The European Union’s long-anticipated 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD), which modernizes security rules to reflect the needs and threats facing today’s economy, took effect in mid-January, and its impacts are already being felt across the payments space. 5AMLD’s impacts include strengthening anti-money laundering (AML) and...
A Swedish regulator has opened an investigation into SEB, one of Sweden’s largest banks, over an increasingly volatile money-laundering scandal that has adversely affected the reputation of the region’s banking industry, according to a report by the Financial Times. The probe is being done by...
European Union finance ministers on Thursday (Dec. 5) agreed on strategy for anti-money laundering (AML) reforms and countering the financing of terrorism, Reuters reported. The European Council called for enhancements to AML rules and for the legislation to become national law. The EU also backed...
SEB believes there is no need to take further action after the bank was accused of having links to suspected money laundering in Estonia. Earlier this month, the bank revealed that it had been contacted by the Swedish public broadcaster SVT about “suspected money laundering...
The European Central Bank (ECB), the main banking regulator in Europe, has revealed that Malta’s biggest bank failed for years to detect or address thousands of payments that may have been involved in money laundering or other illegal activities. A confidential ECB report seen by...
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an advisory to announce an updated list of jurisdictions with anti-money laundering (AML) and Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Act deficiencies. FinCEN specifically pointed out issues with Iran and North Korea, referred to as the Democratic People’s...
FIs cannot afford to be lax with KYC and AML procedures, and their handling of sensitive information means they are held to some of the highest KYC standards. Collecting and verifying data helps banks ensure that the people trying to open accounts are legitimate, and...
The real estate industry is a hot target for fraudsters, who launder $1.6 trillion a year through rental payments and home purchases. To fight back, real estate platforms like Zillow must ensure they know who’s trying to buy and sell, while keeping the onboarding process...
Governments are tightening know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements on various industries out of increasing concern over fraud threats. Cryptocurrency companies that previously let customers remain anonymous will have to change their tunes in some countries, as will online gambling sites that...
