AML Fines - Some of the Penalized Bank List of 2021
Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and organised crime have been and remain significant problems at a global level, thus damaging the integrity, stability and reputation of the financial sector and threatening the global market and the international security of the world. In order to tackle those problems and to complement and reinforce the application of measures to detect and prevent money laundering, Money laundering (AML) programs are employed but the majority of global governments.
AML programs are a collection of procedures used by financial institutions to combat fraud, money laundering, terrorism funding, and other forms of financial crime. They are also known as anti-money laundering (AML) initiatives. Various governments oversee anti-money laundering (AML) programs, which are aimed at financial institutions such as banks, fintech businesses, insurance companies, credit unions, casinos, mortgage companies, and others.
In general, the following are the key reasons why banking regulatory agencies have penalized institutions:
· A lack of a strong compliance culture that is based on sound values, standards, and ethics
· The failure to disclose suspicious activity (SARs),
· Inadequate risk assessment in the areas of KYC, PEP, and CDD
Failures in a bank's anti-money-laundering framework, such as failing to establish governance, failing to develop policies that staff understand, failing to adopt a risk-based strategy, or failing to obtain comprehensive and clear information on clients, beneficiaries, and transactions are all possibilities of the bank sustaining a hefty fine.
Noncompliance with anti-money-laundering regulations can result in significant fines and even prison time. Despite this, insufficient AML compliance results in hefty penalties and a tarnished reputation for firms all over the world each and every year.
We took the time and summarized some of the biggest fines imposed throughout the world in 2021
Some of the Penalized Bank List of 2021
AmBank
Fine: $700,000,000
AmBank took part in one of the most notorious scandals; 1MDB scandal in Malaysia. In September 2020, the alleged amount stolen from 1MDB was estimated to be US$4.5 billion and a Malaysian government report listed 1MBD's outstanding debts to be at US$7.8 billion. This huge Malaysian bank, AmBank, has been fined and settled to pay the Malaysian government $700 million. The high penalties are anticipated to damage AmBank's profits.
Our Opinion: Report PEP transactions and suspicious activities to the regional banking intelligence organization.
Capital One
Fine: $390,000,000
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, stated in January 2021 that Capital One will be fined $390 million for violating the Bank Secrecy Act's anti-money laundering provisions (BSA).
With relation to its Cash Checking Group business unit, the bank admitted to deliberately failing to adopt and maintain appropriate anti-money laundering measures, as well as neglecting to file thousands of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and Currency Transactions Reports (CTRs).
Millions of dollars in questionable transactions went unreported and were therefore laundered via the bank into the US financial system between (at least) 2008 and 2014. These funds were linked to organized crime, tax evasion, fraud, and other financial crimes, according to FinCEN. Unreported trades totalled over $16 billion.
Our Opinion: SARs are vital tools for AML and need to employed were necessary. The liability is not discharged upon submission of a SAR, but the client must be closely monitored and further actions might become necessary. SAR is not a defensive or get out of jail card, it is a tool to help prevent money laundering
Deutsche Bank
Fine: $130,000,000
U.S. authorities revealed that Deutsche Bank had agreed to pay more than $130 million to settle claims that the German bank developed a "scheme to conceal illicit payments and kickbacks" to boost its global operations.
Prosecutors allege that Deutsche Bank began a seven-year pattern of fraud in 2009, funneling more than a million dollars in direct bribes and millions more in related costs to so-called "business development consultants" all around the world. Prosecutors claim that the German bank recorded these costs incorrectly.
Our Opinion: It is vital for all corporations not only la