The Laundry

Last week we hosted, The Laundry Live - a live-streamed community event featuring subject-matter experts such as; Louise Brown, Graham Barrow, Gregory Dellas, and Christian Hunt.Our speaker, Louise Brown, Director of Financial Crime Prevention at FCG, shared her insights on the AML trends in 2023 and beyond. Listen to this episode to hear her thoughts and get ahead of the curve.We recommend you watch the entire YouTube event here.Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us as we uncover the truth behind Britain's 'kleptocracy capital'.Award-winning and investigative journalist Oliver Bullough joins this week's The Laundry episode to discuss how London has become a safe haven for the world's wealthiest people to hide their stolen money and spend it with no questions asked. Bullough explains how the problem originated and how the lack of regulation in the UK has enabled oligarchs, criminals and kleptocrats to use London's banks to launder their wealth. Don't miss this exciting episode about how London became the money laundering capital of the world.From this episode, you'll learn:00:00 - 09:11 What inspired Oliver to write the book, "Butler to the World"09:11 - 15:32 How Britain became a world-class enabler of financial crime15:32 - 21:32 Oliver takes you through the "Kleprocrat tour"21:32 - 23:28 How Britain has turned Gibraltar into the "world's biggest online casino"23:28 - 26:31 The register of overseas owners of UK properties26:31 - 37:44 Why the current AML regulations don't work37:44 - 42:06 The recent EU ruling on UBO registers is a complete disaster42:06 - 45:06 The politicians are failing to address money laundering adequately45:06 - 48:00 How do we clean up this mess? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode, we're deep-diving into FCG's "AML State of Play report", a comprehensive study of the AML practices of ten of Denmark's largest financial institutions. The report is based on anonymous interviews with senior executives from the ten banks.Together with Kenneth Ullmann Eenholt, director at FCG Denmark, we explore the key findings from the report and the progress made since the money laundering scandals of recent years. Kenneth also shares his expert insight into the enormous investments in AML programs and why they're not yet paying off.From this episode, you'll learn:00:00 - 07:16: Take on the significance of money laundering on a global and Nordic level07:16 - 09:48: Why the enormous AML investments aren't paying off09:48 - 20:24: Advice to top management and operational teams20:24 - 26:26: Recommendations for implementation of technologies26:26 - 33:55: Uncertainty about roles and responsibilities within the organisation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2022, the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority in the UK) raised the possibility that criminals may take advantage of the speedy onboarding process of challenger banks (neobanks), mainly to create money mule networks.Their report also noted that challenger banks advertise the ability to open accounts quickly, which may lead to insufficient information being gathered on higher-risk customers during the account opening process.Consequently, the FCA reviewed the financial crime controls of a sample of challenger banks that compete with traditional retail banks.In this episode, we will, together with one of the leading experts in the field, James Nurse from Fintrail, a specialist consultant firm in the financial crime space, explore the risks associated with challenger banks and how traditional retail banks are faring in comparison.We'll also look at the financial crime controls amongst the challenger banks to better understand the situation.From this episode, you'll learn:01:39 - 02:42: What led to the need for a review of challenger banks' financial crime practices?02:42 - 05:25: Critical weaknesses identified by FCA05:25 - 06:58: How challenger banks can adapt customer risk assessment & EDD for the heightened risk of sanctions evasion06:58 - 08:55: How challenger banks & traditional banks differ in legislation they must comply with08:55 - 09:57: What guidance is available to challenger banks to help meet AML/CTF obligations09:57 - 11:24: What technologies are available to help11:24 - 12:43: James' top tips12:43 - 14:12: Why a compelling financial crime change program is crucial14:12 - 15:27: What challenger banks should expect from the FCA in terms of monitoring their compliance with the AML regulations in 202315:27 - 16:49: What risk controls are the challenger banks usually good at—and maybe even better at compared to the traditional banks?16:49 - 19:44: How you can balance the need for robust KYC with a seamless customer experience19:44 - 21:15: How the KYC process for challenger banks differ from traditional banks21:15 - 24:22: Why "Effectiveness" continue to be a big 2023 compliance trend Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guess where the business name 'Adolf Tooth-Fairy Hitler' is registered?Registering a business at Companies House, the official business registry in the UK is an easy, quick, and affordable process. However, strange business owner names like 'Adolf Tooth-Fairy Hitler' appear in the organisation's database, suggesting that limited checks are being conducted and reveal a system vulnerable to criminal manipulation.In this episode, we will be exploring the vulnerability of the UK's company registration system to criminal manipulation.We have Graham Barrow, co-host of "The Dark Money Files" podcast and a long-standing expert in the anti-money laundering world. He will help us look into the groups of criminals behind this issue, the countries affected, and the measures being taken to address the vulnerabilities of the Companies House system. We will also discuss digital reforms to the Companies House, the EU's new UBO ruling, and the craziest company names registered with Companies House.From this episode, you'll learn:02:22 - What kind of criminal manipulation is Companies House vulnerable to?03:19 - How are UK-registered companies been misused in money-laundering scandals?04:50 - What groups of criminals are behind this?06:13 - Why should Nordic AML and compliance officers care about what's going on in CH?08:29 - Are there any examples of this affecting Nordic banks?12:38 - What are the worst examples Graham has seen?17:23 - Do UK banks know this and accept a Companies House registration as good validation?18:54 - What measures are being taken to address the vulnerabilities of the Companies House system?20:48 - What are some of the most misused addresses/streets in the UK on Company House?24:29 - What is Risk Alert 247?28:10 - What are some of the compliance trends for 2023 from a UK perspective?Tune in to find out more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Head of Risk and Compliance at Vipps MobilePay, one of Europe's largest fintech companies, Silke Øverby knows that compliance is more than just a cost centre. Join us to learn how compliance functions can help improve customer satisfaction, boost customer loyalty, and reduce the chances of litigation - all while driving business growth.From this exciting episode, you'll learn:Strategies implemented to turn compliance into a driving force for growth (1:54 - 6:18)Balancing AML/KYC process in a fast-scaling business (6:18 - 8:46)Challenges faced in managing AML/KYC processes (8:46 - 11:14)  Important KPIs for compliance departments (11:14 - 12:10)  Biggest successes of Vipps MobilePay's risk & compliance team (12:10 - 13:37)  Ensuring the compliance team remains agile (13:37 - 15:49)  Changes to the compliance function & improvement to the Vipps MobilePay experience (16:00 - 17:13) Merging two compliance departments (17:13 - 19:50) Tone from the Top (19:50 - 21:27)Bringing compliance closer to the business function (21:27 - 23:29)The compliance bottlenecks, challenges, and opportunities in 2023 (23:29 - 30:30)Automating processes and decisions (30:30 - 32:54)Some great tips and tricks from Silke (32:54 - 36:13)Tune in and enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The EU's new Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) ruling has been making headlines all over Europe. At first glance, it appears to be a major win for those who think public UBO registers infringe on the right to privacy. But is it instead a gigantic Christmas gift to the criminals?In this episode, we explore the pros and cons of the new UBO ruling with Thom Townsend, Executive Director at OpenOwnership and look at how it could affect the fight against financial crime.Join us as we investigate whether the new UBO ruling is a blessing or a curse.From this episode, you'll learn:01:32 - 04:59 What is this recent ruling from the Court Justice of the European Union?04:50 - 06:06 An excellent example of why ending public access to UBO registers is a bad idea.06:07 - 10:40 Do the EU put privacy over AML?10:53 - 14:21 Are there any examples of documented harm due to the open UBO registers? 14:22 - 17:30 What were the key takeaways from the CSABOT (Civil Society Advancing Beneficial Ownership Transparency) conference in Brussels last week?17:31 - 20:17 Why the EU now has a massive responsibility for clarifying and defining the new ruling.20:32 - 24:28 Will AML6 overrule this?24:30 - 28:36 Why the banks and the public industry must step up now.28:39 - 33:08 Many countries are keeping their UBO registers open. Will governments put their national laws above the EU ruling?33:10 - 37:58 Which countries have the most effective implementation of ownership transparency right now? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(Episode in 🇳🇴) Finanstilsynet publiserte nylig et oppdatert rundskriv til hvitvaskingsloven som gir uttrykk for Finanstilsynets tolkning og forvaltningspraksis knyttet til hvitvaskingsloven. Det nye rundskrivet gjelder for alle rapporteringspliktige etter hvitvaskingsregelverket.Sammen med Julie Odden som er leder for kompetanseheving innen økonomisk kriminalitet i PWC går vi igjennom veilederen og ser på de viktigste endringene.Fra denne episoden vil du lære mer om:01:40 - 02:12 Julies generelle tanker om det nye rundskrivet.02:31 - 07:19 Hvordan går en regulert bedrift frem for å operasjonalisere stegene ved risikovurdering?07:21 - 08:48 Risikovurderingen skal baseres på en holistisk vurdering der egne erfaringer er inkludert. Hvilke eksempler på erfaringer bør inkluderes her?08:49 - 10:50 Rapporteringspliktige må revidere sine prosesser når det publiseres relevante risikovurderinger fra organisasjoner og myndigheter. Hvordan kan bedrifter sikre at denne typen endringer fanges opp?10:51 - 13:26 Tilsynet ønsker at arbeidsprosesser skal beskrives. Hvordan bør denne dokumenteringen av rutineverket se ut?13:27 - 14:55 Hva er kombinasjonsrisiko og hvordan kan regulerte bedrifter sikre at de operer i tråd med Finanstilsynets forventinger?14:56 - 19:13 Hvordan tolker Julie de nye anbefalingene for hvordan ulike riskoklasser skal behandles ulikt?19:14 - 25:05 Den oppdaterte veilederen har også noen endringer for kundetiltak. Hva innebærer disse endringene?25:06 - 27:16 Hvilke problemstillinger rundt helautomatisert onboarding bør regulerte bedrifter nå ta en ekstra vurdering rundt?27:17 - 30:13 Julie sine key takeaways fra det nye rundskrivet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The financial frontline of Russia's war in Ukraine runs through the offices of overworked sanctions officers at banks and financial institutes everywhere.It's the bank's job to freeze the accounts and assets of sanctioned individuals, and the pressure is colossal. If you get it wrong or act too slowly, the impact on a bank's brand and bottom line will be felt for years to come.So how is one of the largest Scandinavian banks keeping up with the ever-evolving sanctions measurements? We invited Amalie Korning Wedege, the head of sanctions and FCC focus areas at Danske Bank, to understand how they adapt, operationalise and keep up with the sanctions legislation. From this episode, you'll learn:01:23 - 06:15: What has happened in the invasion's aftermath, and what is the current regulatory focus? 06:16 - 08:29: How has Danske Bank effectively implemented, operationalised and adapted to the ever-changing sanctions?08:30 - 10:49: Six important steps Danske Bank has implemented internally. 10:52 - 13:31: What have been the most challenging parts?13:31 - 16:31: Counterparty screening is a huge topic. How is Danske Bank ensuring its methods include counterparties and the "full picture"?16:32 - 19:47: Examples and potential indicators of sanctions evasion.19:49 - 21:27: Now, ten months after the Russian invasion, what have been the main learning points for Amalie?21:28 - 22:50: Technology, has it been a friend or foe?22:51 - 23:20: How has the "tone from the top" been like at Danske Bank?23:21 - 24:47: What's next? And what trends does Amalie see coming in 2023?24:48 - 26:26: Amalie's best tips to young professionals who are just starting out in compliance.Tune in and enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's special guest is Swedbank's former Chief Compliance Officer Viveka Strangert, also known through media as the "whistleblower" in the massive money laundering scandal.Swedbank was fined 4 billion SEK (€389.8m) in 2020 by Sweden's financial watchdog for severe deficiencies in its AML processes and for withholding information from authorities investigating its role in the scandal, which also implicated Denmark's Danske Bank. Was these scandals a result of a cultural problem? We will try to discover that in our fascinating chat with Viveka.From this episode, you'll learn:00:59 - 04:15: What happened, and what was Viveka's involvement in the Swedbank case?04:15 - 06:04: What it was like for Viveka to testify in court in such a big case.06:16 - 10:05: How these high-profile scandals have changed the culture of compliance among Nordic banks.10:06 - 14:52: Why the "tone from the top" is crucial to building a culture of compliance.15:22 - 16:13: Are the banks and FIs still as naive today as in 2016 when the Swedbank scandal happened?16:14 - 17:21: What advice would Viveka give young up-and-coming compliance officers?17:45 - 19:03: Over-regulation and the negative consequences.Tune in and enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.