The evolving anti-money laundering (AML)/countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) environment in Mexico is being reshaped by a confluence of regulatory, geopolitical, and enforcement developments. On 14 May 2015, K2...more
Against the backdrop of reinforced European and international anti-money-laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements, the Administration de l’enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA (AED) has...more
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published a second consultation on payment transparency, and in particular proposed revisions to recommendation 16 (R.16). The revisions adapt the FATF Standards to the changes in...more
The VASP Act defines “Virtual Assets” as digital representations of value that can be digitally traded or transferred and can be used for payment or investment purposes. Digital representations of fiat currencies (which is...more
2024 was once again an active year for the Cayman Islands regulatory industry. In this edition of our Regulatory & Risk Advisory Outlook, our team has summarised the key changes and news during 2024 and taken a look at the...more
The UAE announced a new ‘National Strategy for Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing for 2024 – 2027’ (the National Strategy) in September 2024. This will affect not only UAE...more
Welcome to the second instalment of 2024 of the Regulatory & Risk Advisory Review. In this edition we cover several Cayman Islands regulatory updates including updates to the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act, the...more
Welcome to the first instalment of 2024 of our Cayman Islands Regulatory & Risk Advisory Review. As we cover in this issue, there have been a number of updates in the first quarter of the year. Perhaps most notably is the...more
Today we are very pleased to welcome, once again, guest blogger Dr. Kateryna Boguslavska of the Basel Institute on Governance (“Basel Institute”), who will discuss the Basel Institute’s release of the 12th annual Public...more
After sanctions and anti-money laundering regulations have rapidly and significantly expanded in the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Germany is further racking up its efforts in fighting financial crime more...more
The Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") is the global standard-setter on anti-money laundering ("AML"), countering terrorist financing ("CFT") and counter proliferation financing. FATF's standards, also referred to as...more
U.S. hedge funds, private equity funds, and venture capital funds (collectively, the Private Funds)2 and their U.S. general partners, sponsors, and managers (Advisers) are not directly subject to the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970...more
As cryptocurrency, decentralized finance (DeFi), and other uses of blockchain technology continue to proliferate, global regulators are grappling with how best to regulate their use. We have previously written about the...more
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released detailed sanctions compliance guidance for the virtual currency industry (the Guidance). The Guidance provides an overview of OFAC sanctions requirements and lists several best...more
The European Commission, on July 20, 2021, unveiled a landmark legislative proposal that would overhaul the European Union’s approach to anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (“AML/CFT”), creating a...more
The Regulation Process for FinCEN’s New Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirement Launches - The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on Thursday to solicit...more
“Front” Seafood Businesses Allegedly Hid the Proceeds From Smuggled Shark Fins and Marijuana Distribution - Last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia unsealed an indictment returned in July,...more
A Director of Enforcement at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out some of the key challenges the regulator expects in its new role as AML/CTF (anti-money laundering/counter terrorist financing) supervisor for...more
U.S. Developments - Enforcement and Litigation Developments - Craig Wright Faces Sanctions - Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin, has been tied up in litigation since February 2018 related to his...more
U.S. Developments - Facebook Announces Formation of Calibra and Launch of Libra - On June 18, 2019, Facebook announced the launch of Libra, a new cryptocurrency designed to have a stable value and be widely accepted...more
U.S. Developments - Regulatory Developments - SEC Chair’s Recent Comments on Digital Assets - Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Chairman Jay Clayton touched on digital asset issues during two recent...more
Partners Julia Smithers Excell and Stuart Willey, and associate Laura Kitchen of global law firm White & Case take a deep dive on the latest publications from EU and UK regulators aimed at providing supervisory clarity on the...more
U.S. Developments - SEC Remarks on International Virtual Currency Enforcement - On December 5, 2018, Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), gave a...more
This is the second edition of The Distributed Ledger, a periodic publication covering the latest trends and developments in blockchain technology, digital assets and smart contracts. In this issue, we examine the SEC’s new...more
FATF Issues Virtual Currency Guidance - On October 19, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) published the outcomes of its Plenary meeting. Included in the outcomes of the meeting were new recommendations related to the...more