Hong Kong Bucks the Regulatory Trend by Relaxing Private Banking Regulatory Regime – At a time when in most of the world regulation is getting inexorably tighter, it seems that Hong Kong is bucking the trend. Unlike most major international finance centres, Hong Kong is one of the few that currently does not regulate its […]

Castlestone Management Inc products in offshore probe – British Virgin Islands’ financial regulator has asked Grant Thornton to investigate funds managed by firm. Castlestone Management Incorporated has become involved in a regulatory investigation in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) after the watchdog there launched a probe into its funds, Investment Adviser can reveal. The BVI’s […]

AML Failures + solicitors = For those solicitors who wonder whether they are the only ones putting in significant effort to comply with their AML obligations and whether anyone ever notices, the Law Society’s annual report on AML supervision to HM Treasury should be welcome reading. The Annual Supervisor’s Report, published jointly by the Law […]

Revised anti-money laundering principles for private banking – The Wolfsberg Group has published revised anti-money laundering principles for private banking. The principles are designed, in particular, to prevent the use of a bank’s worldwide operations for criminal purposes and minimise the risk of money laundering. These principles will be periodically updated to take into consideration […]

Guidance for anti-bribery due diligence in mergers, acquisitions and investments – Transparency International UK has published a document entitled “Anti-bribery due diligence for transactions – Guidance for anti-bribery due diligence in mergers, acquisitions and investments”. This publication is designed to assist those operating in this area by providing a practical guide that contains: • a […]

FSA publishes Annual Report 2011/2012 – The FSA has published its Annual Report for 2011/2012, outlining its performance against the priorities set out in its 2011/12 Business Plan and its statutory objectives. The Annual Report sets out the FSA’s performance against the following main objectives: • executing the Government’s regulatory reform programme – this remains […]

Help! I’m a new MLRO – Due diligence – You should consider auditing your procedures in relation to due diligence and whether they are actually being followed. Some questions you may wish to consider include: Have you identified the areas in which due diligence investigations are required? If you allow exemptions for due diligence, are […]

Seven steps to SARs success – part VII of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) imposes a reporting regime which is complex and, at times, confusing. Failure to comply may amount to a criminal offence. Solicitors trying to decipher the different disclosure obligations set out in Part VII may find it useful to remember […]