Industry Insight

The recommended frequency of AML training organised by an MLRO (Money Laundering Report Officer) is dependent upon several factors that we will cover below – but it is recommended by the Academy that training takes part at least annually. The object…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to emphasise the importance of robust and bespoke AML and financial crime training for firms operating within regulated sectors. Recent fines and publications highlight ten key training requirements th…

The FCA has taken a decisive step forward in its regulatory approach, as highlighted in its latest annual report and outcome metrics. The FCA’s message to the financial services industry is clear: firms must strengthen governance, risk management, a…

As we approach the 23rd anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the critical role financial professionals play in combating terrorism financing (CTF) remains as pertinent as ever. The 9/11 attacks highlighted how terrorist groups exp…

Our latest edition of Chatterbox is now available to read online. All of us involved in the international fight against financial crime are inundated with an enormous volume of news about regulatory changes and emerging threats. The team at Great Ch…

Tax evasion, tax avoidance, tax efficiency, tax arbitrage, tax rationalisation, tax management – these are all terms used to describe the various methods of reducing the tax bill of a legal or natural person. But how do you distinguish between them…

Much has been written about money laundering and what it actually is – in terms of the concept itself and the offences of money laundering. It seems simple – it has been drilled into employees, in financial services particularly, that money launderi…

Trade, the global economy of import/export, has been described as a ‘readymade vehicle for laundering’. So what is it and how does trade based laundering work? Trade based laundering aims to move value through the use of the financial sector.  It re…

Often spoken about as partners in crime (pun intended), bribery and corruption are not the same.   Corruption is the umbrella term for various activities conducted by those in positions of power, quite often those with political power, by abuse of t…

What is terrorist financing? Terrorist financing, as a concept, is concerned with the provision of funding or resources to proscribed terrorist organisations.  The devil, however, is in the detail, e.g.: There is no internationally agreed upon defi…

“Commerce on the Internet has come to rely almost exclusively on financial institutions serving as trusted third parties to process electronic payments. While the system works well enough for most transactions, it still suffers from the inherent wea…

The British are obsessed with the weather, it dominates our conversation, our lives and recently the news headlines. Apocalyptic weather has been reported in Central America, the Caribbean Islands and across the state of Florida, whilst in Asia deva…