Tag: Anti-money laundering

STEP joins Anti-Money Laundering Europe webinar on the future of the EU’s fight against money laundering

On 3 June, STEP joined a webinar hosted by Anti-Money Laundering Europe (AME) on the future of the European Union’s fight against money laundering. John Riches TEP, Chair of STEP’s Public Policy Committee, was joined on the panel by Jérôme Deslandes, Cabinet of the Executive Vice President of the European Commission; and Piers Haben, Director… Read More STEP joins Anti-Money Laundering Europe webinar on the future of the EU’s fight against money laundering

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The new gatekeepers of the financial system

Update: STEP News 1 Nov: UK revises anti-organised crime strategy to target professional ‘facilitators’ Original blog: Ben Wallace MP, UK Minister of State for Security at the Home Office, has called for more to be done to make lawyers and accountants who facilitate money laundering recognise their responsibilities. As part of a House of Commons… Read More The new gatekeepers of the financial system

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Do UK money laundering regs extend to trusts in other jurisdictions?

STEP’s Isle of Man branch has flagged potential issues raised by the UK Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/692) (the Regulations) which give effect to the requirement of the EU Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive to have a central register of trusts, and reporting obligations on trustees.… Read More Do UK money laundering regs extend to trusts in other jurisdictions?

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STEP Bahamas reports to the FATF Forum in Vienna

STEP was invited to attend the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Private Sector Consultative Forum in Vienna on 23-24 April. The event consisted of several breakout sessions relating to FATF’s global priorities for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorist Financing (CTF) in 2018. As part of the Forum, Cecil Ferguson TEP, Chair of STEP Bahamas… Read More STEP Bahamas reports to the FATF Forum in Vienna

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Registers of beneficial ownership – the end game?

On Friday (22 April) HM Treasury announced that a further 19 countries have now joined the UK-led pilot project launched with Germany, France, Italy and Spain for the automatic exchange of information on beneficial ownership. These include the Netherlands; Romania; Sweden; Finland; Slovakia; Latvia; Croatia; Belgium; Ireland; Slovenia; Denmark; Malta; Lithuania; Cyprus; Bulgaria; Portugal; Estonia;… Read More Registers of beneficial ownership – the end game?

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The 4th AML Directive Agreement – a pragmatic solution

Reports suggest that late last night the EU Parliament and Member States finally reached an agreement on the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive. The agreement will see a  mandatory requirement for registration of beneficial owners for corporates, but is less than clear on the issue of public access to such a register, allowing access to be… Read More The 4th AML Directive Agreement – a pragmatic solution

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Battle Over Exempting Trusts From Public Registry Continues Between EU and UK

This article originally appeared at ACAMS moneylaundering.com  On the eve of key behind-the-scenes talks on the Fourth European Union Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the rift over proposals for the public register of trusts has widened between the United Kingdom and Europe. Officials from the European Parliament, Commission and Council are set to meet Tuesday to discuss… Read More Battle Over Exempting Trusts From Public Registry Continues Between EU and UK

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Family finances – a private matter?

In a largely secret process, this autumn will see tense negotiations between Parliament and member states about the extent to which many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of families should have intimate details about their financial affairs placed on public display. The public are rightly outraged that criminals, including tax evaders, so often seem… Read More Family finances – a private matter?

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‘Moving Money’ – the cost of more onerous AML procedures

I attended a lively presentation today on the paper Moving Money: International Flows, Taxes, and Money Laundering by Professors Richard Gordon and Andrew P. Morris. They basically argue that the move to more onerous anti-money laundering (AML) procedures and the move to automatic information exchange are both going to significantly increase transaction costs for everyone, legitimate… Read More ‘Moving Money’ – the cost of more onerous AML procedures

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Across the AML Divide: data sharing, de-risking and debate

George Hodgson

Having spent two days this week in Brussels at a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) private sector consultation forum discussing international anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, it was striking how two or three strands are now starting to dominate the debate. First is the growing divide between the big banks and what they… Read More Across the AML Divide: data sharing, de-risking and debate

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