Anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, AML Fines, audits, and penalties continued to rise in 2020. Money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, bribery, and other financial crimes have many negative economic and social consequences. We are closely witnessing governments and AML regulators' work to eliminate these negative consequences. All local and international AML regulators, notably FATF, European Union, and Wolfsberg Group aim to guide the fight against financial crime.
With technology development, access to financial instruments has become more accessible. Although this has made our lives easier, it has created various opportunities for criminals. In addition, gaps in emerging industries, such as the crypto industry, create significant financial crime risks.
When we look at the total AML penalties in recent years, we observe an increase in the total penalty amount. This is because failures in the compliance processes of financial institutions cause them to face heavy fines. While the AML penalties in 2018 were approximately $ 4 billion, the AML penalties in 2019 increased by approximately two times to approximately $ 8 billion. When we examine some of the data announced in 2020, we see that the AML penalties given in the first half of 2020 are close to 6 billion dollars. Some of the reasons for the AML fines are due to deficiencies in the "Know Your Customer," "Customer Due Diligence," and "Monitoring Suspicious Transactions" procedures.
In this article, we will share the AML penalties issued by the regulators in 2020. If you have any news, you want to add, please contact us.
(Will be updated)
Sri Lanka Fines 2 Banks, 3 Finance Firms for AML Failures
Sri Lanka's Financial Intelligence Unit fined two banks and three finance companies for violating anti-money laundering obligations. According to the FIU's statements, the penalties include violations of Policy Exposed Persons (PEPs) and sanction screening and implementation of customer due diligence procedures.
(July 2020)
FCMC fines Signet Bank for breaching AML rule
The Financial and Capital Market Commission is a public body that oversees financial institutions in Lithuania. FCMC fined Signet Bank of Latvia 906,610 Euro for violating anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing regulatory requirements. The fines include the Bank's inadequate internal control system, customer-based risks and violations, and deficiencies regarding risk management.
(July 2020)
New York Regulator Fines Deutsche Bank for AML Failures
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) imposed penalties on Deutsche Bank AG, the New York branch, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company America for AML compliance failures and correspondent banking relationships with Danske Bank Estonia and FBME Bank. Deutsche Bank faced a penalty of $ 216.1 million due to this decision.
(July 2020)
Swedish SEB Bank Fined for Poor Anti-Money-Laundering Measures
The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) fined SEK 1 billion (the US $ 107 million) for failing to provide adequate anti-money laundering (AML) measures at its subsidiaries in the Baltic countries of Sweden SEB bank. The Swedish Financial Inspection started to examine the SEB in 2015 in coordination with officials in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The investigation was completed in 2019 and showed that "SEB's subsidiaries in the Baltic are exposed to a high risk of money laundering."
(June 2020)
FCA fines Commerzbank London £ 37.8 Million for AML Violations
The UK's financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), fined the Commerzbank London branch £ 37.8 million for violations of AML controls. The FCA said that the violations stemming from Commerzbank pose significant financial crime risks and damage the stability and integrity of the financial system in the UK.
As a result of FCA's audits, Commerzbank London detects three significant failures, including the failure of periodic due diligence on its customers. According to FCA's audit report, the Bank was also insufficient in controlling money laundering risks in customer transactions. Also, FCA found that the Bank did not have adequate risk management systems.
(June 2020)
HK regulator imposes $25.2m fine on Guotai Junan Securities
Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) imposed a $ 25.2 million fine on Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong) Limited for violations of anti-money laundering processes. The reasons for the AML penalty include the failure to monitor customer transactions and delays in reporting procedures regularly.
(June 2020)
BNP Paribas Chinese Unit Fined for Anti-Money Laundering Violations
The Chinese unit of European banking giant BNP Paribas has been fined 2.7 million yuan ($378.200) for failing to properly verify customer identification and report significant and suspicious transactions by the Chinese Central Bank. AML penalties in China are not limited to this. The Chinese Central Bank recently fined China Minsheng Banking Corp. 23.6 million yuan and China Everbright Bank 18.2 million yuan for failing to ensure AML compliance. And, Brokerage Huatai Securities Co. Ltd. has been fined 10.1 million yuan for similar AML violations.
(May 2020)
Kenya Fines 5 Banks $ 3.75 Million for Anti-Money Laundering Violations
KCB Group KCB.NR, Equity EQTY.NR, Co-op Bank Kenya COOP.NR, StanChart Kenya SCBK.NR and Diamond Trust DTK.NR are five banks that faced AML fines. Five commercial banks operating in Kenya were fined $ 3.75 million due to disruptions in AML compliance processes. Besides, five banks were fined $ 4 million in Kenya in 2018 for not reporting suspicious transactions.
(March 2020)
Swedbank Fined for Serious Deficiencies in AML Measures
Swedbank AB suffered severe deficiencies in managing money laundering risk in its Baltic operations. Therefore, Swedish Finansinspektionen (FI) issued a warning to Swedbank AB and decided to impose an administrative fine of SEK 4 billion. Swedish investigation concludes that Swedbank AB has significant shortcomings in managing anti-money laundering measures in Baltic subsidiaries.
(March 2020)
Online Casino Fined £3 Million for "Systemic" AML Failings
The Gambling Commission fined Mr. Green £ 3 million for AML violations. As a result of the audit, the Gambling Commission found that Mr. Green had not made a proper risk assessment. Failing to implement the Know Your Customer and Customer Due Diligence procedures, Mr. Green became the ninth gambling business to face an AML penalty. With this penalty, it was once again revealed how important AML regulations are in the casino industry.
(February 2020)
Westpac Receives Record Penalties for AML Breaches
Regulators have fined Australian bank Westpac a record of $ 1.3 billion. The penalty is a court order issued due to more than 23 million charges last year by the financial intelligence agency Austrac. Reasons for the sentence include Westpac's violation of AML and CTF rules, failure to implement effective transaction monitoring programs, failure to submit IFTI reports to Austrac, and inability to implement advanced customer due diligence on suspicious transactions.
(September 2020)
