Day: January 17, 2020

On 17 January, Business Wire reported that the mutual evaluation report (MER) of Bermuda’s systems and framework, published by FATF-style regional body CFATF, highlights the outstanding work that has been done to comply with the FATF 40 Recommendations.  It is said that, of the more than 75 MER published to date, Bermuda ranks first against the Technical Compliance requirements, with 39 of the 40 Recommendations rated as Compliant or Largely Compliant, and is in the top 6 for overall level of effectiveness and one of only two jurisdictions with a high level of effectiveness in relation to its risk assessment and domestic coordination mechanisms.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200117005478/en

The report can be found at –

https://www.cfatf-gafic.org/documents/4th-round-meval-reports/13596-bermuda-4th-round-mer/file

It was adopted at the CFATF Plenary in November

On 17 January, Moldpress reported that officers of the National Anticorruption Centre (CNA) detained 45 police inspectors, 18 directors and deputy directors of state enterprises and 11 mayors and deputy mayors for corruption acts in 2019.  The Interior Ministry (MAI), Health, Labour and Special Protection Ministry (MSMPS), mayors, as well as the Customs Service are among the institutions where most corruption acts were discovered in 2019.

https://www.moldpres.md/en/news/2020/01/17/20000380

Following the release of the Saudi Arabia follow-up report, FATF has updated its consolidated schedule of AML/CFT assessments of countries assessed by FATF and the FATF-style regional bodies.

http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/4th-Round-Ratings.pdf

On 17 January, FATF published a follow-up report following the mutual evaluation of Saudi Arabia in 2018, after which the country (like many others) was put in the enhanced follow-up process.  FATF has upgraded the results in respect of 2 FATF Recommendations – 6 (Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing), from partially compliant to largely compliant; and 7 (Targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation), from partially compliant to largely compliant.  Such follow-up reports do not address the effectiveness ratings of a country.  The report also looks at whether Saudi Arabia’s measures meet the requirements of FATF Recommendations that have changed since the 2018 mutual evaluation, maintaining the rating of largely compliant for Recommendation 2 (National cooperation and coordination), but it downgraded the rating for Recommendation 18 (Internal controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries) and Recommendation 21 (Tipping-off and confidentiality) from compliant to largely compliant.  As a result, Saudi Arabia is now compliant on 17 of the 40 FATF Recommendations and largely compliant on 21, remaining partially compliant on 2 of the 40 Recommendations.  Saudi Arabia will continue to report back to FATF on its progress.

http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/mer4/Follow-Up-Report-Saudi-Arabia-2020.pdf

EU Regulation 2020/37/EU had the effect of removing 15 entries from the Iraq sanctions list, following the decision of the relevant UN sanctions committee on 2 January.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2020.013.01.0013.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2020:013:TOC

On 17 January, The Times reported that a convicted arms dealer used a notorious form of company to finance a private air war in Libya.  Rami Ghanem supplied mercenaries to fly and maintain fighter-bombers for one of the local militias, and with crews paid through 2 Scottish limited partnerships.  Ghanem, an Arab-American, was jailed for 30 years in the US last year.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/private-war-in-libya-funded-via-scots-firms-kh5gs9klc

A Notice from HM Treasury on 17 January advised that Hizballah had been added to the UK’s Consolidated List and that the entry for the Hizbollah Military Wing had been amended.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/858674/170120_TAFA_changes.pdf

On 17 January, the Wall Street Journal reported that Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, has spent 3 years developing machine-learning technology that can identify risky business partners and potentially illegal payments.  The analytics platform, BrewRight, draws on data from operations in more than 50 countries, allowing the company to monitor legal risks and prevent violations.  It is said that the platform is designed to get smarter and more effective over time, and that it has cut hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs associated with investigating suspect payments.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ab-inbev-taps-machine-learning-to-root-out-corruption-11579257001