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The Economic Times: KYC rules to change: Uniform KYC for all – opening bank account to buying insurance to investing in stocks, mutual funds

This new system aims to simplify the verification process for various financial transactions, such as opening bank accounts, buying insurance, and investing in stocks or mutual funds. Currently, customers are required to provide separate KYC documents for each financial institution, leading to duplication and inconvenience…

Reuters: Top US official warns Austria over banking with Russia

Morris is the latest U.S. official to visit Austria, one of the European countries with the closest ties to Russia. Her stark warning represents another attempt to pressure RBI, which processes large volumes of payments to and from Russia…

Compliance Week: NYDFS fined cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust Company $37M over alleged compliance failures related to lapses in safety and soundness

As part of a settlement, Gemini committed to return at least $1.1 billion to customers of its “Earn” program through bankruptcy proceedings for Genesis Global Capital, the NYDFS announced in a press release…

allAfrica: The Central Bank of Nigeria revokes the operational licences of 4,173 Bureaux De Change operators in the country over failure to adhere to AML/CTF Guidelines

The bank said the affected institutions failed to pay for licence renewal, submit returns or comply with CBN directives on anti-money laundering, countering financing of terrorism, and counter proliferation financing regulations. The CBN said it is revising the regulatory guidelines of BDCs…

Reuters: French banking watchdog flags possible fraud at Leonteq to prosecutors

As per the report, the watchdog noticed shortcomings in investment services company Leonteq’s disclosure of suspicious transactions to authorities, and insufficient checks linked to accounts and transactions of clients in high-risk countries, as determined by global money-laundering task force FATF…

Reuters: Bank of Japan Chief warns of financial risks amid Asia’s digitalisation surge

Digital financial services have spread dramatically in the Asia-Pacific region as many people living in emerging nations, who still do not have access to face-to-face financial services, jumped at the convenience of smartphones to make daily payments…

 

 

Euroactiv: EU sanctions on Russia ‘massively circumvented’ via third countries

A research note by the Lille-based IÉSEG School of Management found “statistical evidence that the EU sanctions are massively circumvented” for so-called “high priority items”, which are subject to EU export restrictions and include manufacturing equipment and electrical components with potential military applications…

The Guardian: UK Home Office accused of cover-up over ‘golden visas’ for super-rich Russians

The government has been accused of a cover-up for refusing to publish a review of the so-called golden visa scheme that allowed wealthy investors, including at least 10 sanctioned Russian oligarchs, to take up residency in the UK. The Tier 1 visa scheme, whereby super-rich individuals…

The Brussels Times: Over 260 tonnes of russian timber entered Belgium in breach of EU sanctions

At least 261 tonnes of timber were imported into Belgium from Russia despite sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian timber imports were banned in the fifth round of EU sanctions, ratified by Member States in April 2022. After a period of grace allowing importers to honour contracts, a strict embargo has been in force since July 2022…

Jurist: UK court finds Mozambique president cannot be sued in UK over bribery allegations

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi cannot be sued in English courts over allegations that he accepted unlawful bribery payments as part of Mozambique’s “tuna bond” scandal, according to a decision from the English Court of Appeal. The money laundering scheme nearly crashed Mozambique’s economy and embezzled individuals worldwide…

The Art Newspaper: UK art market feeling the heat as anti-money laundering legislation ramped up

HMRC fined at least 31 art market participants from 10 January 2021, when it began supervising the art trade, to 31 March 2023, the latest period for which data is available. Of the 31 published fines, 30 are listed in the 15 months beginning 1 January 2022 – a rate of at least two fines per month…

The Payers: Lloyds to face AML controls investigation

Lloyds underlined that the investigation is related to its compliance with the ML regulations in the UK and the FCA’s rules and principles of business, focusing on its controls framework. The report mentions that the bank has been cooperating with the investigation…