laundering has told MLB how the Lava Jato cases which highlighted massive public corruption have pushed launderers towards using crypto-currency to hide dirty money.

But even though the Lava Jato task force was officially disbanded in 2021, Pierpaolo Bottini, partner at São Paulo-based Bottini & Tamasauskas Advogados, and a former director of the Economic Criminal Law of the Brazilian Institute of Criminal Sciences said this abuse of crypto has been highlighted by cases he is defending. …

The Russian government, business and wealthy oligarchs have been hit by more European Union (EU) and UK sanctions as their military continues to invade Ukraine – the UN confirming 474 civilian deaths by today (March 10) and Ukraine’s government saying more than 10,000 Russian troops have been killed.…

China’s fast fashion cross-border e-commerce fashion retailer Shein is little known within China but its profile overseas continues to rise, with Reuters reports estimating the company may have generated about Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY100 billion (USD15.7 billion) in revenue in 2021 as the Covid-19 pandemic shifted global consumption online.…

The Chinese government has been hindering international infant formula brands by encouraging the growth of domestic manufacturers while failing in its attempt to boost the birth rate, reducing overall demand.

The government has been rolling out its Action Plan for the Promotion of Domestic Infant Milk Formula published in May 2019, involving stricter manufacturing quality standards to improve faith in Chinese brands such as Feihe.…