Top stories this week:
FCA Fines Starling Bank £29 million for AML Failings | UK Banks Handed New Powers to Delay Payments by Three Days to Combat Fraud
Welcome to this week's edition of the KYC Roundup, your gateway to the most impactful developments in the world of Anti-Money Laundering and financial crime. In the AML arena, Starling Bank was fined £29 million by the FCA for significant AML failings. While UK banks were handed new powers to delay payments by three days and TD Bank was reportedly close to a guilty plea in relation to its AML probe.
In the fast-paced world of sanctions, the U.S sanctioned cryptocurrency networks to curb money laundering and G7 leaders discussed applying fresh sanctions against Iran.
In the corruption space, the Former Singapore Transport Minister was sentenced to 12 months in prison in a landmark corruption case and New York Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty to federal fraud and bribery charges.
We round off this week’s roundup with details of our latest recognition by Chartis Research as a category leader for KYC and Data Solutions.
KYC & AML
FCA fines Starling Bank £29 million for AML failings
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found Starling’s financial crime controls were inadequate and lacked appropriate resources, putting the bank at risk of facilitating financial crime. The bank also failed to comply with a restriction on opening new accounts for high-risk customers. Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, commented that the bank’s screening controls were “shockingly lax”. Starling has agreed to remediate these breaches and improve its financial controls.
UK banks handed new powers to delay payments by three days to combat fraud
The UK government has granted banks the ability to delay payments by up to 72 hours if there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud. This measure aims to reduce the £460 million lost annually to scams by giving banks more time to investigate suspicious activities. Economic Secretary Tulip Siddiq stated, “We need to protect these people better, which is why we are giving banks more time to investigate suspicious payments and break the criminal spell that scammers weave.”
TD Bank reportedly close to guilty plea in AML probe
TD Bank is reportedly nearing a guilty plea as part of a U.S. Department of Justice probe into its AML practices according to the Wall Street Journal. The investigation revealed that TD failed to prevent a Chinese criminal organisation from laundering hundreds of millions through its branches. As a result, the bank has set aside over $3 billion to cover potential penalties.
Citigroup cleared in AML investigation
The Federal Reserve announced that it has ended an enforcement action against Citigroup that began in 2013 and related to shortcomings in the bank’s AML controls. The bank was recently hit with a $136 million fine earlier this year from U.S. regulators for failing to address compliance issues.
Man pleads guilty to operating illegal cryptocurrency ATMs in the UK
Olumide Osunkoya has pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed network of cryptocurrency ATMs, marking the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) first successful conviction of this kind. Osunkoya allowed anonymous transactions through the machines without necessary AML checks, creating a high risk for illicit activity. The FCA highlighted the dangers posed by unregulated crypto services and pledged to continue pursuing enforcement actions to ensure industry compliance.
Sanctions
U.S sanctions cryptocurrency networks to curb money laundering
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Cryptex, which is a crypto exchange used by Russian criminals to evade sanctions. Russian citizen Sergey Sergeevich Ivanov was also sanctioned for running fraudulent payment processors and was accused of laundering hundreds of millions of digital currencies.
G7 leaders discuss applying fresh sanctions against Iran
G7 leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, have discussed potential new sanctions against Iran in response to its ballistic missile attack against Israel.
UK, U.S. and Australia announce sanctions against cyber crime gang
The UK, U.S. and Australia have announced new sanctions against members of the notorious cybercrime gang Evil Corp, known for stealing over $100 million through ransomware attacks. The coordinated action targets key members and their financial assets to disrupt the gang’s operations and limit their access to the global financial system.
Corruption
New York Mayor Eric Adams pleads not guilty to federal fraud and bribery charges
New York Mayor Eric Adams has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of fraud and bribery. The indictment alleges that Adams accepted bribes in exchange for political favours and misused city funds for personal gain. Adams denied the accusations and stated his intention to fight the charges vigorously.
Former Singapore Transport Minister sentenced to 12 months in corruption case
Former Singapore Transport Minister Subramaniam Iswaran has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for business favours. This high-profile corruption case involved payments from a prominent business executive in return for preferential treatment.
KYC360 News
KYC360 Recognised by Chartis as a Category Leader for KYC Solutions
KYC360 is proud to be recognised as a category leader in the Chartis RiskTech KYC Data and Solutions 2024 report. This achievement reaffirms our dedication to delivering innovative Screening, Onboarding and pKYC solutions that enable organisations to comply and outperform in a challenging regulatory landscape.
Your latest weekly update from the worlds of money laundering, legislation and regulation, sustainability, gaming and gambling, crypto and sanctions.
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