Is Bitcoin In El Salvador Legal? Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin accepted as legal tender Cryptocurrency exchanges: Legal, registration requirements with SSF The government of El Salvador has been debating the use of cryptocurrency in its financial system for years, with President Nayib […]
Regulation
The criminal offense of money laundering (Section 261 of the German Criminal Code) was profoundly restructured by the “Act to Improve Criminal Law Combating Money Laundering” (Money Laundering Act) which came into effect on March 18th 2021. This new regulation […]
The Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has issued guidance to banks and financial institutions to include the identities of beneficial owners or account holders in their suspicious transaction reports (STRs), as it continues its fight against money laundering and terrorist […]
From Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) financial service use cases enabled by blockchain are evolving rapidly. For virtual asset service providers (VASPs), the rate of change is both exhilarating and overwhelming. How do you establish best […]
The Australian financial intelligence regulator AUSTRAC has revealed some of the most frequent reporting mistakes compliance teams are making when submitting suspicious matter reports (SMRs) – and many of them are very basic errors. At a recent outreach event, AUSTRAC […]
Austria, one of Europe’s major financial hubs, is aiming to turn the page on a series of money laundering scandals that have rocked the country’s banking sector. Peter Weinzierl, the former CEO of Bank Meinl, a leading Austrian bank, was […]
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published its mutual evaluation of Japan, which graded the country as in need of “enhanced follow-up.” 18 other countries share this designation including the US, China, South Korea, and Australia. Here, we explore […]
FATF June 2021 Plenary: Key initiatives and takeaways The global anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standard setter, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), held its latest plenary in June 2021. The plenary brought together the FATF and its […]
BitMEX exchange has agreed to a $100 million settlement with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The fine was imposed after the exchange failed to carry out sufficient checks on its customers. […]
The UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) has published its August guide on how suspicious activity report (SAR) intelligence is being used by law enforcement. The report aims to demonstrate SAR filing best practices, and show what actions are taken in […]
On June 30, 2021, FinCEN published the first U.S. government-wide list of national priorities for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). FinCEN collaborated with the staff of several offices in the Department of the […]
Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan has welcomed China’s recently introduced Anti-Foreign Sanction Law (AFSL), strongly indicating that many of its components will also become law in Hong Kong. The AFSL marked China’s first major attempt to set out an […]