The Trump administration has taken two actions to attack money laundering rings operating in Mexico, highlighting the U.S. government’s focus on curbing the fentanyl trade and the illegal profits it generates.
Sanctions
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Treasury reversal of OFAC sanctions against Tornado Cash signals eroding AML scrutiny
The U.S. Treasury Department lifted its sanctions against cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash on Friday after a federal appeals court ruled in November the penalty levied by the agency’s Office of Foreign Assets Control was an overreach.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Experts question effectiveness of new enforcement tool SFO is finally wielding
The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office has made its first use of an enforcement tool that was meant to bring oligarchs and kleptocrats to book. But lawyers are unsure whether the move signifies either a change in direction or fortune for the agency.
Posted inEurope
Inside Cyprus’ efforts to stem money laundering and sanctions evasion
Are there success stories in the international fight against money laundering and sanctions evasion? The island nation of Cyprus is making its case.
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.