Tweet Do foreign digital currency exchanges that take US customers online have to be AML registered in the US? Not unsurprisingly, the answer is yes. Under US law, digital currency ​exchangers​ qualify as money transmitters and are subject to the obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act. Key concepts to know are that: An exchanger is a person […]
Tweet Canada once again a “Major Money Laundering†country The 2018 “International Narcotics Control Strategy Report†(INCSR) published in March 2018 by the U.S. Department of State identifies Canada once again as a “major money laundering country†along with a host of risky countries for financial crime, and is generally doing a lot worse combatting money […]
Tweet In a report released yesterday on serious organized crime called “Exploring Tomorrow’s Organized Crime” (the “Report“), Europol found that organized crime is now becoming a virtual activity over the Internet and as a result, transnational criminal organizations (“TCO“) are migrating towards virtual payment methods to conduct commercial affairs, including digital payments. According to Europol, […]
Tweet Are Bitcoin Exchanges MSBs? The Québec Government’s Authorité des Marchés Financiers (the “AMF“) today issued a News Release announcing that businesses that operate digital currency ATMs and “platforms for trading virtual currencies” must be licensed by the AMF as money services businesses (“MSB“) pursuant to the provincial Money Services Business Act (the “Act“). It also issued […]
Tweet Terrorist Financing for ISIS using online Payment Processors and MSBs from US Routed to Turkey and Saudi Arabia The USDOJ indicted six people this week for terrorist financing who are alleged to have used money services businesses to finance the Islamic State (“ISIS“) and to supply war-related goods to members of ISIS. According to […]
Tweet Fourth banks closes remittances businesses Another bank in Australia, the Westpac Bank, has announced it will close its remittance business division next week over the difficulty of complying with counter-terrorism laws. By de-risking and closing its remittance division, the Bank is terminating the bank accounts of all of its business customers who operate money […]
Tweet In what may be a world first, a UK Court has jailed the officer and owner of a money services business essentially for failing to comply with regulatory requirements for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing. Paramjit Singh Sangha, who operated a money services business called PS Gold Exchange in England, failed to comply with […]
Tweet Unlimited monetary fines at stake for compliance failures The UK HM Revenue and Customs (“HMRC“) has issued revised guidance (the “Guidance“) for money services businesses (“MSBs“) that renders directors, officers, partners, managers, secretaries and members of the management committee of a MSB personally liable for money laundering and terrorist financing compliance failures. On conviction, directors and […]
Tweet Here’s an interesting story about how a Court dismissed a $24 million money laundering case because, in the Court’s view, the evidence did not prove that three unemployed siblings who funneled millions of dollars in cash through a money services business in Vancouver were laundering proceeds of crime. Even though one of the siblings […]