​Interesting to see that while the cost for fake/stolen passports and drivers licences have increased (almost double), the cost to hack someone’s email account dropped 60% in 2023.

At least there is no escaping the laws of economics for bad actors!

See this YouTube link for more - ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWb7dUUXO2M

"Inflation is hitting everyone hard it seems — even scammers.
New data reveals the cost of fake or stolen documents like passports and driver's licenses on the dark web has gone up significantly, as demand increases and the number of people being scammed decreases.

According to a report from accounting firm BDO, the average cost of buying a fake or stolen passport on the dark web is now $2,372 (up from $1,399 in the previous quarter), while a driver's license will set you back $844 (up from $465).

But it's a competitive market and in some cases prices have dropped. The average cost to hack into someone's email is now just $262 (down from $668), according to BDO.".  

Here's one for the #moneylaundering typology case studies for #MLROs as part of regulatory training requirements!
 
Relates to the collapse of major investigation into the Kinahan cartel and more than half a billion euros- particularly €500,000,000 stash of cars, properties & cash handed back to the accused by a Spanish judge after collapse of money laundering case.

Continue reading at CompliReg by clicking here.

Access White Paper Here

In the not too distant past, senior management within financial institutions may have regarded failure to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) requirements as low impact. The 2007/8 financial crisis as well as subsequent scandals in financial services have shown the error of this approach. When it comes to AML, the current COVID-19 crisis may pose an evolving and unpredictable threat. To avoid a repetition of the previous mistakes, financial institutions must now put into practice lessons learned from the past; the most urgent one in my book, is that institutions should be adopting a culture of compliance with a ‘live and breathe’ approach to regulatory requirements.
 
In a recent article in the Economist, Jürgen Stock, secretary-general of Interpol, was quoted as saying that COVID-19 may create the ideal conditions for the spread of serious, organised crime. Moreover, Mr. Stock believes that the immanent global economic depression will offer these criminals a chance to extend their reach deep into the legitimate economy. As COVID-19 motivates criminals to evolve their operations, those responsible for stanching the flow of ill-gotten gains into the legitimate economy must stay one step ahead; and this includes financial institutions with their AML obligations.
 
I recently published a white paper on the lessons to be learned from the last financial crisis. For those interested in how a culture of compliance can address complex misconduct relating to AML, this paper is well worth a read. Through reviewing a number of high-profile case studies, I come to the conclusion that at the heart of many AML failures is an institutional culture that treats AML training and procedures as merely means to meet regulatory requirements. The case studies show that these banks failed to ‘live and breathe’ regulatory requirements and that the institutional culture prioritised compliance as merely a tick the box exercise, thereby failing to communicate to employees the priority of compliance and the flexibility of decision making and behaviour that may be necessary to fulfil their AML requirements.
 
Culture is a complex issue. For those interested in how RegTech can enable an examination of institutional culture, through diagnostic tools, the white paper is a must read. In the paper, I explore how The Mizen Group, a RegTech firm based in New York, has developed a suite of tools to help boards and their compliance officers assess the extent to which their institution demonstrates the characteristics of an organisation with a strong compliance culture.
 
The financial crime threats posed by COVID-19 mean that now is the time to commit to a culture of compliance from the ground up. Launderers and criminals are capitalising on the chaos created in the wake of the pandemic and are seeking ways to out-manoeuvre the financial institutions who are generally playing catchup. In response, board of directors and executive management need to be proactive and flexible in their thinking and develop a ‘live and breathe compliance’ mentality.  This will only occur in a healthy compliance culture, wherein employees are empowered to internalise the importance of complying for the right reasons. The first step towards the goal of a healthy compliance culture might be employing tools like Mizen’s innovative culture diagnostics to assess their institutions’ cultural strengths and weaknesses. 

Feel free to contact the RegTech experts at The Mizen Group for further information.

Access White Paper Here

This blog also appears at https://complireg.com/blogs--insights.html

​Australian Bank giant Westpac is expecting to fork out more than $1 billion as a result of its money laundering scandal and admitting to 23 million anti-money laundering breaches.

It's not just story about culture, conduct risk and financial crime risks.  Far more importantly, it is a story of shame, leadership failure and financial pain for Westpac and relief for another Aussie bank.
 
The fine would be the biggest corporate fine in Australian history. Westpac has revealed it expects the ongoing AUSTRAC investigation will cost it $1.03 billion.  Such a fine will represent about 15% of the bank's 2019 profit.
 
Shame: In November last year AUSTRAC, the entity responsible for preventing financial crimes, said the bank had violated anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws more than 23 million times (which the bank admits), allowing money tied to child exploitation in south-east Asia to flow freely. For example, Westpac's system was used by paedophiles to send money to the Philippines to pay for child abuse material without raising any red flags.   Notwithstanding Westpac's admission, the bank is not going down without a fight.  In the 57-page defence document filed with the court, Westpac denied AUSTRAC'S accusation that it failed to identify activity indicative of child exploitation risks.
 
Leadership Failure: The scandal brought down Westpac's leadership, forcing the resignation of chief executive Brian Hartzer and the early retirement of chairman Lindsay Maxsted.
 
Financial Pain: Last year Australian financial press reported that a penalty or settlement of $2 billion or $3 billion would see its CET1 ratio falling below 10.5% meaning the bank would be forced into another equity raising. And the trouble doesn't stop there for Westpac as the corporate regulator, ASIC, is probing into Westpac's previous $2.5 billion equity raise.
 
Relief: Commonwealth Bank will be delighted to pass the mantle of the indignity of Australia's current money laundering record fine of $700 million to Westpac (Commonwealth Bank was fined for systemically failing to report around 54,000 suspicious transactions made through its "intelligent deposit machines").
 
If you want more on the story from the media, there are updates on an almost weekly basis  - soon I guess daily basis.  Just use this link to keep track of the story:  "Westpac Austrac money laundering fine".

And add case to your case studies and typologies in your AML / CTF training for everything from CDD, transaction monitoring, risk assessment, culture, condusct risk and (lack of) crisis management.

Peter Oakes, Founder, CompliReg
​
Peter Oakes is an experience anti-financial crime, fintech and board director professional.  He served as Ireland's first Director of Enforcement and Financial Crime Supervision at the Central Bank of Ireland (2010-2013) in the aftermath of the financial crisis, leading the investigation and enforcement efforts into the Irish banking industry.  Peter is a regular contributor to, and moderator and panel member at, ACAMS events.