News
Little Evidence Exists on Cost Effectiveness of AML Laws, Says U.K. Professor
printEstimates on how much money is laundered in the United Kingdom are, at best, mere speculation, says Jacqueline Harvey, a professor at Newcastle upon Tyne, England-based Newcastle Business School. Nonetheless, these estimates are used to justify the growing anti-money laundering (AML) expenses banks and other financial institutions have had to shoulder, according to Harvey, who has studied the efficacy of the financial regulations. In a September 2008 article published in Security Journal, Harvey found that there is "no evidence" of vast, illicit money flows. And when dirty money is recovered by U.K. authorities, the individual totals are typically around 500...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
The Supreme Court nears a ruling on the long-running Arab Bank case, FATF spares Afghanistan from its blacklist, and more, in this week's news roundup.
Most laws meant to combat money laundering have proven counterproductive and have failed to address the fact that dirty money is often cleaned in otherwise legitimate businesses, says Andrew Haynes.
One out of every three British banks is unwilling to turn away customers with an "unacceptable" level of risk for money laundering, the United Kingdom's chief financial regulator said in a report Wednesday.
The United Kingdom's chief financial services regulator Wednesday fined a London-based corporate advisory firm and its anti-money laundering officer, a first for the governmental agency.
A UK High Court Justice said Thursday that terror laws that allow for the freezing of assets of suspected terrorists are unlawful. The judgment stems from an appeal brought by five individuals whose assets were frozen under a United Nations measure targeting terrorists.
A convicted drug dealer was found guilty Monday of failing to disclose the existence of a bank account he held in Spain while serving an eight year sentence for drug trafficking and mortgage fraud offenses.
The country's financial intelligence unit needs to increase its staff and law enforcement agencies need to better train officers in analyzing financial information, according to a report by the U.K.'s top criminal intelligence unit.
American lawyers headed across the Atlantic to handle international cases find the must quickly get up to speed a number of unfamiliar anti-money laundering program requirements.
Whether political figures like Augusto Pinochet require extra scrutiny from financial institutions that serve them long after they leave office may change in European Union nations under a 2004 AML directive expected to be implemented union-wide this year, according to analysts.
The new AML regulations authorize law enforcement agents to search a business if they have reasonable cause to believe the entity is subject to AML rules but hasn't registered with the government.
The new law extends anti-money laundering program requirements to industries including real estate companies, company formation agents and consumer credit businesses. They also set guidelines for determining beneficial ownership of various entities.
Proposed changes to AML-related laws and regulations, detailed in a Jan. 22 U.K. Treasury report, include vague definitions of beneficial owners and trusts and lack the clarity businesses and professionals need to meet their regulatory obligations, according to two professional associations.