Money Laundering

Law Society of England and Wales considers money laundering compliance checks "an assault."

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The Law Society of England and Wales has, since the early 1990s, fought a rear-guard action against the engagement of solicitors in counter-money laundering efforts. The Regulator, which was first a division of the Law Society and then spun off to become a ludicrously politically charged enforcer of any passing social fad had, at that time the correct view that solicitors were within the scope of the original Money Laundering Regulations. At last, the regulator, now known as the Solicitors (sic) Regulatory Authority (it's so trendy it doesn't use an apostrophe where its name demands one) has decided that money laundering is something it needs to pay attention to. The Law Society is on a war footing, declaring the SRA's action "an assault."

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Elderly people are easy targets for fraudsters. But not always.

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The elderly have always been easy targets for fraudsters using "I can fix the hole in your roof" or charity, even religious, scams. But the internet is making it easier for fraudsters to be convincing and the internet is making even direct personal contact practically anonymous. Advance fee fraud no longer relies on mail, telex or fax but on e-mail and telephones, tech that the elderly are predisposed to trust. But sometimes, they fight back....

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ASIC prosecutes money laundering

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Now here's a surprise: Australian regulator ASIC has charged (actually charged, as in criminal charges) three people with laundering the proceeds of an attempt to manipulate an insolvency. Other countries have long included insolvency offences as predicate offences for money laundering purposes: this is the first case we can think of where action has been taken.

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Jail for laundering proceeds of kidnapping

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Case Summary:

A man convicted of conspiracy was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for laundering the proceeds of a violent kidnapping organisation that held two dozen Mexican nationals hostage.

Type of conduct:

Money Laundering

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Who wants to be a money launderer?

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We'ld like to thank Mr Andrea Van for the opportunity to earn 10% of USD125,500,000. His email address, should you want to take him up on his offer, is mabutdengjok@gmail.com. So, not Andrea Van, then. And he's apparently sent from infor@inbox.com which hardly encourages faith in his bona fides and nor does the fact that he's spoofed that address: inbox.com does not authorise his IP address, 165.227.107.154, for sending mail. So, basically, every verifiable "fact" is a lie. And that's before we get onto what he's offering.

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Bank VP jailed for money laundering

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In what might just count as the simplest money laundering scheme ever, a senior officer of a US bank is to be banged up for two years.

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Are actions that are suspicious under GDPR suspicious for money laundering purposes?

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In the past day or so, a company called emailmovers limited using the domain xmr3.com have sent out a number of spam e-mails addressed to personal e-mail addresses at companies. They claim "Emailmovers is one of the UK's only B2B email data owners who provide Full Email Marketing services in house" which is, in itself a nonsensical statement.

But it's their claim for how many people they feel it's OK to send unwanted commercial email to that is interesting. Just how did they get it and how do they think it's legal to use it? And is it a predicate crime for money laundering purposes if they have breached GDPR?

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What is "cognitive bias" and why does it matter to Financial Crime Risk Officers, etc.?

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"Cognitive bias" is one of those expressions, along with various other forms of bias, that's become popular in recent months. However, there's nothing new and nothing clever about cognitive bias. In fact, it's one of the most fundamental aspects of decision making. We all, without exception, do it. But the problem is that it underpins one of the reasons that financial crime risk management fails, over and over again.

---------- A SAMPLE ARTICLE FROM World Money Laundering Report ---------

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UK's Sanctions and Anti Money Laundering Act 2918 now partly in force

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It would be far more sensible if the UK scrapped its money laundering laws, wrote something comprehensible and properly structured and kept it all in one place. But no, that would make life far too simple. So, we have the latest Act that has to be read in the light of, and which makes amendments to, other legislation. But it's important and so no one can simply say "stuff it" and delete it. As it comes into force, there is a hint as to at least some of the priorities in relation to international financial crime.

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Brazen pimpette convicted

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Case Summary:

On the face of it, a conviction for trafficking minors for sex may not seem like a financial crime. However, the proceeds generated by these and other sex-related crimes are subject to attack under money laundering laws, even if the activity takes place in one jurisdiction and the money is laundered in another.

Type of conduct:

Other financial crime

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