Explore AML & Sanctions Compliance Resources

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was established in July 1989 to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Today, more than 200 countries follow their recommendations and AML standards. As part of their mandate to curb financial crime, the FATF blacklists countries that have been identified as being inadequate in their counter-financing of terrorist regimes or anti-money-laundering practices. This list is sometimes called the FATF AML deficient list. Before countries are blacklisted, they are placed on a greylist to first address identified strategic shortcomings as well as the agreed time frames for remediation. This article will explore the differences between blacklists and greylists in greater detail, as well as how to remain compliant.

Cyber sanctions are a fairly new addition to the global regulatory environment, but they are increasingly important. These sanctions work in a similar fashion to traditional sanctions. They are designed to restrict transactions, trade and commercial connections with individuals and organizations that are suspected of carrying out cyber-enabled assaults.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Economic Sanctions have been in the spotlight for the last couple of weeks. In this article we discuss what Economic Sanctions are and how they exactly work.

While more resources and attention is spent combating money laundering and terrorist funding than ever before, the first and best line of defense often lies with financial institutions and concerned citizens who report suspicious activities to their local Financial Intelligence Unit. To encourage diligent reporting and monitoring, there are severe penalties for both individuals and institutions who fail to file a suspicious transaction report (STR) or suspicious activity report (SAR) despite having reasonable grounds to believe that a transaction is related to criminal activity.

In June 2022, the European Council adopted a sixth package of sanctions against Russia prohibiting the purchase, transfer or import of crude oil and other petroleum products to the EU, to be applied over the next six to eight months. These restrictions will cover nearly 90% of Russian oil imports to Europe by the end of 2022, reducing their trade profits significantly. While these unprecedented sanctions have not had their desired effect, businesses and citizens affected continue to hope that the conflict will be resolved and that business will resume as normal. Until then, however, it’s important for all businesses involved in international trade to keep abreast of current and potential sanctions that may still be implemented in the coming months.