BankingInsuranceSecurities.Com

If the domain name used to send a spam and the subject line are inconsistent, that's often a guide to the probability that a the spam is also a scam. If the subject matter of the content is unrelated to a domain name that indicates a connection to a specific subject, that is also an indicator. So digital@myrountrips.net writing about "Multiple revenue streams" and "The Most Profitable Digital Currency System in the World" ticks more than enough boxes. Then we are promised no-lose crypto-currency trading.

Hello, old friend.

It's been a while.

The fine might seem small at only AUD43,200 but insurance is all about trust and when car insurer RAA Insurance was investigated by ASIC, it was found to have misled customers in its advertising. Oddly, the case can be illustrated by reference to cricket and the Australian Grand Prix, both within the past few days.

A correspondent asks "As a UK individual how do I report / alert the US authorities to the a craptocurrency used by employees and the Chairman of a group of companies with offices in St Louis, Missouri ?"

Here's the answer, and it explains differences between OFAC and FinCEN, etc. reports.

On 19th March, the USA's Office of Foreign Assets Control, a division of the US Treasury, which publishes lists of persons sanctioned under trade and economic policies, under policies that are political including but not limited to national security plus those under the USA PATRIOT Act announced that it was to include, where it has it, cryptocurrency data relating to subjects. Just what are they planning and what will it mean for crypto-currency holders and exchanges and businesses such as online auctions and advertising platforms?

One would think that, after the revelation that more than GBP1,000 million had been collected by form fillers providing entirely unnecessary services for those claiming PPI refunds, the market would have died. Maybe you'd have thought that the action against those pretending to be official websites would have discouraged others from doing something similar. And, of course, there's law that spamming individuals is a crime. Welcome to Magnetise Media Ltd which says it's registered by the Claims Management Regulator and listed by the Ministry of Justice. Hopefully Trading Standards and the Information Commissioner have files, too.

An indictment alleges accused "tricked homeowners into signing fraudulent deeds on their properties and then allegedly used the fraudulent deeds to extort money from homeowners, charge homeowners illegal fees to delay foreclosure and eviction actions and to steal some homes outright."

Titled "PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE DFSA’S ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING, COUNTER-TERRORIST FINANCING AND SANCTIONS REGIME," the consultation paper was issued on 18 February 2018 and the consultation period ends on 24th March 2018.

Notes by Nigel Morris-Cotterill, The Anti Money Laundering Network

Brenton John Poynter of Baulkham Hills, NSW has been banned from providing financial services by Australian regulatorm, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). His offence is startling.

Sixty-four year old Dharam Prakash Gopee has been convicted of being an illegal money lender. At Southwark Crown Court in London last week he was sentenced to three and a half years in jail. But it's the Financial Conduct Authority's action that makes the case interesting.

The World Bank, the leading provider of natural disaster risk insurance for emerging and developing countries, has issued catastrophe bonds that will provide a total of USD1,36 million in earthquake cover to Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

There is something off here: you can use your credit card to buy pornography of the most awful and depraved kinds ,you can use your credit card to place illegal wagers or take part in illegal gambling, you can use your credit card to buy drugs, legal and illegal from illegal or at least dubious sources or to put money at risk in pump and dump schemes and the banks and credit card companies are adamant that they cannot identify and prevent such transactions. And yet, when their own business models are under threat, suddenly they are able to identify and prevent the purchase of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple plus many, many more.

A report published by FinMark Trust (a charity funded by the UK, the UN and private organisations) seeks to explain the reasons behind the " termination of mobile money services" in South Africa and the likely effects. More positively, the report also " identify barriers to launching effective mobile financial services (MFS) in South Africa with a specific focus on the regulatory environment required to enable such opportunities. " But, as extracts show, there might be an element of a solution looking for a problem. It all seems a little too much as if someone has decided that mobile financial services are essential. What do you think? Subscribers can comment.

AUSTRAC statement

Are you a digital currency exchange provider?
16 January 2018 (updated 18 January)

It's going to cost ANZ about AUD5 million to compensate victims of the scheme that operated through the bank's Esanda car finance business. That's just part of what ASIC describes as "a package of regulatory actions against Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ)" But there's an anomaly of the kind that excites our colleagues on the financial crime publications group of PleaseBeInformed. But we got to this one first! Even more, the story looks like a simple management failure but on closer inspection it demonstrates a fundamental lack of attention to the most basic money laundering / terrorist financing KYC/CDD requirements. ASIC may think it's over. AUSTRAC needs to take a look.