When the U.K.’s financial regulator reported that firms’ sanctions compliance had fallen short in multiple areas, it was a warning to the sector that improvements need to be made—and quickly—as oversight and enforcement are set to be cranked up.
United Kingdom
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SFO and U.S. authorities investigate collapsed telecoms firm IMC
The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office has announced that it has launched an investigation into suspected fraud, false accounting and money laundering at telecoms firm Internet Mobile Communications Limited.
Posted inSurveys & Benchmarking
U.K. governance professionals rising in influence, survey finds
Governance professionals are increasingly regarded as being more critical to the success of their organizations, according to a recent survey which found that two-thirds of respondents thought the influence of the governance function was growing.
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
U.K. increases fines for poor audit practices while audit firms criticized for poor practices and quality failures
U.K. audit regulator, the FRC, has fined audit firms and their partners $17.37 million for audit misconduct over the past year.
Posted inFinancial Services
Streamlined reporting rules will save U.K. financial services industry $145.3 million per year, says FCA
The U.K.’s financial regulator has simplified the requirements around transaction reporting—which helps detect market abuse and other financial crimes—as part of a drive to cut “duplicative or low-value reporting.”
Posted inSanctions
U.S. continues to dominate sanctions penalties, but EU and U.K. penalties are increasing
Sanctions regimes in the U.S., U.K. and EU are evolving rapidly, causing continual changes, and the penalties for failure – civil and criminal – are potentially huge. Multiple inconsistent sanctions lists and increased focus on supply chains and third-party entities are making compliance for global organizations a full-time headache.
Posted inInsurance
Former Lloyd’s CEO breached code of conduct
The former CEO of Lloyd’s of London breached the insurance market’s compliance rules after his relationship with a fellow director was deemed to be so close that it created “a perceived conflict of interest.”
Posted inSanctions
FCA calls out good and poor practices in sanctions reporting
Financial firms have made progress in preventing sanctions breaches, but serious gaps in governance and compliance remain, which are likely to result in keener regulatory scrutiny and potentially more penalties in the future, say experts.
Posted inRegulatory Policy
U.K. waters down final crypto rules after industry feedback
The U.K.’s financial watchdog has watered down some of the key compliance requirements for crypto firms as it released its first full set of rules for the industry to follow.
Posted inOpinion
Chris Clarke, CCO at Bloomsbury Money, explains why asset tokenization and risk-based compliance are key FS trends
An early role in AML and due diligence in a client-facing role gave Chris Clarke his first taste of compliance. His background in Jersey, an international financial center that services global markets, made financial services an obvious choice.