FCA Hits Nationwide with £44mn Fine for Failing to Flag Suspect Payments
Nationwide Building Society has been hit with a £44-million fine by the UK’s financial regulator over longstanding weaknesses in its systems to detect and prevent financial crime, including failures that allowed tens of millions of pounds in fraudulent Covid furlough payments to pass through a customer’s account.
In U.S. Migrant Crackdown, a Renewed Focus on Cross-Border Remittances
The United States is tightening its oversight of the tens of billions of dollars resident and undocumented migrants send home each year through Western Union, MoneyGram, and other money services businesses (MSBs), according to a recent U.S. Treasury Department warning.
Nigeria to Tighten Bank Cash Withdrawal Limits
Nigeria’s central bank has unveiled sweeping new cash withdrawal limits and related rule changes aimed at curbing cash dependence and reducing security and money-laundering risks, according to Reuters.
FCA to Overhaul Transaction Reporting
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation to overhaul the country’s transaction reporting regime, promising both stronger tools to combat financial crime and a lighter reporting burden for firms.
California Crime Ring Using ID Docs of Foreign Scholars to Defraud Financial Firms
ID thieves based in California’s San Fernando Valley and Glendale have been using the Social Security Numbers of foreign scholars who left the U.S. years ago to file hundreds of bank and credit-card applications, according to a cybercrime expert who spoke with the Los Angeles Times.
Coinbase Fined €22mn for Failing to Monitor Europe Payments
The Central Bank of Ireland has fined cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase €21.5 million for failing to properly monitor transactions, including activity potentially linked to child sexual exploitation, drug trafficking, money laundering and other crimes.
AUSTRAC Fines Crypto ATM Operator as Scam Concerns Grow
Australia’s financial crimes watchdog has fined a second crypto ATM provider in a widening crackdown on machines increasingly linked to money laundering and scams, the country’s ABC News reported.
HSBC Sets Aside $1.1 Billion for Madoff Litigation
HSBC Holdings Plc will take a $1.1 billion provision in its third-quarter results to cover potential liabilities tied to investor lawsuits linked to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, Bloomberg reported.
FINTRAC Imposes Record Fine Against Vancouver-Based Cryptomus
Canada’s financial intelligence agency has fined Vancouver-based cryptocurrency exchange Cryptomus nearly C$177 million, saying the firm failed to report thousands of transactions that may have involved sanctions evasion and money laundering tied to fraud, ransomware and child sexual abuse material.
Senate GOP Bill Would Raise BSA Reporting Thresholds and Tie Them to Inflation
Proposed legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would increase dollar-thresholds triggering reporting requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act for the first time since 1970 and require periodic adjustments to account for inflation, Republican lawmakers said. The “Streamlining Transaction Reporting and Ensuring Anti-Money Laundering Improvements for a New Era Act”, or STREAMLINE Act, would raise the […]