Anti Money Laundering Blog

A review mechanism will be set up by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) in order to help the banking system and private sector to identify indicators, trends and threats of both money laundering and terrorist financing.

On January 10, when speaking at a workshop in Doha, Sheikh Ahmed bin Eid al-Thani, chairman of Qatar Finance Intelligence Unit, said that the event aimed to share experiences of the participants so that a mechanism could be finalized.

Many suspected cases that have not reached the level of money laundering have been received by the Qatar Finance Intelligence Unit in Qatar. However, he noted that the final decision will be for the prosecution and the courts.

Adek al-Kulaish, executive secretary of MENAFATF, said that the risk of money laundering and financing terrorism exists and threatens all countries. He noted that it was difficult to estimate the volume of money laundering and terrorism financing as precise figures are absent. He stated, “There are no figures on the global-level, with the exception of a study by the International Monetary Fund in 2003, but that has not been updated”.

On March 15-17, 2010, MoneyLaundering.com will hold a conference hat will provide access to news, analysis and essential compliance and training information in the volatile money laundering and U.S. Bank Secrecy Act fields.

The MoneyLaundering.com 15th Annual International Anti-Money Laundering Conference is the premier annual symposium for anti-money laundering specialists who are interested in being at the forefront of developments in this field.

It is believed that crime gangs are laundering millions of dollars in casinos by means of using pensioners and the unemployed.

In accordance with the Herald Sun, Centrelink has alerted the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) that 15 of its clients are believed to be involved in money laundering.

ACC chief John Lawler has suggested that organised crime groups are engaged in high-level gambling activity in legal casinos.

According to the estimations made by the ACC, the cost of organised crime is 10-15 billion a year.

Director of Kuwait’s Money Laundering Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Nemir Fahad Al-Sabah said that the economy of Kuwait is secured against money laundering and has all the necessary tools to this crime.

When addressing a ceremony in honor of working committees of the Anti-Money Laundering on December 21, Al-Sabah said that the economy is open to money laundering and terrorism fighting instruments.

The country’s legislations aimed at combating money laundering are clear and capable to face the challenges of this phenomenon. According to Al-Sabah, the department is adopting a plan that should enhance national economy.

Israeli banks will no longer accept deposit checks drawn on Palestinian banks if the details of account holder are not printed on the checks using Latin characters.

This is a move that the Bank of Israel makes towards tightening its anti-money laundering regulations and bank customers identification procedures. It should be noted that the Bank for the first time is setting binding rules for financial activity with banks in the Palestinian Authority.

Supervisor of Banks Rony Hizkiyahu sent to a letter to the banks’ CEOs. He wrote that “there is a gap between international standards and Israel’s current guidelines concerning the prevention of money laundering”. He suggested that proper “know your customer” (KYC) policies and guidelines for regular monitoring of their activities are essential for the stability of the banking system.

A team from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is currently in India with a view to assess its legal and enforcement framework.

The assessment that will be made by the FATF team will set the ball rolling for New Delhi’s membership of the elite body.

The assessment ends on Friday, while the results will be published later.

CNP Assurances, the leading provider of personal insurance in France and listed on the SBF 120 index, has chosen Norkom for its software suite that is aimed to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

Implementing this software suite provides integration of developments related to the recent transposition into French law of the 3rd European anti-money laundering directive, as applicable to the insurance industry in Europe. As a result, Norkom has become the leading supplier of anti-money laundering solutions in the European insurance sector. Its integrated solutions – “Anti-Money Laundering” (AML), “Sanctions and PEP Screening” and “Customer Due Diligence/Know Your Customer” (CDD/KYC) – are to be implemented at all the insurance companies in the CNP Assurances group.

It should be noted that the transposition of the 3rd European anti-money laundering directive into French law in January 2009 has been controversial. It tightens the regulations that is applicable to financial institutions offering IARD insurance products, life insurance and annuities, which means that these will have to reinforce controls.

On November 24, 11 former officials of Colombian football club Independiente Medellin were charged with money laundering.

The charged officials included Rodrigo Tamayo, club president in 1998-2000 and 2004, his wife, Dolly Cardenas, and 2 other former presidents, Mario de J. Valderrama and Luis Fernando Jimenez. Conviction carries a term of 6-15 years in prison.

According to the estimations from the club’s former auditor Juan Bautista Avalos Salgar made by prosecutor Cesar Velez, Tamayo might have laundered USD 4.6 million during his terms as president.

Salgar said that one way of laundering money could be selling a player for, for example USD 100, but entering the transaction on the books as USD 1 000. As a result, the extra USD 900 entered on the books was money gained allegedly through drug trafficking.

The United Arab Emirates has introduced new measures in order to prevent and fight with money laundering in the insurance sector.

Deputy director general of the National Insurance Authority, Fatima Mohammed Ishaq Al Awadhi, said that the issuance of the measures is expected to curb future money laundering activities in this industry. Also, Al Awadhi noted that these new measures would be applicable on all insurance companies, including foreign insurance companies operating in the jurisdiction. She emphasized that the insurance companies and the insurance-related professions would be held accountable in case a money laundering crime is committed either in their name or in the name of their companies or accounts intentionally.

Saudi Arabia has a number of measures underway aimed at rooting out terrorism, particularly financing of terrorist organisations and money laundering. This was announced by Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Salem, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior.

On November 14, Al Salem addressed the closing session of the 10th Conference on Transnational Crime that was organised by the Crans Montana Forum and held in Paris. Al Salem said Saudi Arabia is opposed to all forms of terrorism and that it will continue its crackdown on criminals intending to disrupt the peace and stability of the country.

Also, he said that Saudi Arabia abides by all international resolutions connected with combating terrorism. The government of Saudi Arabia has signed bilateral agreements with other countries on combating terror funding and money laundering.