‘Too limited’: blacklist of countries at risk of money laundering and terrorist financing is rejected

On 19 January 2017, MEPs rejected the European Commission’s blacklist of countries at risk of money laundering and terrorist financing as being ‘too limited’. The rejection suggests that the list should be broader, by including countries that facilitate tax crime, for example. The list from the Commission contained the names of 11 countries, including Afghanistan,

Countering terrorism: Commission’s proposal to strengthen anti-money laundering measures

The European Commission proposed on 21 December 2016 to strengthen Europe’s criminal law framework to combat money laundering by drawing on international standards to establish minimum rules for defining criminal offences, imposing sanctions in relation to money laundering and improving cross-border cooperation between Member States.  In the press release, Commissioner Avramopoulos stated that this proposal

FATF updates – renewing effort to tackle terrorism

FATF updates – renewing effort to tackle terrorism A special three-session meeting to discuss tackling terrorist financing was organised by the Financial Action Task Force in reaction to the atrocities that have taken place in the last few months.  Whilst the agenda focused on broader ways to tackle terrorist financing, the Islamic State of Iraq

Client due diligence on your client’s client

The UK, EU and the Financial Action Task force have promoted banks to adopt and implement a measured approach to de-risking clients that pose money laundering and financial crime risks.  The central message has been for financial institutions to manage money laundering risks and to cease relationships with clients as a last resort. But, the