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This fortnight we have 5 regulatory documents from 4 jurisdictions, mainly applicable to the sanctions, financial institutions, and AML/CFT. The prominent news of the fortnight include, the Central African Republic becoming the second country to adopt cryptocurrencies as legal tender; OFAC sanctions crypto mixer Blender.io for its malicious cyber activities and laundering of stolen virtual currencies; Philippine banks directed to monitor gaming-related transactions on the suspicion of involving play-to-earn games. Notable regulations include The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 9) Regulations 2022, United Kingdom; Geographic Targeting Order Covering Title Insurance Company, United States; Strengthening AML/CFT Name Screening Practices, Singapore. Additionally, FinCEN has released the 314(a) Fact Sheet; and the FINTRAC has issued an advisory on Underground Banking through unregistered Money Services Businesses (MSBs). Click here https://bit.ly/3FwzE1Q to read in detail about the recent regulatory updates.
This week we have 14 AML events involving 40 individuals and 2 entities, resulting in a total of USD 36.5 Mn penalties with incarcerations of 2,102 months. Notable events of the week include a fine of USD 1.5 Mn and 36 months imprisonment sentence imposed on Samuel Klien by the U.S. District Court of Connecticut for money laundering. Next, the Bermuda Monetary Authority has imposed a fine of USD 1.1 Mn on Conyers Trust for failure to comply with AML regulations. Finally, a collective fine of USD 30 Mn was imposed by the U.S. District Court of Southern District of New York on BitMEX co-owners for violating the AML program. Finally, regarding regulatory updates, the MONEYVAL has made stricter regulations on virtual assets and specialized gate-keepers professions to prioritize AML compliance. Also, banks operating in the Philippines were directed to monitor gaming-related transactions when there was a suspicion of involving play-to-earn games such as the Axie Infinity. Click here https://bit.ly/38gchxw to read in detail about the week's top AML events, news, and regulatory updates
This week, we begin with the requirement for better reporting and transparency in crypto adoption to get more clarity & consistency. Next is a paper highlighting how open and findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) tropical forest data can be "extremely unfair" to those who physically measure and identify millions of trees. Then, we have an article outlining the new techniques of data-stealing used by cybercriminals & tips to conquer them. Following that, we have a piece on the potential of unstructured data management tagging. Next, is an essay discussing the use of data to inform accessibility across your website and how to improve that using some recommendations. Lastly, we have a proposal by senators and other high-ranking politicians that tech companies should be required to share their data when requested.
In May 2018, BitMEX was being used to launder the proceeds of a cryptocurrency hack. No suspicious transactions related to that were reported. BitMEX was unlawfully accepting orders and funds from U.S. customers to trade cryptocurrencies, including derivatives on bitcoin, ether, and Litecoin. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed criminal charges against the three BitMEX co-founders and one of its employees for the violation of the Bank Secrecy Act and conspiracy to commit offenses. To read more about this case, please click https://bit.ly/3KR7rEj
This week we highlight the case of Ricardo Munoz, former Alderman of Chicago who was sentenced to prison for money laundering and federal wire fraud. Subscribe to AML Penalties @ www.amlpenalties.com for more insights & updates.
Data sanitization is the process of completely and permanently erasing data on a storage device. This covers both standard IT equipment with data storage and mobile devices, as well as internet-connected gadgets like wearables, medical devices, and automotive entertainment systems. Sanitized devices have no useful leftover data, and the data can never be retrieved, even with the help of advanced forensic techniques. According to Coleman Parkes data, 96% of firms have a data sanitization strategy in place; yet, just 62% of respondents in the United States believe the policy is adequately communicated across the organization. In this week’s Know Your Data {KYD}, we present you with a brief overview of data sanitization.
According to the Digital 2022 April Global Statshot report, the internet is currently used by more than 5 billion people throughout the world, marking a historic point in the world's quest for universal access. It took around four years for the total number of internet users to rise from 4 billion to 5 billion. According to the most recent statistics, the world's 5 billion internet users spend more than 2 trillion minutes online each day. Despite these spectacular numbers, 2.9 billion people (or 37% of the world's population) do not have access to the internet in April 2022. This week’s OSIN {One Story In Numbers} represents the continent-wise share of global internet users (April 2022).
This week's Subject Matter is about the Financial crime guidance by the FCA to counter the financial crime risks The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued guidance to all supervised entities to counter the risk of getting exposed to financial crimes. The effectiveness of systems and controls will be helpful for the reporting entities to detect, prevent, and deter financial crimes - money laundering, bribery, corruption, and fraud. The guidance was prepared primarily from FCA and FSA thematic review findings. Subscribe to AML Penalties @ www.amlpenalties.com for more insights & updates.
https://bit.ly/3OSVL7d This week, we begin with the thoughts of various presenters on the energy-efficient options associated with computing to reduce carbon footprint in the workshop hosted by MIT. Next is an article describing a data-driven supply chain and the steps to create the same to make strategic use of data to get a thorough view of supply chain performance. Then, we have an analysis of the ransomware & DDoS attacks with their legal consequences & solutions for mitigation. Following that, we have a piece on a few critical strategies of alternative data to boost an organization’s opportunity analysis process. Next, is a piece discussing the importance of curation to data providers in controlling and capitalizing on their audience expertise. Lastly, we have an RTInsights interview with Chad Meley, CMO at Kinetica, to discuss the rise of real-time geospatial data, the problems businesses have in interpreting it, and the rewards gained when it is correctly utilized.
This week we have 19 AML events involving 26 individuals and 1 entity, resulting in a total of USD 12.4 mn penalties with incarcerations of 654 months. Notable events of the week include an administrative penalty of USD 0.38 Mn imposed on the Laurentian Bank of Canada by the FINTRAC for non-compliance with the AML laws. Next, the U.S. Department of Justice has imposed 90 months of prison on Alaa Mohd Abusaad for concealment of terrorism financing to Al-Qaida terrorist group. Finally, a USD 0.9 Mn penalty was imposed by the U.S. District Court of Northern District of Georgia on Ivie Shevon Sajere for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Finally, regarding regulatory updates, the AUSTRAC and the VGCCC have strengthened their fight against financial and serious crime. Also, the MAS has released a paper to set out its supervisory expectations, good practices, and areas for improvement on the AML/CFT name screening frameworks and processes of selected financial institutions in 2021. Click here https://bit.ly/3KABkZ9 to read in detail
