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MONEYVAL publishes 5th enhanced follow-up report and technical compliance re-rating on the Slovak Republic

Serbia has taken positive steps towards improving its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regime, in particular concerning compliance with the Financial Action Task Force’s Recommendation 15 on virtual assets and virtual assets service providers.

GI-TOC’s Pacific Programme maps how organised crime is impacting the Pacific Islands and exploring the different criminal actors driving illicit activities

Pacific islands have traditionally been considered as mostly immune from high levels of criminality due to their geographic remoteness. However, highly pernicious illicit markets are taking hold, and the islands are becoming increasingly vulnerable to new threats in the form of cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crimes and the introduction of new narcotics, to mention just two examples…

OCCPR: France indicts nephew of Lebanon’s Former Central Bank Governor as part of a wider money laundering probe into Salame

Ex governor Salame has been accused of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from Lebanon’s central bank in a scheme that spanned more than a decade. Much of this money was allegedly invested in property across Europe, prosecutors say. Several properties and assets worth almost US$100 million were first revealed by previous OCCRP investigations…

Hong Kong SFC warns public against unlicensed virtual asset trading platform MEXC

SFC has taken a firm stance against cryptocurrency exchange MEXC by adding it to its cautionary list issued on 15th March. This development highlights the SFC’s vigilance in ensuring compliance within the crypto industry, especially regarding licensing requirements for operating in Hong Kong…

AUSTRAC commences investigation into online betting company bet365

The investigation will focus on whether bet365 has complied with its obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act) and follows a supervisory campaign of entities within the corporate bookmaker sector and AUSTRAC’s consideration of the external audit report received following AUSTRAC’s order to bet365 to appoint an external auditor.

US DoJ charges India and New Jersey-based jeweller with multimillion-dollar international trade fraud scheme and unlicensed money transmitting

Shah engaged in a scheme to evade duties for shipments of jewelry from Turkey and India to the US. Shah would ship or instruct his conspirators to ship goods from Turkey or India – which would have been subject to an approximately 5.5 percent duty if shipped directly to the US – to one of Shah’s companies in South Korea…

EAG publishes First Follow-up Report on the Russian Federation

Outlines re-rating of Russia of Four Recommendations following progress between October 2019 and July 2023.

IMF publishes detailed assessment report on AML/CFT in the British Virgin Islands

Analyses the level of compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 Recommendations and the level of effectiveness of VI’s AML/CFT system and provides recommendations on how the system could be strengthened.

MONEYVAL publishes Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation report on Azerbaijan

Notes that conversion from intelligence obtained through suspicious transactions reports (STRs) and other reports into case investigations and ultimately prosecutions is insufficient. The absence of a beneficial ownership framework is also remarked upon.

CFTAF publishes Mutual Evaluation Report on the British Virgin Islands

Finds that the overall understanding of ML/TF  risks is “fair and narrow”, although most prosecutions comprise simple cases of possession of cash proceeds derived for drug trafficking.

FINTRAC updates guidance related to the ministerial directive on financial transactions associated with Russia

This guidance is related to the Ministerial Directive issued by the Minister of Finance that was published in the Canada Gazette and came into force on February 24, 2024.

Singapore’s biggest money laundering case tests city’s weak property market

A mass sale of prized real estate seized in Singapore’s biggest money-laundering case is set to provide a key test of demand for a niche part of the financial hub’s property market. More than a dozen so-called shophouses, each worth millions of dollars, have been put on sale as the nation’s largest bank, DBS Group Holdings, steps up efforts to reduce…