Please Be Informed...

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Oh, God. Another "modern slavery" story. Yes it is. Read it.

There are things that biased media push down our throats as they pretend independence but run a subversive agenda, from politics to social change. But there are some things that transcend the self-interest of media outlets, where the generally left-leaning press and politicians have got it absolutely right.

CoNet Section:

Security and Society

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abolishment v abolition

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Don't say that:

abolishment

Do say this:

abolition

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FinCEN, Bank Secrecy Act and planned developments.

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Kenneth A. Blanco, Director, FinCEN (The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the USA's FIU and a division of the Department of the Treasury) sets out how Bank Secrecy Act data, including "convertible virtual currencies."

FCRO Subsection:

Financial Crime News

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ACCC's Christmas Message

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In the northern hemisphere, above the tropical line, it's obviously winter. And as Christmas is just around the corner real or artificial snow is rapidly appearing as the Winter Equinox nears.

But in Australia, tinnies, barbies, thongs, surf, sun and sand are on the agenda. Hell, you can even roast a turkey in a sun-oven (it's a matt black box).

And with all of that comes risk: wear a hat, a shirt and sunscreen, scream the warnings. But there's another one, too, and this one is about things other than Aus's nasty wildlife that can kill you.

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Where "first world" banks can learn from developing countries.

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The extraordinary case of an elderly man who was forced into expensive legal proceedings to recover almost GBP200,000 accidentally paid into the wrong bank account could have been so easily avoided if UK banks operated, under the auspices of regulators, a simple cross-check of information. It happens elsewhere.

BIScom Subsection:

Retail banking

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First action under Australia's revision of "abuse of market power" provision.

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"Owned and operated by Tasmanians for Tasmanians," says the website of the Tasmanian Ports Corporation. It's owned by the Tasmanian state government and, the website says "Over 99% of Tasmania's freight moves through our ports." In fact, TasPorts operates all but one port in Northern Tasmania. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission thinks that TasPorts tried to stop a company entering the pilotage and towing business with a view to lessening competition. It's the first test of a 2017 version of an existing law.

CoNet Section:

Competition, Monopoly, Cartels, etc.

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UK NCA: International law enforcement operation exposes the world’s most harmful cyber crime group

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A Russian national who runs Evil Corp has been indicted in the United States following unprecedented collaboration between the NCA, the FBI and the National Cyber Security Centre.

Do you know this man?

CoNet Section:

IT & Communications

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OFAC: US Treasury sanctions Evil Corp, the Russia-Based cybercriminal group behind Dridex Malware

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Washington 5 December 2019 – Today the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against Evil Corp, the Russia-based cybercriminal organization responsible for the development and distribution of the Dridex malware.

BIScom Subsection:

Sanctions in Action

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Malware in the financial services sector

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The USA's cyber-security agency, US-CERT, has issued an alert relating Dridex Malware which targets the financial sector. It follows work by various government departments including FinCEN.

FCRO Subsection:

Financial Crime News

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UK court jails two for conspiracy to distribute drugs but no drugs were found

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The UK's National Crime Agency is on a roll. It's taken a while for the successor to so many different organisations to get its act properly together, demonstrating the constant shuffling around of people and responsibilities detracts from their ability to do the job. The men and women of the NCA are a hard-working and bright bunch and recent results show that if they are left to their own devices, and given time to execute sensible plans, they do exactly as they are supposed to do: get convictions, often where they were apparently unlikely. One, yesterday, makes the point nicely.

FCRO Subsection:

Financial Crime News

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Is "CEO" too big a job for one person?

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The "did he jump or was he pushed" departure of Brian Hartzer, the CEO of WestPac Banking Corporation in Australia after it became known that it had more than 23 million cases in which it did not act correctly under counter-money laundering laws is the latest example of a CEO going from his job under a cloud. In the past, that's usually been an end to at least some of the discussion. But this time it's different. This time the failures were so big and so fundamental that it calls into question conduct of the entire organisation including the full board and much of the management structure. It also raises something else. In large, complex, highly regulated groups, is the role of CEO too big for one person? As the financial services sector moves inexorably (and I would argue rightly) towards personal responsibility, is it time to review where responsibility lies in relation to specific areas of management.

CoNet Section:

Corporate Management

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Westpac ticking every anti-money-laundering box wouldn't make much difference to criminals

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The trouble with looking for transactions ‘consistent’ with ‘known’ patterns ‘indicative’ of child exploitation payments to countries with ‘known’ risks is that countless legitimate payments exhibit similar features, says Dr Ron Pol of AML Assurance and La Trobe University.

BIScom Subsection:

Compliance

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Optus to pay AUD6.4 million for misleading NBN disconnection claims

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Optus Internet Pty Limited and Optus Mobile Pty Limited (Optus) have been ordered by the Federal Court to pay AUD6.4 million in penalties for making
misleading claims about home internet disconnections to consumers, following proceedings brought by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC)

CoNet Section:

Consumer Protection

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