Top stories this week:
EU Delays Over 100 Level 2 Financial Regulations in Major Simplification move | U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Halbank Appeal
Welcome to this week's edition of the KYC Roundup, your gateway to the most impactful developments in the world of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and financial crime. In the AML arena, the European Commission has delayed more than 100 Level-2 financial regulations, while U.S. regulators move to remove ‘reputational risk’ from bank supervision frameworks.
In the fast-paced world of sanctions, OFAC has targeted a fentanyl network linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, and Ireland is prepared to soften proposed sanctions on Israel following domestic business pressure.
In the corruption arena, the U.S. has lifted sanctions on Paraguay’s former president Horacio Cartes.
We round off this week’s roundup with details of our new blog series: Comply and Outperform.
KYC & AML
EU delays over 100 Level 2 finance measures
The European Commission has published a package of more than 100 ‘de-prioritised’ Level 2 regulatory measures in the financial services space as part of a simplification drive. The move reflects concerns amongst European Commission leadership over the growing volume of new AML and financial regulations and aims to ease pressure on the EU’s regulation implementation pipeline.
U.S. regulators move to remove ‘reputational risk’ from supervisory framework The OCC and FDIC have issued a joint notice of proposed rulemaking to remove ‘reputational risk’ as a standalone supervisory category and align supervision more closely with material safety and soundness risks. The agencies stated that the proposal is intended to focus supervision on measurable prudential risk.
U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Halbank appeal The U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up an appeal by Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank seeking to block U.S. criminal charges alleging it helped Iran evade sanctions, clearing the way for the prosecution to move forward.
Dutch banks expect to cut around 2,600 AML jobs At a finance conference in Driebergen, Dutch banking leaders said they plan to reduce compliance staff as AI tools are increasingly deployed to handle routine money-laundering checks.
Sanctions
U.S. Treasury sanctions an illicit fentanyl supply network linked to the Sinaloa cartel The U.S. Treasury’s OFAC designated multiple individuals and entities tied to an illicit fentanyl supply chain that supports the Sinaloa cartel as part of targeted counternarcotics actions.
Ireland set to weaken planned sanctions on Israel after business pressure Ireland is poised to blunt elements of a previously advanced sanctions bill targeting certain Israeli-settlement goods, following lobbying and pressure from domestic business groups concerned about investor impact.
Corruption
U.S. lifts sanctions on Paraguay’s ex-President Horacio Cartes The U.S. Treasury’s OFAC removed Cartes and several related entities from its SDN listings, reversing sanctions that had been imposed in 2023 over alleged corruption.
KYC360 News
Comply and Outperform: Series
In this blog series, we examine how strong AML/KYC systems can be more than just defences. They can also be drivers of efficiency, trust, and competitive advantage. In the first instalment we revisit the lessons learned from the FinCEN files leak.
Your latest weekly update from the worlds of money laundering, legislation and regulation, sustainability, gaming and gambling, crypto and sanctions.
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