The usual trouble explaining where the Isle of Man is today, this time at the local DHL office. I am thinking of a new set of business cards with just a map of the British Isles with a large arrow pointing to the Isle of Man. My (Panamanian) wife says that, by contrast, everyone knows where Panama is – this I disagree with. Everyone may have heard of the Panama Canal, but I think many would struggle to say exactly where it is.
In other news, a Panamanian drugs gang leader, Jorge Rubén Camargo Clark (aka ‘Cholo Chorrillo’) has been extradited from Costa Rica to the US to face drugs charges. He had been arrested in Costa Rica on 11 February. He is the alleged leader of ‘Baghdad’, one of Panama’s most dangerous criminal groups, and is said to have been with his wife at the time of his arrest. In Panama, he is also wanted for alleged commidrug trafficking and money laundering, among other crimes.
On 2 March, OFAC, the DoJ and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a joint Compliance Notes to alert the international community, the private sector, and the public to attempts by malign actors to continue to try to evade sanctions and export controls to support Russia’s military-industrial complex in support of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It details how Russia uses third-party intermediaries and transshipment points to circumvent restrictions and obscure the true identities of Russian end users. It also provides common red flags that can indicate a third-party intermediary may be engaged in efforts to evade sanctions or export controls.
On 2 March, OFAC published an Alert to make the public aware of telephone, email, and letter scams involving individuals falsely claiming to represent OFAC and requesting payments. One example involves timeshare fraud schemes, where scammers have falsely claimed that OFAC has “blocked” payments of taxes made by the timeshare owner.
On 2 March, OFAC advised that it had issued new General License O “Authorizing wind-down and limited safety and environmental transactions involving certain vessels” and 2 related FAQ. It also added a number of new entries to its Iran- related sanctions lists, including the BUSHEHR PETROCHEMICAL COMPANY of Iran, the GLOBAL MARINE SHIP MANAGEMENT CO LTD (aka FENGHUI SHIP MANAGEMENT CO LTD and GLOBAL MARINE SHIP MANAGEMENT CO LIMITED), the SHANGHAI XUANRUN SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED, the SHIRAZ PETROCHEMICAL COMPANY (aka SPC) of Iran, the SWEDISH MANAGEMENT CO SA of the UAE; and a number of ships linked to the above companies. It also amended 4 existing entries for entities on the Russia sanctions lists.
On 2 March, OFAC advised that it had sanctioned 8 Mexican companies linked to timeshare fraud on behalf of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). CJNG is a violent Mexico-based organisation that traffics a significant proportion of the illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs that enter the US. This action is the result of a collaboration between the US and Mexico. It says that in tourist destinations such as Puerto Vallarta, CJNG has become heavily engaged in timeshare fraud, which often targets US citizens.
The NCA has issued this guidance which is intended to inform one of the approach when reporters, through submitting a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR), seek a defence (or ‘consent’) from the NCA. Importantly, it cautions that:
The term ‘consent’ is frequently misinterpreted. Often it is seen as seeking permission or seen that where requests are granted that this is a statement that the funds are clean or that there is no criminality involved. This is not the case. Additionally, reporters sometimes seek ‘consent’ where they have been unable to complete customer due diligence (CDD).
The process is not a substitute for taking a risk-based approach or for fulfilling your regulatory and legal responsibilities, including those under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. Such misinterpretation and conduct risks undermining efforts to prevent money laundering and counter terrorist financing.
As such the granted letters from the NCA no longer use the term ‘consent’ and instead use the terms ‘defence to a money laundering offence’ or ‘defence to a terrorist financing offence’. For absolute clarity we retain the use of the term ‘consent’ in refusal letters.
The NCA has issued this guidance which is intended to inform one of the approach when reporters, through submitting a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR), seek a defence (or ‘consent’) from the NCA. Importantly, it cautions that –
The term ‘consent’ is frequently misinterpreted. Often it is seen as seeking permission or seen that where requests are granted that this is a statement that the funds are clean or that there is no criminality involved. This is not the case. Additionally, reporters sometimes seek ‘consent’ where they have been unable to complete customer due diligence (CDD).
The process is not a substitute for taking a risk-based approach or for fulfilling your regulatory and legal responsibilities, including those under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. Such misinterpretation and conduct risks undermining efforts to prevent money laundering and counter terrorist financing.
As such the granted letters from the NCA no longer use the term ‘consent’ and instead use the terms ‘defence to a money laundering offence’ or ‘defence to a terrorist financing offence’. For absolute clarity we retain the use of the term ‘consent’ in refusal letters.
On 1 March, the EPPO published its 2022 annual report which shows a clear focus on EU fraud affecting public revenue, in particular cross-border VAT fraud.
On 1 March, the National Post reported that no charges will be laid from a money laundering investigation into millions of dollars that moved through British Columbia casinos and Chinese bank accounts in what the province’s attorney general called a “frustrating” end to the multi-year police probe. The special prosecutor declining to lay any charges against an accused loan shark.
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