What Does 2022 Hold for AML?
Alongside the FCA alerts there are changing terrorism threats which impose new challenges in Combatting Terrorist Financing. Again, regulated businesses should anticipate robust enforcement combined with the enactment of new laws and regulations to aid those enforcement efforts.
Digital solutions will provide regulated businesses with the ability to simply re-examine their response to sanctions and to prevent the use of their products and services by terrorist organisations.
An additional focus of AML will be the continuing emergence of digital currencies. By their very nature, these assets are specifically designed to provide a certain level of anonymity to transactions. This will undoubtedly be an area of focus for financial regulators, as they look to develop regulation to reduce the risks created by these payment alternatives.
Failing to evidence adequate processes for AML could leave regulated businesses exposed to the threat of fines and criminal proceedings by AML regulators, even if it is not apparent that any financial crime has been committed.
In addition to the above, with the advent of the 6th Money Laundering Directive (6AML), the EU unveiled a new anti-money laundering (AML) package in 2021, including new legislative proposals. This comprised a single new directive and three new regulations which will impact the EU in four key AML areas:
- Implementing a single anti-money laundering rulebook
- Introducing a new anti-money laundering supervisory authority
- Delivering an FIU coordination and support mechanism
- Detailing new requirements for crypto transfers
These proposals deliver clear improvements to the current regulations by introducing a new supervisory approach and rules, whilst updating and refining existing requirements. This is a significant move, as it will end the ability of individual EU member states to use independent and different approaches to supervision and expectations, regarding the implementation and control execution of directives.
If you would like to discuss your AML requirements and see how NorthRow can improve your processes to meet the regulators demands, please book a time for a call.
