Day: March 27, 2020

On 27 March, a news release from the World Customs Organisation advised the publication of the “Customs – FIU Cooperation Handbook,” the result of a collaborative effort between the Egmont Group of FIU and the WCO.  Its main objective is said to be to further promote cooperation between FIU and Customs services to effectively disrupt cross-border money laundering and terrorism financing activities.  It highlights common AML challenges and provides recommendations to Customs services and FIUs on topics including –

• smuggling and concealment of currency, currency equivalents, gems and precious metals;
• trade-based money laundering; and
• money or value transfer systems and alternative remittance systems.

A public version of the Handbook is available –

http://www.wcoomd.org/-/media/wco/public/global/pdf/topics/enforcement-and-compliance/report/wco_fiu_handbook_sanitised-public-version_wco_en.pdf?la=en

 

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On 26 March, Transparency International published an analysis in which 13 Latin American chapters from Transparency International highlight public procurement risks and how to mitigate them to benefit people.  It says that unless anti-corruption measures are implemented during this crisis, corruption will cost lives.  Specifically, the proposals aim to mitigate the risks of opacity, hidden contracts, overpricing, lack of competition, collusion and other corruption risks. It is essential that transparency, openness and integrity are preserved and that public purchases and contracts are reinforced during the declared emergency in Latin America.

https://www.transparency.org/files/application/flash/COVID_19_Public_procurement_Latin_America_ES_PT.pdf

 

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On 27 March, The Shift News reported that Malta’s lack of enforcement in the highly-controversial Individual Investor Programme (IIP) was put under a microscope by international anti-corruption NGO Global Witness who repeatedly called for an end to such a scheme in EU countries.  A report from Global Witness looked at passport schemes offered by Malta, Cyprus and Portugal – and criticised Malta’s response to revelations on shady passport buyers as being “weak”.  The document went on to list numerous reports linking Maltese passport holders with money laundering, fraud or tax-dodging crimes that emerged throughout 2019.

https://theshiftnews.com/2020/03/27/report-slams-weak-response-by-identity-malta-on-shady-passport-clients/

The report is at –

https://www.globalwitness.org/documents/19881/Europes_Golden_Doors.pdf

The report says, amongst other things, that –

• Serious concerns remain over changes Cyprus introduced to its scheme being only a tokenistic response to public scandals;
• Malta has failed to introduce any changes to address money laundering and corruption risks associated with its scheme; and
• Proposed reforms in Portugal, which have been delayed until 2021, concentrate only on dissuading investment into the local property market, rather than reducing money laundering risks; and
• No EU Member State has ended its investor citizenship or investor residence schemes – in fact, some have hit new highs in terms of the number of applications approved.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/golden-passports-still-widespread-in-europe-study-finds/

 

 

 

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On 26 March, the Open Democracy website carried an article in its Dark Money series about the involvement of a Northern Ireland-registered limited partnership used to hire crew for flags of convenience shipping.  It says there were no such limited partnerships in Northern Ireland in 2013, but there were 289 by 2017.  This rapid increase followed attempts to limit the use of Scottish limited partnerships, which had become notorious as the secrecy vehicle of choice in money-laundering scandals around the world.  The article says that the limited partnerships are attracting official attention, with raids in January linked to a £215 million money laundering case.  The article says that Northern Ireland limited partnerships have been used in secretive transactions around the world, one featured in a secret lobbying row in Ukraine.  Another was linked to massive theft in Moldova.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/northern-irish-ghost-companies-mask-crime-worldwide/

 

 

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On 27 March, NK Pro reported that, despite UN sanctions intended to stop it obtaining new or used vessels, North Korea appears to have acquired the 33-year old bulk carrier Fu Xing 12 in June 2019.  This was a month after its then-largest vessel had been seized by US authorities following extended detention in Indonesia.  The vessel had been sold for scrap by its Chinese owners, but has been pressed into service by the North Koreans for transporting coal.  It is reported that the ship was purchased by a small business owner of health food stores for $2.4 million, and then promptly transferred into the ownership of a BVI-based company and conducted illegal coal export operations from North Korea.

https://www.nknews.org/pro/north-korea-appears-to-have-taken-control-of-junk-vessel-now-largest-in-fleet/

 

 

 

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