Cryptocurrency: Wild West or Wall Street? [More with McGlinchey, Ep. 22]
In this weekly update, we summarise the most notable updates in the UK sanctions world. 1. Russia Sanctions - UK Government adds Russian-based cyber hacker under Cyber regime: On January 23, 2024, the UK Government,...more
On May 2, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, a joint action with the Republic of Turkey to designate two financial facilitators of Syria-based...more
On January 5, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 13224 against a key financial facilitation network of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria...more
On October 21, 2022, the global Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) added the nation of Myanmar to its so-called “blacklist” of jurisdictions with “strategic deficiencies” in their legal and regulatory regimes that permit...more
Since 9/11, countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) has been a focus of U.S. and international security policy, and an evolving feature of the regulatory and risk environment for authorities and the private sector. In the...more
In this post we discuss disclosure obligations under Canadian economic sanctions and anti-terrorism laws, including in respect of financial services providers. As discussed below: There are disclosure obligations...more
On March 7, 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert calling on financial institutions to be “vigilant” in guarding against attempts to evade the recent imposition of expanded Russia sanctions....more
2021 was a precedent-setting year for anti-money laundering (“AML”) enforcement and legislation. The digital assets industry continued to grow exponentially, driving the associated AML risks to the forefront of regulatory...more
Introduction - Economic sanctions and anti-terrorism laws are having increasing impact on day-to-day business operations for companies in many industries and have also become an important area of diligence for equity...more
A congressional report released on July 29, 2020, by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, exposes how Russian oligarchs looking to evade U.S. sanctions are able to exploit loopholes in the art industry....more
The 2014 Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict was hosted by former Foreign Secretary William Hague and Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy for the United Nations ("UN") High Commissioner for Refugees. It was...more
Growing Chinese illicit finance threats, vulnerabilities, and exposure are combining to increase illicit financing risk in the international financial system, judging from a series of recent advisories, sanctions actions,...more
On November 12, 2019, FinCEN issued its latest Advisory on the Financial Action Task Force-Identified Jurisdictions with Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism Deficiencies and Relevant Actions by the...more
The Treasury Department on October 25, 2019, imposed a ban on correspondent account relationships involving Iranian financial institutions under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act – activities that were already prohibited by...more
OFAC is clearly sending a message about sanctions enforcement and compliance responsibilities. OFAC is aggressively seeking out new targets for enforcement. OFAC continues to focus on Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea,...more
On 15 May 2018, the UK Parliamentary Treasury Select Committee heard evidence from representatives of Transparency International, Global Witness and the RUSI Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies as part of its...more
The policing and crime bill received royal assent on 31 January 2017. The new Policing and Crime Act 2017 (the Act) introduces changes to a wide cross-section of the criminal justice system, including policing powers and...more
Enforcement activity under the Obama administration often made headlines for the eye-popping level of fines, with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, and economic sanctions...more