Elevate your Compliance with Intelect Group. Our monthly round up of news items which are of particular relevance to those businesses regulated for the purposes of Anti-Money Laundering.
We prevent bad things happening to good people and their businesses.
Cyber Security
Ticketmaster data breach
Ticketmaster has confirmed it has suffered a data breach, which is likely to affect hundreds of millions of customers globally.
Its parent company Live Nation Entertainment, said it had “identified unauthorised activity within a third-party cloud database environment.” Unauthorised activity is thought to have first been identified on the 20th of May just before a hacking group ‘ShinyHunters’ announced it on a dark web forum.
It is estimated that some 560 million Ticketmaster customers may be affected by the breach.
Financial Crime
Bitcoin and money laundering
£3bn worth of Bitcoin has been seized from a former takeaway worker who has been imprisoned for more than six years for money laundering.
Jian Wen, 42, attempted to purchase expensive properties, including a £23.5m seven-bedroom Hampstead mansion with a swimming pool and a £12.5m home with a cinema and gym.
This is currently the UK’s biggest-ever cryptocurrency seizure.
Wen who lived in a £5m six-bedroom house rented for £17,000 a month near Hampstead Heath and travelled the world, spent thousands of pounds on clothing and shoes.
She was the conduit for laundering money received via an investment fraud. The investigation came to light after Wen was unable to explain the Source Of Funds. Another example of effective due diligence in practice.
Regulatory
Football Due Diligence
Football is now at the centre of the EU’s AML rules. The EU Council has now given final approval for due diligence checks and verification requirements for clubs, agents, and sponsors.
It has been recognised by EU lawmakers that huge amounts of money are moved in the football-market and thus risk is high in relation to money-laundering and terrorist financing.
From 2029, professional football clubs will have to verify the identity of their clients, monitor transactions, and report any suspicious transactions to the relevant Financial Intelligence Units.
