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On October 16, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) published its 2019 Report on Examination Findings and Observations (Report). Unlike previous years, the Report delineates between examination “findings” and examination “observations.” “Findings” describe violations of a rule or regulation, whereas “observations” refer to suggestions regarding how firms can improve controls and mitigate risk. The annual Report summarizes various findings and observations from recent examinations of its member firms on a range of topics, including the following:…
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On October 25, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a new webpage setting out important information for UK cryptoasset businesses in the context of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing (CFT).

As announced in July 2019, the FCA will be the AML/CFT regulator for certain cryptoasset activities starting January 10, 2020. However, the scope of ‘cryptoasset activities’ is still to be determined by Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT), whose consultation on the matter closed on June 10.…
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On October 18, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published its updated list of jurisdictions that have strategic anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) deficiencies for which they have developed an action plan with the FATF. The FATF updates this list three times a year, the last update being in June 2019.…
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On October 11, the leaders of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (collectively, the Agencies) issued a joint statement reminding persons engaged in activities involving digital assets of their anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA).…
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On September 25, the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) announced on its website that HM Treasury has approved revisions to three chapters in Part II of the JMLSG’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing sectoral guidance.

The amended guidance relates to credit unions (section 4), asset finance (section 12) and brokerage services to funds (sector…

On July 24, the European Commission (EC) published a suite of documents assessing the current anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) framework in operation in the European Union (EU).

Although each document is addressed to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, the EC states that it believes that these documents will support the EU and national authorities to better address money laundering and terrorist financing risks. It notes that some improvements can be made quickly at an operational level, and the EC will continue to support EU member states in this, while also reflecting on how to address the remaining structural challenges.…
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On July 3, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published an updated version (dated June 2019) of its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) standards.

This version includes a recently adopted interpretative note to recommendation 15 (new technologies), in which the FATF explains how its standards apply to virtual asset activities and virtual asset service providers (VASPs).…
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On March 21, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Working Group on Bribery (Working Group) published its “Phase 4 Two-Year Follow-Up Report” on the United Kingdom’s implementation of the OECD anti-bribery convention. The Working Group’s report follows the written responses the United Kingdom submitted in March 2019 to the OECD’s “Phase 4” evaluation in March 2017.…
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On March 12, the National Futures Association (NFA) published Notice I-19-08, notifying Member futures commission merchants (FCMs) and introducing brokers (IBs) of a March 8 advisory published by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regarding updates to the Financial Action Task Force’s list of jurisdictions with deficiencies regarding anti-money laundering and combating the financing of…

On February 13, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) published an information notice alerting member firms about a suspicious email received by compliance personnel at a number of member firms. The email, sent by a purported BSA-AML compliance officer at a credit union, describes an attempted transfer of money from a firm client that the…