FinancialCrimeRiskOfficers.com

When we found an advertisement for illegal downloads of Sun Tzu and the Art of Litigation, we wrote to everyone that public records showed as connected to the issue or hosting of the domain. We found, again, that Cloudflare was at the heart of the illegal operation and therefore being paid to provide services to criminals who may be generating profits for organised crime or for material support for terrorists. FCROs must consider the business practices and risk management models of their customers because, by definition, banks are receiving, harbouring and distributing the proceeds of criminal conduct received via those companies.

Just last weekend, one of our people received a call late at night. An Indian voice asked him for details of his credit card and for his security question. That call was genuine, from his bank's fraud department, but for an estimated 15,000 US taxpayers, the department calling was all about committing not preventing fraud.

The European Commission (EC) has decided that the European Union (EU) system of Directives isn't working when it comes to money laundering and terrorist financing. They are right. What's taken them so long to work it out? The question is this: have the identified the correct matters and will they get it right this time?

"Banks will have clearer guidance on how to best manage risks related to money laundering and the financing of terrorism...in correspondent banking," says the Bank of International Settlements' Basel Committee.

Artur Samarin is a name that will (or should) live on in the annals of infamy as someone who simply sidestepped all government and other identity checks to move to and openly live in the USA for four years.

There is an absolute bar on members of the US Senate using private e-mail addresses and systems for government-related correspondence. The rules do not ban the use of such systems for purely personal correspondence. In this area, there is no such thing as "private" in relation to government-related correspondence. Therefore, it is clear: Clinton acted in breach of rules and, depending on how it is read, the law. But she thinks it doesn't matter. Can her arguments be a beacon of hope to compliance and financial crime risk officers where there are technical failures in compliance regimes?

The USA's Securities and Investment Commission pays a share of fines that it receives to those who blow the whistle and a financial penalty results. In August, the second largest award made so far brought the total payout to more than USD100 million.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery says that Ireland has failed to act on the Working Group's "recommendation" to make certain that the counter-money laundering law (Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010) applies to Irish companies that launder the proceeds of bribing foreign officials, even if there is no law relating to bribery in the official's country. The OECD might have misread Ireland's laws.

With the announcement that the Apprentice Solicitors (don't ask: it's another "moving forward" initiative instead of going back to proper Articles) scheme is to include a grammar test (that's hilarious, given the appalling level of English across the Courts system and, even more ironically, the Solicitors (see, no apostrophe when there should be) Regulatory Authority), it's prescient to note that careless English can sometimes be celebrated. Malaysians have taken to Twitter in large numbers for one of the funniest hashtag trends ever. And it's so very simple.

The State Bank of Pakistan has long listed, in a schedule to anti-terrorist legislation, a number of proscribed groups. On 25 September 2016, a Sunday, the first day of the working week in Pakistan, it issued a notice to banks (but only banks) instructing them to freeze the assets of more than 2,000 named persons, individuals and entities, which it says are directly linked to the proscribed groups.

The actions of Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel in driving a lorry into many people out for an evening watching Bastille Day fireworks, killing more than 80 and injuring many more, some seriously, was immediately branded an act of terrorism. It was terrible but it was not, necessarily, terrorism. Indeed, early signs were that it was not a terrorist attack in the normal sense of the word and as the story unfolds, it seems that his actions may not have been in the strict definition of terrorism. It's time to tone down the rhetoric and time to teach politicians and the media that they should not rush to use technical terms without a full understanding of what they mean - and how to prove them in Court.

Ronald S. Calderon, formerly a state senator in California has admitted accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes for performing his official duties. No one sees the irony in the fact that he has mitigated his sentence by entering into a plea agreement with the federal government in return for making a cash payment.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced today that it has served BSI Bank Limited (BSI Bank) notice of intention to withdraw its status as a merchant bank in Singapore for serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements, poor management supervision of the bank’s operations and gross misconduct by some of the bank’s staff.

On or about 2 May, Indian businessman Vijay Mallya left India for the UK to spend more time with his family. Meanwhile, investigations into his financial dealings have continued and, in late April, Indian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest and revoked his passport. He is not, however, stateless: a passport is a document evidencing the right to travel and its revocation does not affect his Indian citizenship. Where do such cases leave financial institutions?