"Ongoing monitoring crucial for Art Market Participants"

The UK #art market is facing a notable escalation in anti-money laundering (AML) #enforcement, as the latest round of HM Revenue & Customs (#HMRC) penalties signals a shift from punishing simple registration failures to more deeply scrutinising operational compliance. #antimoneylaundering #AML #moneylaundering #dirtymoney #CFT #counterterrorismfinancing #financialcrime #financialcrimes #compliance #complianceofficer #duediligence #terroristfinancing #pep #sanctions #audit #FinancialIntelligenceUnits #FIU #SuspiciousActivityReport #cdd #kyc #regulations #CFP #risk #riskmanagement #investigation #monitoring #uk #unitedkingdom https://lnkd.in/gp6_sCgn

Front companies - what are they? While shell companies basically exist on paper and have no operations or employees, front companies are fully functioning firms, which are used to obscure illicit activity. These entities provide cover for criminals to move illicit funds. So a massage parlor or a nail salon can be used as fronts for human trafficking and sex slavery operations. In this case, Poland has nabbed what it described as "a major criminal operation that smuggled 600 luxury cars to Russia and Belarus, bypassing EU sanctions." Poland's Bureau of Investigation says the smuggling ring operated across multiple European countries, including Poland, Germany, and Lithuania, using false transactions to bypass regulations, using front companies to buy and resell luxury vehicles in the EU, and then rerouting them to Russia and Belarus. That's why conducting enhanced due diligence (#EDD) is critical. A company may be operating legitimately on one level, but acting as a front for illicit activity at the same time. Some indicators to look for: 🚩A small or new business has an unusually high turnover. 🚩You note a mismatch between the business type and its transaction volumes. 🚩Much like shell companies, these front companies may have complex ownership/control structures. 🚩Transactional activity largely occurs outside of normal business operating hours, such as a business that operates during the day but has a large number of nighttime transactions, is almost always made in cash, and deposits are larger than what is expected for the business and the size of its operations. These are just SOME indicators. FinCEN released an advisory about human trafficking that includes red flags of front company activity here: https://lnkd.in/eZkkpjVm https://lnkd.in/euD5tuXh

We are proud to share that Guest Work Agency contributed to the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations and the Art Market Comparative Study, an international initiative led by the Center for Art Law. The study provides a comparative analysis of anti-money laundering obligations across jurisdictions and their impact on art market professionals. GWA’s contribution addresses the Australian legal framework, situating it within the broader global context. You can read more about our involvement and the findings here: https://lnkd.in/g7nh3CSR

The most effective weapon against Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML) is a trained eye that knows the red flags. It’s not just about sanctions screening; it’s about context and commercial logic. TBML Red Flags to Watch for in Documentation: • Valuation Discrepancy: Significant variation between the invoiced price of goods and the market price (over or under-invoicing). • Vague Descriptions: Documents with vague or incomplete descriptions of goods (e.g., "Industrial Goods" instead of "1000 kg of Copper Wire"). • Inconsistent Trade: The type of goods or volume being shipped is inconsistent with the customer’s normal business activities or capacity. • High-Risk Route: Goods transshipped through multiple high-risk jurisdictions for no clear economic or logistical reason. • Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) Issue: Lack of transparency regarding the ultimate beneficiaries involved in the transaction. By applying a risk-based approach (RBA) and enhanced due diligence, we protect the integrity of global trade. What’s one simple but effective red flag your team relies on daily? #TradeCompliance #AMLCompliance #RedFlags #RiskManagement #CDD #FATF

The new BIS 50% rule for the Entity List was announced and implemented very quickly, giving little time to screening providers and organizations to comply. As with the OFAC 50% rule, this is an unfair burden to place on organizations. If the government knows what parties have sanctioned owners well enough to enforce the rule, then the government should add those parties to the lists. Trade compliance teams do not have nearly the same resources as the government, in terms of research capabilities or language skills, and standard denied party screening programs don't include beneficial ownership screening. While the new requirements will add complexity to the screening process, I hope that the good that can come from this change is to have beneficial ownership included in standard denied party screening programs. The OFAC 50% rule has existed for years, and yet most trade compliance teams still have to use multiple screening tools to meet their full screening obligations, at an additional cost that can be a hard sell to company leadership. I hope that the expansion of the 50% rule to the BIS Entity List will spur the inclusion of beneficial ownership as a standard part of denied party screening. #tradecompliance #exportcontrols #sanctions #ofac #bis #deniedparties

Part 233 : Economy & Policy Part 2 : UK's Role in Global Money Laundering Challenges 2. Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation: Theoretically Strong, Practically Weak These bodies are designed for direct action but face immense practical and political hurdles. a) International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) *Role: Facilitates cross-border police cooperation, notably through Red Notices (requests to locate and provisionally arrest a person). *Effectiveness: Limited and often misused. Kleptocrats and their allies have been known to abuse INTERPOL systems to harass dissidents and opponents. While useful for sharing information, it does not directly tackle the financial structures of money laundering. b) Europol (for the EU) *Role: The EU's law enforcement agency, facilitating information sharing and coordination. *Effectiveness: Diminished post-Brexit. The UK lost direct, real-time access to Europol's databases and is now a "third country," making cooperation slower and more bureaucratic. This has hampered the fight against cross-border financial crime, which is inherently international. c) Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) *Role: Bilateral agreements for exchanging evidence and assisting in prosecutions. *Effectiveness: Notoriously slow, complex, and politically fraught. Requests can take years. Kleptocrats often use the UK's own legal system to challenge MLAT requests, tying them up in costly courts. If the country requesting assistance is itself corrupt, trust in the process breaks down. 3. Standard-Setting and "Soft Power" Bodies: Indirect but Important a) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) *Role: Sets international standards, including the Anti-Bribery Convention. *Effectiveness: Moderate. Its Working Group on Bribery conducts peer reviews that have criticised the UK's inconsistent record on prosecuting foreign bribery (e.g., the initial failure to pursue BAE Systems allegations aggressively). This creates diplomatic pressure for stronger action. b) The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) *Role: A network of national FIUs (in the UK, this is the NCA's National Economic Crime Centre) that share financial intelligence. *Effectiveness: Technically effective but overwhelmed. Information sharing is crucial for tracing dirty money. However, UK agencies are chronically under-resourced and face an avalanche of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), most of which they cannot process effectively. A Chinese famille-verte vase, Qing Dynasty, 19th century the ovoid body painted with a scholar seated at a table attended by a small boy observing two maidens and their small boy attendants, with a rocky outcrop issuing plantation tree, the neck similarly decorated, the shoulders with Buddhist emblems interspersed with flowerheads, 

⚖️ Cross-border real estate investment has kept European property markets buoyant, but it has also put transactions under tighter regulatory scrutiny as geopolitical tensions increase. From Brussels to Madrid, rules are changing fast. Professionals are now expected to deliver deeper checks, more disclosures, and tougher oversight than ever before. 📍 In our latest Redpin insights article, we explore four of the most important ways that anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks are growing more complex for property professionals:    1️⃣ Rising EU-level directives driving transparency  2️⃣ National reforms, such as Spain’s new disclosure laws  3️⃣ Expanding beneficial ownership registers  4️⃣ Stricter sanctions and PEP screening requirements     📄 Read our full breakdown of the four challenges here: https://lnkd.in/et2UxpTA #RealEstate #Compliance #AML #KYC #Redpin 

✍️ 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗚𝗦𝗦 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝘇 – Test Your 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲! 🚨 Sanctions compliance is no longer optional — it’s a global regulatory expectation. One weak control can lead to multi-million dollar fines, reputational damage, and loss of correspondent banking relationships. If you’re preparing for the 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 (𝗖𝗚𝗦𝗦) exam — or you work in compliance and want to prove your expertise — these quizzes are your daily practice ground. 🔥 Each question is designed around real-world sanctions scenarios that test your ability to: ✔️ Detect 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 (dual-use goods, shell companies, shipping tricks) ✔️ Spot 𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴𝘀 in payments, trade finance, and customer onboarding ✔️ Apply 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 (OFAC, EU, UN, UK, FATF) with confidence 💡 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘇? ✅ Scenario-based CGSS questions built on high-risk cases ✅ Coverage of sanctions frameworks, screening, and due diligence ✅ Helps you strengthen knowledge gaps before the exam (or before regulators find them 👀) 👩💼 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝗶𝘁? 🔹 Compliance & Risk Professionals keeping up with global standards 🔹 AML & Sanctions Analysts working on screening and alert handling 🔹 Financial Crime Experts dealing with cross-border transactions 🔹 Auditors, Regulators & Consultants reviewing sanctions programs 👇 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀! Show your knowledge, learn from others, and build your sanctions expertise 💪 #CGSS #Sanctions #Compliance #FinancialCrime #RiskManagement #ACAMS #AMLTraining #SanctionsCompliance #FinancialCrimePrevention #CGSSPrep https://lnkd.in/eF_CswwP

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s BIS has introduced the “Affiliates Rule”, a major expansion of export controls under the EAR, automatically applying licensing restrictions to foreign affiliates 50% or more owned by listed entities. Read our latest post authored by Alison J. Stafford Powell, Lise S. Test, Rob O'Brien, and Steven Cotto as they explain how this rule aligns with OFAC’s 50% Rule and introduces the “Rule of Most Restrictiveness”, applying the strictest licensing standards when multiple restricted owners are involved. They also emphasize new compliance duties, including strict liability, enhanced due diligence, and the need for ownership screening beyond the Consolidated Screening List and highlighted BIS’s new Red Flag No. 29, which requires affirmative steps to determine ownership or seek a license. #sanctions #tradecontrols #BIS #exportcontrols #OFAC #EAR #compliance #sanctionsscreening #duediligence https://lnkd.in/gHYnnSKv

🚨Law firms are the weakest link in Australia’s AML armor, and July’s Tranche 2 rollout won’t change that unless the sector gets real expertise, fast.🚨 I’m not speaking in hypotheticals. My expertise comes from EXCLUSIVE 1:1 meetings with the CEO of AUSTRAC, who I quoted on the record in my recent publication with The Diplomat, and with senior leadership at Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I sit on the advisory board of Loyola University Chicago School of Law and the board of its Center for Compliance Studies, one of the only law-school-based institutions in the world dedicated specifically to compliance studies and legal risk. I’ve published extensively on anti-money laundering, sanctions, and reputational risk across outlets like Newsweek, American Banker, The Hill, RealClearWorld, and The Diplomat. I’ve also been quoted as a financial crime and sanctions expert by Reuters, NBC, Newsweek, and The Banker. That context matters, because too many Tranche 2 efforts are still trying to retrofit banking AML controls into legal practices, and that won’t hold. Law firms don’t run accounts, they run matters. And money laundering happens through the transaction, not just the client. From pooled trust accounts and opaque settlement chains to legal structures that hide true ownership, the risks are built differently. Sanctions evasion doesn’t sit in the relationship, it sits in the deal. And privilege creates barriers that banks never face. Obsidian Risk Advisors exists to solve that problem. We bring world-class, matter-specific AML and sanctions guidance to firms that want to lead, not lag, as Tranche 2 reshapes Australia’s regulatory landscape. Reasonably priced. Deeply credentialed. Ready now. Let’s talk. #AML #Tranche2 #FinancialCrime #Canberra #Australia #Law #Sydney