AML

The new EU AML/CFT regime addresses previous shortcomings by harmonizing regulations and enhancing enforcement tools, aiming to effectively prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, writes Claire Guilbert at Norton Rose Fulbright.

Luxembourg has decided to establish a special anti-money laundering (AML) unit within its tax administration following parliamentary approval. The head of financial supervisor CSSF, meanwhile, expressed his concern over the use of ‘outdated systems’ at the AML teams of asset and wealth management firms.

The CSSF has fined BGL BNP Paribas three million euro for significant lapses in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing compliance. It’s the second-largest fine ever imposed for AML failings in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg’s banking sector, once heralded for its stability and strong governance, is now grappling with substantial hurdles in adhering to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, a new consultancy report reveals.

As global financial hub known for its robust banking and investment industry, Luxembourg is awaiting an upcoming discussion at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on its anti-money laundering (AML) measures. The FATF, the international body responsible for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, will discuss the findings of its latest mutual evaluation assessment of the grand duchy next week in Paris.

The world’s top body to fight money laundering and financial crime on Monday warned that the international high value art and antiquities market has become vulnerable to money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The Financial Action Task Force called on art dealers and governments to up their efforts to fight illicit funding in these markets.

Luxembourg’s financial supervisor CSSF has said it will start collecting information from firms on their anti money laundering and terrorism financing setups from next Wednesday, 15 February, through its annual industry-wide survey. 

Luxembourg branches of investment firms and financial institutions headquartered elsewhere in the European Union from this year onwards will have to ask their auditors to produce an independent report on measures taken to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

BOS Wealth Management SA, the Luxembourg-based European wealth management arm of Bank of Singapore, has been handed a 210,000 euro fine by Luxembourg’s financial regulator CSSF for non-compliance with laws designed to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.

The exact arrival dates of the Financial Action Task Force on-site assessors in Luxembourg remain a secret, so expect them to arrive anytime soon. The two weeks these unnamed individuals will spend this month in Luxembourg are just a fraction of the 18-month audit to which Luxembourg’s anti-money laundering rules and practices are currently undergoing.