ComplyAdvantage Releases 2021 Semi-Annual Financial Crime Review | Your money

New York, NY, September 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – ComplyAdvantage, a global data technology company transforming financial crime detection, today announced the availability of the expected report from The State Of Financial Crime 2021 Mid-Year Review. Designed as a strategic guide for global compliance teams, the new report presents many of the emerging threats that have emerged so far in 2021, along with recommendations for implementing compliance best practices related to these topics. .

The 2021 Mid-Year Financial Crime Review takes a look at some of the most important financial crime trends that compliance teams should be addressing by year-end and through. in 2022. These trends include a growing global divergence on cryptocurrencies; vulnerabilities to risks related to inconsistencies in global AML and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) systems; the growth in the sophistication of computer and mobile cybercrime via payment systems; continued use of sanctions as a tool of first resort and more.

From geopolitics to cryptocurrency regulation

The first half of 2021 has been a time of significant change in the world of financial crime. Traditional criminal supply chains continue to be disrupted, with offenders evolving and entering emerging industries such as crypto and distributed finance and funding channels. Major changes are also being brought about by the increasing attention of policy makers to efforts to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. For compliance teams, a strong desire to avoid being placed on a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist is another call to action.

That’s why this mid-year report will explore the state of financial crime in three key areas:

Geopolitics and Sanctions In geopolitics, internal political turmoil and regime change has allowed countries to use sanctions to support their foreign policy objectives. Many countries have increased the use of sanctions as a retaliatory measure. In the UK, the end of the Brexit transition period has allowed the country to launch its own global anti-corruption sanctions program, a harbinger of divergence with the European Union (EU). It is clear that sanctions will only gain in importance as a foreign policy tool in the coming months. Regional Trends Through the regional trends analyzed in this report, it is clear that many countries are prioritizing fight against illicit financing with the United States, China is reorganizing its AML / CFT frameworks. EU member states have rushed to update their national laws ahead of the implementation deadline of the latest Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD). The EU also unveiled a series of new laws, including the launch of a supranational AML / CFT authority and a new AMLD that member states are expected to transpose. In the United States, regulators have issued a number of updates on the implementation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, including progress towards creating a non-public registry of beneficial owners. . In the Asia-Pacific region, many changes have been brought about by the FATF’s mutual evaluations at country level, as well as technological advancements in China, Singapore, the Philippines and Australia. Regulation of Cryptocurrencies and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) There has also been a lot of evolution in both technological innovation and AML / CFT regulations for crypto companies and virtual asset service providers. (VASP). The recent FATF plenary sessions have implications for crypto licensing and what AML / CFT programs should look like for crypto firms and VASPs. More and more countries are also introducing legislation to implement travel rule requirements, but significant challenges remain. The FATF has also found that there are inadequate safeguards against the exploitation of VASPs by criminals. In Europe, very few crypto firms have met registration requirements, with only a handful of fully regulated firms operating in the UK and the EU. In the United States, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has taken action against crypto companies found guilty of violating sanctions. China is cracking down on its crypto industry, especially crypto miners, while in Hong Kong access to crypto exchanges is restricted to professional investors only. During the remainder of 2021, stablecoins will continue to be reviewed and the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) market will continue to grow. Numerous pilot projects are also underway to examine the viability of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), with the Caribbean taking the lead in launching CBDCs for use in retail environments.

“Our research is intended to assist both clients and the financial services industry by providing information with prescriptive metrics so that they can maintain the highest level of risk management integrity,” said Charles Delingpole , Founder and CEO of ComplyAdvantage. “With areas ranging from sanctions to cryptocurrencies moving at such a rapid pace, what you don’t know can really hurt your business. “

ComplyAdvantage offers true large-scale financial risk analysis and AML data solution that leverages machine learning and natural language processing to help regulated organizations manage their risk obligations and prevent financial crime . The company’s proprietary database is derived from millions of data points that provide dynamic, real-time information on sanctions, watch lists, politically exposed persons and negative news. This reduces reliance on manual review processes and legacy databases by up to 80%, and improves the way businesses filter and monitor customers and transactions.

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About ComplyAdvantage

ComplyAdvantage is the financial industry’s leading source for financial crime risk data and AI-based detection technologies. ComplyAdvantage’s mission is to neutralize the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption and other financial crimes. More than 500 companies in 75 countries rely on ComplyAdvantage to understand the risk they do business with through the only global, real-time database of people and businesses. The company actively identifies tens of thousands of risk events every day from millions of structured and unstructured data points.

ComplyAdvantage has four global centers located in New York, London, Singapore and Cluj-Napoca and is supported by Ontario Teachers’, Index Ventures and Balderton Capital. Learn more at complianceadvantage.com.

Tim Donovan ComplyAdvantage 5105930064 [email protected]

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