Tweet A woman in California, who admitted operating an unlicensed in-person digital currency exchange where she traded cash for Bitcoin,  was sentenced today to 12 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of US$20,000. Theresa Tetley pled guilty to conducting an illegal business and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions involving Bitcoin, and […]
Tweet Jihad Express Gaziantep, Turkey appears to have emerged as a city of choice for terrorist financing and human trafficking for the Islamic State (“ISIS“) in the past twelve months. Gaziantep is a city close to the Syrian border and is considered one of the key “porous” border towns, where people and goods illegally sold […]
Tweet ISIS Â sending defectors back home According to the popular website “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently” written by people who oppose the Islamic State (“ISIS“) living in ar Raqqa, Syria, a town occupied by ISIS, ISIS is starting a campaign to send defectors back home to places like Canada, the UK, France and the US […]
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 The question every credit union has been asking for the past five years – namely, do we have anti-money laundering law obligations over the financial transactions of business clients that are money services businesses (“MSB“) – was just answered by FinCEN with a $300,000 fine. Last week, FinCEN assessed the fine against the North […]
Tweet AUSTRAC unregisters MSB Australia’s financial intelligence unit, AUSTRAC, has suspended the registration and activities of a money services business (MSB) in Australia over questions arising from potential terrorist financing. It is the first time AUSTRAC has suspended a reporting entity. The MSB, operating under the trade name Bisotel Rieh Pty Ltd., failed to report […]
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 De-risking that results in unbankable businesses By Christine Duhaime, B.A., J.D., Financial Crime and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist Follow @cduhaime In a speech delivered to the anti-money laundering legal and law enforcement community, the Director of FinCEN, Jennifer Shasky Calvery, made some interesting and compelling comments that touch on the economic costs of anti-money laundering (“AML“) […]
Tweet The U.S. Department of the Treasury has designated two money services businesses in Afghanistan, the New Ansari Money Exchange (and its alleged founder Haji Abdullah Ansari) and the Ahmad Shah Money Exchange (and its alleged owner Ahmad Shah Hakimi), as major money laundering vehicles that facilitate the trafficking of drugs out of Afghanistan. The […]
Tweet FINTRAC, Canada’s financial intelligence unit, has assessed relatively minor penalties against two money services businesses. Sutlej Foreign Exchange Inc., an Ontario-based money services business, was fined $8,450 for failing to: have a written compliance plan; undertake a risk assessment for a compliance plan; train employees on anti-money laundering; report electronic funds transfers to FINTRAC; […]