Are there success stories in the international fight against money laundering and sanctions evasion? The island nation of Cyprus is making its case.
Sanctions
Posted inEurope
Q&A: Hellenic Bank CCO on progress made to fight corruption in Cyprus
Maria Aristidou Demetriou, chief compliance officer at Cyprus-based Hellenic Bank, spoke to Compliance Week about derisking in the Cypriot banking sector since Russian’s invasion of Ukraine and efforts to combat corruption, money laundering, and sanctions evasion.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
DOJ indicts five in remote IT work scheme to circumvent North Korean sanctions
Five people, including two Americans, allegedly duped U.S. companies into hiring North Koreans for contract IT work, and funneled millions in U.S. dollars to the sanctioned regime, the Department of Justice said.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC fines cannabis hedge fund $150K for bogus AML policies, ties to Russian oligarch Abramovich
Cannabis hedge fund Navy Capital Green Management agreed to pay $150,000 to settle charges levied by the Securirties and Exchange Commission that the firm misled investors about its AML/CFT policies and allowed a sanctioned Russian oligarch to invest.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SkyGeek dinged by OFAC for completing orders, refunds with sanctioned Russian firms
Nearly three years after Russia invaded Ukraine, numerous U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia-based companies connected to the war effort have made doing business in the country fraught with unseen risks, as one U.S. airplane parts distributor learned recently.
Posted inData Privacy
Top 5 risks for 2025: U.S. uncertainty, global trade war, digital attacks
A prominent risk management firm has issued its predictions for the top five risks for business in 2025, along with guidance for how organizations should prepare and respond.
Posted inInternal Controls
OCC orders Bank of America to shore up BSA/AML, sanctions compliance programs
Bank of America avoided a monetary penalty in agreeing to settle charges with the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency but was ordered to shore up previously disclosed deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) and sanctions compliance programs.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Minnesota transport company hit with sanctions violations for Cuba, Iran trade
A Minnesota transportation company agreed to pay nearly $258,000 to settle allegations that a subsidiaries violated sanctions against Cuba and Iran more than 80 times, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said.
Posted inAML
Evolving sanctions rules make continuous screening, due diligence essential in 2025
The EU and U.K. have rushed to commit themselves to intensifying action on sanctions evasion after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, but any compliance managers who believe Trump will make global sanctions compliance easier in 2025 are likely to be disappointed.
Posted inEurope
U.K., EU enforcement regimes set to escalate, but critics question sanctions’ effectiveness
With a new political regime ready to take over in the U.S., the effectiveness of sanctions against malign foreign actors like Russia, North Korea, and Iran have come into question. While the European Union and U.K. have increased sanctions pressure, critics have publicly asked: Is it enough?
