Financial Crime Weekly Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Hello, and welcome to episode 128 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast, I’m Chris Kirkbride. After a few relatively quiet weeks, we are back up to the lengthy episodes of the podcast. New designations from the US and UK. On money laundering, the IMF reports on its recent Uganda mission. The fraud news comes with reports on the scale of fraudulent insurance claims in the UK, a guilty plea in a fraud case against a former solicitor, and research from the Social Market Foundation on the scale of the global fraud problem. The SEC in the US has been active against market abuse, and the FCA in the UK has charged two individuals with insider dealing offences. There’s more research from the Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime on the state of financial crime enforcement collaboration, and there is also a round-up of this week’s cybercrime news.

A transcript of this podcast is available at www.crimes.financial, with links to the stories.

Hello, and welcome to episode 127 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast, I’m Chris Kirkbride. Another shorter episode this week, so I think we can all be pleased about that. On sanctions news, new designations from the US and UK, and even a bit of enforcement action from the UK. On money laundering, the FATF has published its MER on India, OPBAS in the UK has published its fifth report on Professional Body Supervisors, while the Egmont Group has suspended Columbia from membership over breach of confidence. On bribery and corruption news, GRECO has published its report on the Republic of Ireland, and the Mayor of NYC has been charged with bribery offences. The fraud news brings confirmation from the UK of the APP fraud reimbursement limit, and there is a range of Covid-19 fraud news. There are some other bits and pieces and a limited bit of cybercrime news.

A transcript of this podcast is available at www.crimes.financial, with links to the stories.

Hello, and welcome to episode 118 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast, I’m Chris Kirkbride. On sanctions this week, designations from the US, and extension of existing sanctions from the EU. On bribery and corruption, the anti-corruption body in Zambia is cleared out, and another pressure group gives its two penn’orth on the new Labour government’s approach to corruption. The money laundering news comes from the IMF, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and MONEYVAL has published a report on Jersey. There is also a round-up of the cyber-attack news this week.

As usual, I have linked the main stories flagged in the podcast in the description. These are:

Council of the European Union, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine: Council renews economic sanctions for a further 6 months.

Europol, Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2024.

Europol, Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2024 (Report).

International Monetary Fund, Panama: Financial Sector Assessment Program - Technical Note on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).

MONEYVAL, MONEYVAL acknowledges Jersey’s progress in improving measures to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

MONEYVAL, Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures Jersey: Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation Report.

National Crime Agency, NCA infiltrates world's most prolific DDoS-for-hire service.

National Cyber Security Centre, "If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it." (Blog post).

National Cyber Security Centre, New legislation will help counter the cyber threat to our essential services (Blog post).

New Zealand Serious Fraud Office, Phone scam.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, GENERAL LICENCE - Russian Banks – UK subsidiaries – Guernsey subsidiary – EU subsidiaries - Basic needs, routine holding and maintenance, the payment of legal fees and insolvency related payments: INT/2022/1280876.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, General licence - INT/2022/1280876.

Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury Targets PRC-based Procurement Network Supporting DPRK Ballistic Missile and Space Programs.

Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury Implements REPO for Ukrainians Act Reporting Requirement.

Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury Sanctions Rebel Alliance Driving Instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Solicitors Regulation Authority, Annual report by the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) for the year ended 5 April 2024 (Annex).

Spotlight on Corruption, Thin gruel for anti-corruption campaigners – the new government’s King’s Speech.

UKFIU, SARs in Action: Issue 26.

US Department of Justice, Leader of $200 Million Ponzi Scheme Pleads Guilty to Mail and Wire Fraud Conspiracy and Faces 20 Years’ Imprisonment.

Hello, and welcome to this week in financial crime. I’m your host, Chris Kirkbride. Another busy week this week. Sanctions, money laundering, fraud, corruption. The usual life-affirming stuff. I’ll just crack on with it.

These are the links to the principal documents mentioned in the podcast:

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, Formal meeting (oral evidence session): Fraudulent company registrations: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill.

Companies House, List of UK-regulated agents who can complete verification checks on beneficial owners of an overseas entity.

Insolvency Service, 10-year ban for Plymouth print boss on top of 5-year bankruptcy restrictions.

Insolvency Service, Bankrupt caterer abused Covid-19 loan scheme.

Insolvency Service, Restaurateurs disqualified after abusing Bounce Back Loans.

Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (‘JMLSG’), Proposed amendments to Part II of its Guidance.

Law Commission of England & Wales, Confiscation under Part 2 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Miller & Chevalier, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Autumn Review 2022.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Annual Review 2021-2022.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, General Licence INT/2022/2339452.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Portugal needs to urgently step up its foreign bribery enforcement, says the OECD Working Group on Bribery.

Transparency International, Transparency International calls for accountability in Madagascar’s lychee market.

UK government, Factsheet: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill overarching.

UK government, Guidance: The UK Sanctions List.

US Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, Nigerian Man Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Launder Tens of Millions of Dollars from Online Scams.

US Department of Justice, Indian National Charged in $8 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme.

US Department of Justice, Cary Man Pleads Guilty in Multi-Million COVID-19 Fraud Scheme.

Hello, and welcome to this week in financial crime. I’m your host, Chris Kirkbride. After a fallow week, there has been an uptick in activity again. Lots of reports published this week, more sanctions activity, plenty on the cyber risks to keep all of us focused, but especially compliance people, and Glencore receives its sentence for bribery for its guilty plea in relation to the English prosecution.

These are the links to the principal documents mentioned in the podcast:

BBC News, Cyber-attacks on small firms: The US economy's 'Achilles heel'?.

Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), Rogue Traders cash in on victims as the cost-of-living crisis continues.

Civil Market Abuse Claim, Financial Conduct Authority v Konstantinos Papadimitrakopoulos and Dimitris Gryparis [2022] EWHC 2792 (Ch).

Financial Conduct Authority, FCA prosecutes five individuals for role in 'all-ornothing’ investment scheme.

Insolvency Service, Directors banned in care home investment scheme.

Insolvency Service, East Midlands directors banned for Bounce Back Loan abuse.

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, Anti-Money Laundering Supervision Annual Report.

Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Brothers in Arms: The Value of Coalitions in Sanctions Regimes.

Serious Fraud Office, Glencore to pay £280 million for ‘highly corrosive’ and ‘endemic’ corruption.

Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, Anti-Money Laundering annual report 2021-2022.

The Guardian, UK adds two Roman Abramovich ‘business associates’ to Russia sanctions list.

UK government press release, UK sanctions Russian steel and petrochemical tycoons funding Putin's war.

UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, The cost of complacency: illicit finance and the war in Ukraine: Government Response to the Committee’s Second Report.

UK National Cyber Security Centre, Helping you with Cyber Security – a webinar for Small Organisations.

UK National Cyber Security Centre, Annual Review 2022 and Executive Summary.

UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK.

UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, General Licence INT/2022/2339452.

UK secondary legislation, The Sanctions (Damages Cap) Regulations 2022.

U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Sanctions against 15 Khordad Foundation.

Wolfsberg Group, Wolfsberg Financial Crime Principles for Correspondent Banking.

Hello, and welcome to this week in financial crime. I’m your host, Chris Kirkbride. After a bumper couple of weeks, I’m glad to say that things have eased down in the last week. Actually, the timing has been perfect as I have been off-the-scale busy at work. So, the usual mix of sanctions and money laundering, with a couple of minor bits of fraud, cyber, and bribery. Let's get on with it.

These are the links to the principal documents mentioned in the podcast:

European Commission, Public-private partnership anti-money laundering guidance.

European Commission, Supranational Risk Assessment Report.

Financial Action Task Force, Outcomes FATF Plenary, 20-21 October 2022.

Financial Action Task Force, Revision of R25 and its Interpretive Note – Public Consultation.

Financial Action Task Force, FATF Guidance on Beneficial Ownership (Recommendation 24) - Public Consultation.

HM Treasury, Factsheet: Beneficial Ownership.

Information Commissioner’s Office, ‘Biggest cyber risk is complacency, not hackers’ - UK Information Commissioner issues warning as construction company fined £4.4 million.

Mayor of London, New Cyber Resilience Centre.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Guidance Annual frozen asset review and reporting form.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, General Licence INT/2022/2305324 and General Licence INT/2022/2307324.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Legal Fees General Licence INT/2022/2252300.

UK government, Cryptocurrency trading firm shut down after scamming investors.

US Embassy in Moldova, Treasury Targets Corruption and the Kremlin’s Malign Influence Operations in Moldova.

Hello, and welcome to this week in financial crime. I’m your host, Chris Kirkbride. Now, I thought last week was a bumper week, but it’s got nothing on this week. For the rest of my work, this week could not have come at a worse time, but I waded through it anyway.... So, we’d best get on with it.

These are the links to the principal documents mentioned in the podcast:

Eurojust, Report on Money Laundering (Executive Summary).

Eurojust, Report on Money Laundering (Full Report).

Financial Conduct Authority, FCA begins criminal proceedings against five individuals involved with Worthington Group plc.

Financial Conduct Authority, FCA publishes Decision Notices for Barclays plc and Barclays Bank plc (together “Barclays”).

Financial Conduct Authority, Scams offering to 'write off debts' targeting UK consumers.

Financial Conduct Authority, Protect yourself from scams.

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Cost-of-living crisis prompts cybercrime change of tack.

Interpol, Global Crime Trends Report.

National Crime Security Centre, 10 Steps to Cyber Security.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, OFAC-OFSI Enhanced Partnership.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, General licence - INT/2022/1552576.

Spotlight on Corruption Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme, A Privileged Profession? How the UK’s legal sector escapes effective supervision for money laundering (Executive Summary).

Spotlight on Corruption, The Work of the Serious Fraud Office: Briefing for the Justice Committee session on 19th October 2022.

Spotlight on Corruption Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme, A Privileged Profession? How the UK’s legal sector escapes effective supervision for money laundering (Full Report).

US Department of the Treasury, Enhancing the US-UK Sanctions Partnership.

US Department of the Treasury, Treasury Sanctions Russian Military Technology Procurement Network in Coordination with Law Enforcement Action.

Hello, and welcome to this week in financial crime. I’m your host, Chris Kirkbride. It’s been a bumper week of interesting stories. Lots of different bits and pieces on sanctions, some anti-money laundering enforcement action, and a couple of high-profile reports on fraud and exploitation of LLPs for purposes of economic crime. So, we’d best get on with it.

These are the links to the principal documents mentioned in the podcast:

Financial Conduct Authority, Press Release: FCA fines Gatehouse Bank £1.5m for poor anti-money laundering checks.

Financial Conduct Authority, Decision Notice: Gatehouse Bank plc.

HMRC, HMRC cracks down on unlawful estate agents.

Insolvency Service, Director of Pembroke restaurant company banned for seven years.

Kish Parella Blog Post, Corporate Self-Sanctions.

Law Society, Proportionality of the SRA’s extra powers in combatting economic crime must be considered

Payment Systems Regulator, PSR directs 400 firms to introduce the payment protection measure, Confirmation of Payee.

Transparency International, Partners in Crime: Analysing the Potential Scale of Abuse of Limited Liability Partnerships in Economic Crime.

UK Finance, 2022 Half Year Fraud Update.

US Treasury Department, Treasury Announces Two Enforcement Actions for over $24M and $29M Against Virtual Currency Exchange Bittrex, Inc.

Hello, and welcome to this special edition of the financial crime weekly podcast where we look at the Research Paper on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill 2022-23. The Bill is part of the process which started with the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 which was the Bill hastily passed through Parliament in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Well, this new Bill seeks to build on the start made by the 2022 Act by emboldening the framework in which financial crime is countered and fought.

Hello, and welcome to this week in financial crime. I’m your host, Chris Kirkbride. It’s been an interesting week this week with lots of interesting and varied stories to keep those with an interest in financial crime coming back for more. There is the usual mix of sanctions, especially from the European Union, together with a new report on money mules from a major UK bank. There is also a range of scammer warnings, some dates for your diary on bribery and anti-corruption, as well as some market abuse enforcement action.

These are the links to the principal documents mentioned in the podcast: 

European Commission, EU agrees on eighth package of sanctions against Russia.

European Commission, Questions and Answers on the eighth package of restrictive measures against Russia.

Europol, Suspect arrested in the Netherlands for circumventing EU trade sanctions against Russia.

Financial Conduct Authority, FCA research: A quarter of consumers would withdraw pension savings earlier to cover cost of living – making them vulnerable to scammer ‘misdirection’.

Financial Conduct Authority, Press Release: FCA fines Sigma Broking Limited £530,000 and bans and fines its former directors following market abuse reporting failures.

Financial Conduct Authority, Final Notice: Sigma Broking Ltd.

Financial Conduct Authority, Final Notice: Mr Simon Tyson.

Financial Conduct Authority, Final Notice: Mr Stephen John Tomlin.

Financial Conduct Authority, Final Notice: Mr Matthew Charles Kent.

Lloyds Banking Group, Money mules are getting older – with serious penalties for those caught moving scam cash.

OFSI, Changes to consolidated list as at 4th October 2022.

OFSI, Changes to consolidated list as at 5th October 2022.

OFSI, General Licence, Russian Banks, Guernsey Subsidiary (INT/2022/1280876).

Transparency International, Announcement of publication of ‘Exporting Corruption’ report.

UK House of Commons Library, Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill 2022-23.

UK House of Lords, Effects of Corruption in the UK.