Compliance officers can learn a lot from the anti-money laundering compliance shortcomings at Julius Baer Group, as well as from what the Swiss multinational private bank is now doing to enhance its risk management and AML compliance controls.
The shortcomings were uncovered by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, known as FINMA, following inspections the regulator had conducted at several Swiss banks over alleged cases of corruption linked to Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and world soccer federation FIFA. Part of this process included appointing an agent to investigate Julius Baer in 2017, an investigation FINMA said it broadened in 2018 following the arrest of one of the bank’s client advisers in the United States and in response to events unfolding in Venezuela.
