Latest news with #terrorismFinancing
Times of Oman
10-07-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
NCFI signs four MoUs on combating money laundering and financing terrorism
Luxembourg: On the sidelines of the Egmont Group's General Meeting, held in Luxembourg, the National Centre for Financial Information signed four memoranda of understanding with counterpart units in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Japan, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and the Republic of Kazakhstan regarding the exchange of information related to money laundering, associated predicate offenses, and terrorism financing. These agreements aim to enhance joint cooperation, coordinate efforts, and facilitate the exchange of information, expertise, and best practices.
The National
08-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Terror financing investigations have 'significant holes' globally, report says
A majority of countries have significant holes in how they investigate terrorism financing cases, a report has found. The report from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering watchdog, said that 69 per cent of the 194 countries assessed also had deficiencies in the prosecution of terrorism financing cases. The report is the first published by the task force since 2015. 'Over the past decade, terrorists have demonstrated a persistent ability to exploit the international financial system to support their activities and carry out attacks,' the report said. 'This continued abuse of the financial system poses a serious threat to global security and undermines international peace.' The FATF identifies countries that have weak measures against terrorism financing and money laundering. Those on its 'blacklist' – considered high risk – include North Korea, Iran and Myanmar. Lebanon, Syria and Yemen are part of a list of two dozen countries the FATF has placed under increased monitoring – its 'grey list' – and are working to address their deficiencies. The report said sub-Saharan Africa has become the global epicentre of terrorism, while the impact of terrorism financing-related flows in Syria also require monitoring. While countries have made improvements in transparency, the report said terrorists continue to use formal financial services such as wire transfers and prepaid cards. At the same time, digital payments are becoming more popular, especially if they offer a payment service that can get around 'due diligence'. 'Although the level of abuse of virtual assets (VAs) by terrorists remains difficult to measure precisely, their use is increasing, with some groups systematically leveraging VAs and employing obfuscation techniques and/or shifting towards alternatives VAs promoted as more private and secure,' the report said. Social media and crowdfunding are also becoming ways in which terrorism financing is conducted, with the former allowing for the evasion of regulatory frameworks. 'Crowdfunding, while a legitimate activity, has been exploited by various terrorist groups to raise money for [terrorism financing] purposes,' the report said. Donation-based crowdfunding is the method most likely to be abused within terrorism financing, its added. Armed conflicts, terrorist propaganda and the potential for the diversion of humanitarian aid are among the challenges, according to the report. Food insecurity could also potentially expose vulnerability to exploitation by terrorism. The FATF said countries must protect humanitarian activity, enhance support for counter-terrorist financing efforts in the private sector and expand their outreach to uncovered areas. It also said countries must address the evolving risks through multilateral responses. 'The global nature of [terrorism financing] necessitates concerted international action,' it said.
The National
07-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Most countries have major deficiencies in investigation of terrorism financing, report says
A majority of countries have significant holes in how they investigate terrorism financing cases, a report has found. The report from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering watchdog, said that 69 per cent of the 194 countries assessed also had deficiencies in the prosecution of terrorism financing cases. The report is the first published by the task force since 2015. 'Over the past decade, terrorists have demonstrated a persistent ability to exploit the international financial system to support their activities and carry out attacks,' the report said. 'This continued abuse of the financial system poses a serious threat to global security and undermines international peace.' The FATF identifies countries that have weak measures against terrorism financing and money laundering. Those on its 'blacklist' – considered high risk – include North Korea, Iran and Myanmar. Lebanon, Syria and Yemen are part of a list of two dozen countries the FATF has placed under increased monitoring – its 'grey list' – and are working to address their deficiencies. The report said sub-Saharan Africa has become the global epicentre of terrorism, while the impact of terrorism financing-related flows in Syria also require monitoring. While countries have made improvements in transparency, the report said terrorists continue to use formal financial services such as wire transfers and prepaid cards. At the same time, digital payments are becoming more popular, especially if they offer a payment service that can get around 'due diligence'. 'Although the level of abuse of virtual assets (VAs) by terrorists remains difficult to measure precisely, their use is increasing, with some groups systematically leveraging VAs and employing obfuscation techniques and/or shifting towards alternatives VAs promoted as more private and secure,' the report said. Social media and crowdfunding are also becoming ways in which terrorism financing is conducted, with the former allowing for the evasion of regulatory frameworks. 'Crowdfunding, while a legitimate activity, has been exploited by various terrorist groups to raise money for [terrorism financing] purposes,' the report said. Donation-based crowdfunding is the method most likely to be abused within terrorism financing, its added. Armed conflicts, terrorist propaganda and the potential for the diversion of humanitarian aid are among the challenges, according to the report. Food insecurity could also potentially expose vulnerability to exploitation by terrorism. The FATF said countries must protect humanitarian activity, enhance support for counter-terrorist financing efforts in the private sector and expand their outreach to uncovered areas. It also said countries must address the evolving risks through multilateral responses. 'The global nature of [terrorism financing] necessitates concerted international action,' it said.
CTV News
04-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Vancouver's Canaccord Genuity fined $544K over anti-money-laundering rule violations
The logo for Canaccord Genuity is shown in Toronto on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (The Canadian Press / Staff) A Vancouver-based wealth management company has been fined more than half a million dollars for violations of Canada's anti-money-laundering and terrorism financing regulations. Canaccord Genuity Corp. has paid an administrative monetary penalty of $544,500 to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, better known as FINTRAC, the agency announced Thursday. The penalty stems from four violations of the federal Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and its associated regulations, which were discovered during a compliance examination in 2023, FINTRAC said in a news release. The penalty was imposed on May 14 of this year. According to FINTRAC, the company's four violations were: Failure to submit suspicious transaction reports where there were reasonable grounds to suspect that transactions or attempted transactions were related to a money laundering or terrorist activity financing offence. Failure to develop and apply written compliance policies and procedures that are kept up to date; and, in the case of an entity, are approved by a senior officer. Failure to assess and document the risk of a money laundering or terrorist financing offence, taking into consideration prescribed factors. Failure to take the prescribed special measures for high risk. 'The administrative monetary penalty has been paid in full and proceedings have ended,' the FINTRAC release reads. The agency's summary of the penalties goes into more detail about the conduct that led to them, though it does not name any of the Canaccord clients involved. The summary indicates that three suspicious transaction reports – out of 100 case files where such a report was warranted – were not submitted. In one of the cases, Canaccord 'failed to consider the multiple money laundering and terrorist activity financing indicators present,' including 'the use of multiple foreign bank accounts for no apparent reason, common identifiers such as an address being used by multiple clients that appear to be unrelated, and the presence of information that is misleading and vague,' according to FINTRAC. In another case, Canaccord 'received a payment order from a government agency with respect to a high-risk client and was aware of relevant negative media,' and in the third, the company 'discounted crucial money laundering and terrorist activity financing indicators in the course of its periodic reviews, such as relevant negative media articles.' FINTRAC's administrative monetary penalties are intended to encourage compliance, not to punish the entities on which they are imposed. In its 2023-24 reporting year, FINTRAC issued 12 penalties, totalling more than $26 million. Canaccord Genuity describes itself as the world's 'most active mid-market investment bank,' with more than $40 billion in assets under administration and offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, as well as several cities in the U.S., Australia, China, the U.K. and Ireland.
Zawya
01-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Kuwait strengthens anti-money laundering legislation
Kuwait has strengthened its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing law, which will impose tougher penalties for violators, as it seeks to avoid falling foul of a global financial crime watchdog. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering watchdog, said in October that Kuwait's legal and supervisory framework had "serious shortcomings delivering effective outcomes", citing failures in addressing terrorist financing. The FATF requested the establishment of a domestic process tasked with freezing terrorist assets and publishing a full list of individuals under targeted financial sanctions (TFS). Under a decree issued on Monday, a government committee can now be delegated powers to implement resolutions aimed at combating terrorism, its financing and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, with immediate effect. These were previously reserved for the cabinet. It also set fines of up to 500,000 Kuwaiti dinars ($1.64 million) for violations. Finance Minister Nora Al-Fassam said in a statement that the amendments would help Kuwait improve transparency and meet international standards. The government has also introduced the requirement for companies to identify the "beneficial owner", who exercises ultimate control over the firm, and transferred supervision of exchange houses activities from the commerce ministry to the central bank. Kuwait's new law grants the government direct authority to freeze funds and assets suspected of links to money laundering or terrorism financing without a court order, lawyer Fawaz Al-Khatib told Reuters, adding the amendment "brings Kuwait closer to FATF international standards." In the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates, home to financial centres such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, was dropped from the FATF's so-called "grey list" of countries at risk of illicit money flows in February 2024 after a little less than two years. (Reporting by Ahmed Hagagy, editing by Federico Maccioni and Rachna Uppal)
