FIN.

Category - Financial Crime Prevention

Treasury consults on MLR improvements

The Treasury is consulting on how to make the Money Laundering Regulations more effective. The paper follows previous consultations on changes to the MLRs and picks up on comments about how many of the provisions of the...

FCA updates on skilled persons reports

The latest statistics for skilled persons reports FCA commissioned in Q3 2023/24 show: 24 reports in total 7 related to the retail banking and payments sector, 6 to retail investments, 5 to wholesale markets and 4 to...

Government reviews SAMLA

The FCDO has carried out a preliminary post-legislative assessment of SAMLA 2018. The analysis looks at the background to the legislation and sets out the powers it contains. It is divided into sections, focusing mainly...

FCA warns Annex I firms on AML issues

FCA has written to CEOs of the 1,000 Annex I firms it supervises (firms which do not need FSMA authorisation but which carry on activities subject to the MLRs for which FCA is the appropriate supervisor). It has carried...

FMSB publishes onboarding standard

The Financial Markets Standards Board has published a draft standard which would apply to firms onboarding clients or reviewing client files for UK AML and KYC compliance. The standard would apply to FMSB members in all...

SFO speaks on faster case resolution

Nick Ephgrave, SFO Director, has spoken on SFO’s history and his plans for the future.  He wants to solve cases more quickly, and spoke of a number of tactics he plans to use. These include a more rigorous and...

OFSI updates guidance

OFSI has updated its guidance on financial sanctions and licensing to include detail on licensing principles and framework in the general guidance section of its main guidance, and to move its travel guidance to a...

High risk third country list update

Treasury has updated its website to reflect the list of high risk third countries for MLR purposes. The list now comes directly from FATF. Following FATF’s plenary meeting on 23 February, it has removed Barbados...

OFSI publishes ransomware guidance

OFSI has published financial sanctions guidance for ransomware. The guidance explains that the government uses the financial sanctions regime to target the ransomware threat actors who cause the highest harm to the UK...

Market Watch focuses on organised crime

The latest edition of FCA’s Market Watch looks at actions firms can take to mitigate the risks of being used by Organised Crime Groups. It says suspicious trading by members of OCGs forms a large proportion of the...

OFSI updates guidance

2024 will see OFSI move to digital guidance which it says will enhance accessibility and user experience. It will not be making fundamental content changes as it starts to make the changes. As a start, it has updated...

Home Office responds on SARs regime review

The Home Office has published its response to the 2019 Law Commission report and recommendations on the SARs regime. The report had made 19 recommendations, of which the Home Office accepts 13. The uncontended...

Tribunal backs FCA on EMI

The Upper Tribunal has agreed not to suspend the restrictions FCA placed on EMI Nvayo Limited last year.  The wide restrictions stop the firm carrying on EMR business or disposing of assets. FCA welcomed the decision...

FCA publishes blockchain research

FCA has published a research note entitled ‘Review of Maximal Extractable value (MEV) and Blockchain Oracles’ in collaboration with Futuresight Business Intelligence Ltd, the Financial Industry Regulatory...

PSR heralds priorities for 2024

Chris Helmsley has looked ahead to a busy year ahead for payments. He spoke on: implementation of the mandatory APP reimbursement rules which will be a real step-change in the way the industry approaches fraud...

ML High Risk countries re-defined

From 22 January, a change to the MLRs means that Treasury will no longer periodically update Schedule 3ZA to the MLRs.  The definition of “High risk third country” is now a country named on the FATF lists of...

OFSI updates guidance

OFSI has updated several pieces of guidance.  There are December 2023 versions of: general guidance on financial sanctions; guidance on enforcement and financial penalties; and guidance specific to the Russian sanctions...

FCA reflects on 2023

Nikhil Rathi has reflected on some of FCA’s key achievements and milestones from 2023. He highlighted: the implementation of the Consumer Duty and changes firms have already made as a result; FCA telling GAP...

Regulators publish 2023 cyber findings

The BoE, PRA and FCA have published their latest annual CBEST thematic report. The report, which has been published in full for the first time, contains cyber resilience good practice, lessons learned and insight...

MLR changes address domestic PEPs

Changes to the MLRs will take effect from 10 January 2024, which meet the requirements of s77 FSMA 2023 and provide that the starting point for EDD assessments where a customer is a domestic PEP or is a family member or...

New Russian sanctions take effect

The Government has introduced a new set of financial and trade sanctions against Russia. Taking effect from 14 December, the package includes broadening the existing sanctions in respect of correspondent banking and...

OFSI publishes Annual Review

OFSI has published its annual review for 2022-23. The review looks at how OFSI has expanded to meet its increased workload and how it has transformed its practices to deliver more effective implementation and...

MoU between FCA and OFSI

On 1 December 2023,FCA published a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) (dated 21 November 2023) between it and OFSI. The MoU sets out the collaboration and information exchange between FCA and OFSI. It replaces the...

OFSI defends licence refusal

The High Court has supported OFSI’s decision to refuse to grant licence requests relating to a Designated Person. Mikhail Fridman had filed the first claim under s38(2) of SAMLA (and also the first challenge to...

FCDO and OFSI clarify “control”

FCDO and OFSI have given guidance on their approach to what “ownership and control” means when a public official is designated.  The guidance confirms that any entity which is owned or controlled by a...

ECCTA starts to take effect

The first commencement order under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 brings into force on 15 January 2024 several parts of the Act, including the provisions on: the change to POCA to create...

NCA issues gold sanctions abuse warning

NCA has warned financial institutions to be aware of deliberate attempts to breach UK sanctions and launder sanctioned gold and hide it in supply chains. Several individuals and entities operating in and supporting...

Market Watch updates on market soundings

The latest edition of Market Watch updates FCA’s views on market soundings, following on from previous editions. FCA says it has recently found cases where recipients of soundings have traded between receiving the...

FATF holds plenary

FATF has held its latest plenary session. It agreed several reports, including on crowdfunding for terrorist financing, and revisions to Recommendation 8 to clarify measures applying to NPOs. It will also be consulting...

PSR publishes APP fraud data guide

PSR has published guidance for PSPs on the content of the data on APP fraud that PSPs are now required to provide. The guide also looks at the required format for the data and the timescales for its provision.

FCA publishes money mule prevention review

FCA has published the findings from its views of the adequacy of PSP systems and controls against money mule activity. As now seems to be standard, it found that some firms are using innovative solutions such as facial...

Lords continue to battle on FTP fraud

The ping pong between the Houses on the scope of the proposed failure to prevent fraud offence continues. In the debate on 18 October, the Government continued to refuse to give way on its belief that it is...

FCA updates on skilled persons reports

FCA has published the numbers of skilled persons reports commissioned in the first two quarters of 2023: From April to June it commissioned 11 reports, of which 4 related to retail investments and 3 to wholesale...

JROC welcomes OBL data collection frameworks

The Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee has welcomed the publication of two data collection frameworks by Open Banking Limited, one on levelling up availability and performance and the other on mitigating the risks of...

SFO investigates funeral plan provider

SFO has written to authorised firms asking for information to help its criminal investigation into suspected fraud by a pre-paid funeral planner, Safe Hands Plans Limited and its parent company. Nearly 50,000 plan...

FCA updates crypto application stats

FCA has updated the statistics on applications for registration by crypto firms, and its feedback on good and poor applications.  As at 1 October, it had received 326 applications since registration began in January...

PSR consults on FPS reimbursement Direction

PSR is consulting, as promised, on a Specific Direction on FPS participants which will underpin the faster payments reimbursement rules and will require participants to follow the rules and reimburse APP scam victims in...

UK Finance respond to ban on cold calling

UK Finance has responded to HM Treasury’s proposals to ban cold calling in financial services and is supportive of the proposals. The measures aim to protect consumers, particularly elderly and vulnerable...

FCA and CoLC launch APP scam project tool

FCA and the City of London Corporation have launched the promised APP synthetic dataset which is designed to develop products and services to minimise fraud. The dataset will allow analysis of rare patterns of behaviour...

Lords may compromise further on FTP fraud

A motion to be moved when the Lords next considers the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill will propose a further compromise with the Commons by exempting from the offence newly defined “small”...

JMLSG travel rule guidance approved

Treasury has approved the addition to the JMLSG Guidance that provides guidance on implementation of the travel rule for crypto business. An updated Sector 22 and its annex are now approved.

SFO speaks on new powers

Michelle Crotty, Chief Capability Officer at the SFO, has spoken on its successes since Lisa Osofsky became its Director and looking ahead to Nick Ephgrave’s upcoming tenure. She also noted the increased powers...

FCA speaks on financial crime controls

Sarah Pritchard has spoken on the importance of firms calibrating their financial crime fighting systems to the right level. She stressed the importance of firms understanding who their clients are, identifying the...

FCA launches PEP review

FCA has published a paper setting out the issues it will consider as part of its review on the treatment of PEPs under s78 FSMA 2023. FCA notes that it does not have the power to change the law relating to the PEPs...

OFSI uses disclosure power for first time

OFSI has used its disclosure enforcement power for the first time to highlight a breach of the Russia (Sanctions) EU Exit Regulations 2019. This power allows OFSI to publish notices of breaches where it has decided not...

JMLSG publishes crypto transfer guidance

JMLSG has published its final revisions to Section 22 (Cryptoasset providers and custodian wallet providers) in Part II of its AML/CTF guidance. The update includes a new Annex 1 on crypto transfers which relates to the...

UK Finance updates FTR guidance

UK Finance has published a “how to” interpretative guide to the Funds Transfer Regulation. The FTR was one of the pieces of legislation onshored after Brexit, and UK Finance had previously produced guidance...

FCA warns consumers on loan fee fraud

FCA has issued a consumer warning to help customers avoid loan fee fraud as they look to cover the costs of summer spending.  This type of fraud, which involves customers paying for a loan they never receive, typically...

HMRC updates MLR registration guidance

HMRC has updated its guidance for firms needing to make changes to their money laundering registrations or deregistering their business. The guidance summarises what changes should be reported to HMRC and notes that any...

JMLSG consults on travel rule

JMLSG is consulting on changes to its guidance in respect of the travel rule for cryptoasset transfers. The changes will add a new Annex 1 to Chapter 22 in Part 2 and will reflect the requirements in Part 7A of the MLRs...