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
World Check Database breach
It is reported that the well-known database ‘World-Check’ has fallen foul of a cyber-attack. The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) who maintain the system has confirmed that a breach as taken place but has stated that the data was stolen from a third-party system.
The stolen data is thought to be around five million records.
Whilst some would argue that the vast majority of the information is in the public domain it is more likely that the threat relates to the selling of the information to others at a significantly reduced price. Yet another example of third-party risks, when you place your trust and data with another organisation invariably the risks increase.
Financial Crime
Courier firms transporting cash
An interesting trend that has popped up in our feeds, is the use of courier firms to transport illicit cash out of the UK to places like Albania.
UK-registered courier firms are being used to transport cash back to Albania. The money thought to have its origins in drug trafficking, is being laundered in the country via property businesses and real estate.
Registered at Companies House the entities concerned also advertise on social media sites offering transport of items such as furniture out of the UK.
All I am going to say is that there are some interesting lines of enquiry that fall out of the source item which you can access below and investigate to your hearts content.
Regulatory
EU AML package announced
On 24th April the European Parliament endorsed the future Anti-Money Laundering Package, a reform that has been in the making for the past 5 years.
Since the European Commission published its proposals in July 2021, and even before, much has been said about how this reform will change the EU’s financial crime prevention landscape for good.
Some of the changes include, include Enhanced Due Diligence measures and identity checks on customers’ identity in respect of crypto assets and money flows through football clubs and transfer deals. Also back on the table is access to beneficial ownership information for those with legitimate interest, for example journalists, media professionals, civil society organisations, competent authorities, and supervisory bodies.
The full press release is worth a read.
