AML Weekly Insights and Recap | Week 5th -9th August 2024
Hello everyone!
We've been keeping a close eye on the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) world, and there's been a lot happening this week!
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Weekly News Feed
My Daily LinkedIn Insights
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Wells Fargo is under investigation for issues in its anti-money laundering and sanctions programs. According to Reuters, “Wells Fargo said it is in discussions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve an investigation into the cash sweep options that the bank provides to investment advisory clients”.
According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. District Court has ordered FTX Trading Ltd and Alameda Research LLC to pay $12.7 billion “in monetary relief to FTX customers and victims of FTX’s fraud”. This judgment follows the CFTC's enforcement action against the companies for violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. The court also imposed trading and registration prohibitions on FTX, and ongoing litigation continues against the company's executives.
The Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA) imposed a HK$23 million (approximately $3 million) to AIA Group Ltd due to gaps in its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) practices. More specifically, the failures were related to procedures to identify Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), risk assessment processes, transaction monitoring and others.
Singapore authorities make their largest ever recovery of funds defrauded in a business email compromise scam. Criminals impersonated a legitimate supplier of a company by creating a fraudulent email address that was nearly identical to the real one. The scammer then requested that a pending payment of USD 42.3 million be redirected to a new bank account in Timor Leste - which the firm executed. The Singapore Police Force (SPF) swiftly requested assistance from authorities in Timor Leste through INTERPOL and seven suspects were arrested.
In case you missed this week’s LinkedIn posts:
Monday 5th August:
What is a money mule? Read how money mules are employed and used in large money laundering schemes. Scroll through our interactive carousel (2-min read)
Tuesday 6th August:
AML News and Updates: Our August 2024 edition is now available for you to read for free (6-min read). Discussion of the month: The Challenges of KYC and CDD: What you can do
Wednesday 7th August:
Why companies fail on AML? Learn 7 main reasons and add your thoughts! (2 min read)
Thursday 8th August:
How do great teams succeed? Let’s learn from the best, well-recognised leaders who had built great teams (1-min read)
Friday 9th August:
If you are not a paid subscriber, here’s what you’ve missed on Substack this week!
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Money Laundering Methods and Trends
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Wishing you a very best weekend, get some rest, and see you next week!
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Anna Stylianou
Founder, AML Cube Consulting and Education