Day: March 22, 2021

On 22 March, an article from Field Fisher starts by saying that, in the UK, as in other jurisdictions, Islamic finance transactions are not regulated differently from non-Islamic transactions for AML purposes. Existing UK legislation and regulations apply to Islamic finance as they would with any other finance structure or product; and international standards and guidance relating to financial crime is silent on the topic of Islamic financings.  A paper produced by the firm looks at the fundamentals of Islamic finance, anti-money laundering considerations and the due diligence that participants need to undertake. 

https://res.cloudinary.com/fieldfisher/image/upload/v1616425024/PDFs/Islamic_Finance_-_UK_money_laundering_considerations_l1y3aq.pdf

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A Notice from HM Treasury on 22 March advised that 4 named individuals and the XINJIANG PRODUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION CORPS PUBLIC SECURITY BUREAU had been added to UK sanctions lists.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/971852/Notice_Global_Human_Rights_220321.pdf

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On 22 March, OFAC announced sanctions on 2 current Chinese government officials in connection with serious human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0070

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20210322

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On 22 March, OFAC sanctioned 2 individuals and 2 entities connected to the Burmese military and its violent repression of pro-democracy protests. The US Treasury took these actions in response to the Burmese military’s continued campaign of violence and intimidation against peaceful protesters and civil society.  At the same time changes were made to 4 existing entries.

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20210322

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0071

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On 22 March, RUSI published this report exposes the networks facilitating North Korea’s oil-smuggling activities.

https://rusi.org/publication/other-publications/project-sandstone-special-report-black-gold-exposing-north-koreas-oil

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On 19 March, FATF launched a public consultation exercise as it plans its updating of Guidance on the risk-based approach to virtual assets (VA) and virtual asset service providers (VASP).  A revised document provides updated guidance in 6 main areas to –

(1) clarify the definitions of VA and VASP to make clear that these definitions are expansive and there should not be a case where a relevant financial asset is not covered by the FATF Standards (either as a VA or as a traditional financial asset),

(2) provide guidance on how the FATF Standards apply to so-called stablecoins,

(3) provide additional guidance on the risks and potential risk mitigants for peer-to-peer transactions,

(4) provide updated guidance on the licensing and registration of VASPs,

(5) provide additional guidance for the public and private sectors on the implementation of the ‘travel rule’, and

(6) include Principles of Information-Sharing and Co-operation Amongst VASP Supervisors. The Guidance has also been updated to reflect the passage of time and the publication of other relevant FATF reports.

FATF is primarily seeking views from representatives from the VA community, including academics and policy bodies, VASP, technology developers and providers (particularly in relation to the travel rule), other regulated entities (such as banks), but also welcome views from authorities.  Responses are due by 20 April.

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfrecommendations/documents/public-consultation-guidance-vasp.html

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On 22 March, the Baltic News Network reported that the office of the prosecutor has presented official charges to businessman and Latvian ex-prime minister Andris Šķēle over possible illegalities involving digital TV.  He is suspected of fraud and money laundering.

https://bnn-news.com/latvias-ex-prime-minister-officially-charged-with-money-laundering-223207

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EU Regulation 2021/480/EU added the names of 11 individuals to the EU Myanmar sanctions list in view of the continuing grave situation in Myanmar/Burma.  Meanwhile, EU Regulation 2021/479/EU amended Regulation 401/2013/EU in the light of the activities undermining democracy and the rule of law or to serious human rights violations in Myanmar/Burma.  This latter Regulation amends the terms of the 2013 Regulation in the light of the recent coup and subsequent developments.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2021:099I:FULL&from=EN

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2021:099I:FULL&from=EN

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2021/03/22/myanmar-burma-eu-sanctions-11-people-over-the-recent-military-coup-and-ensuing-repression/

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On 22 March, EU Regulation 2021/478/EU added 11 names to its sanctions lists, these individuals being of China, Libya, Russia, North Korea and Sudan; 4 entities were also added to sanctions lists – the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau of China; the Central Public Prosecutor’s Office of North Korea; the Kaniyat Militia of Libya; and the National Security Office of Eritrea.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2021:099I:FULL&from=EN

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/eu-imposes-sanctions-on-eritrean-agency-over-human-rights-abuses-1.1580557

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/eu-imposes-china-sanctions-over-xinjiang-abuses-china-retaliates-with-sanctions

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An article and video report from the New York Times on 22 March saying that North Korea continues to illicitly import oil, in violation of strict international sanctions.  It says that reporters across Asia spent 6 months tracking several of the tankers involved in some of these covert oil transfers, unravelling a murky corporate network that connects to a Singapore-headquartered major oil trader called the Winson Group.  It centres on the movement of a single (sanctioned) tanker, which reveals the lack of sanctions enforcement.  It criticises the opaque ownership structures seen in shipping, saying that it is not always easy to ascertain who’s behind the tankers involved in international oil deliveries.  Shipping data often lists conflicting information. Many shipping companies also use private leasing agreements that are rarely captured on ship-tracking websites. Additionally, many companies that The Times investigated were registered in offshore, secrecy jurisdictions that mask ownership information.  It also considers evasion techniques employed by ships.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/world/winson-north-korea-oil-tankers.html

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