Bank Negara Fines Three Firms Over AML Compliance Breaches
Business Today
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has issued administrative monetary penalties amounting to RM40,400 against three firms for violations related to targeted financial sanctions and customer due diligence requirements.
The central bank fined Ruhanmas Forex Sdn Bhd RM11,500 for not complying with targeted financial sanctions requirements. An on-site supervisory examination found that the company had no sanctions screening mechanism in place and did not screen its customers against sanctions lists.
As a reporting institution, Ruhanmas is obligated to keep a sanctions database built on the Domestic List and the United Nations Security Council Resolution List, and to screen its customers against both.
According to BNM, the breaches stemmed from Ruhanmas' lack of understanding of the regulatory requirements that applied to it.
Ruhanmas has since subscribed to a commercial sanctions database service and integrated it into its currency exchange system. The company paid the RM11,500 penalty on September 17.
The central bank fined Ruhanmas Forex Sdn Bhd RM11,500 for not complying with targeted financial sanctions requirements. An on-site supervisory examination found that the company had no sanctions screening mechanism in place and did not screen its customers against sanctions lists.
As a reporting institution, Ruhanmas is obligated to keep a sanctions database built on the Domestic List and the United Nations Security Council Resolution List, and to screen its customers against both.
According to BNM, the breaches stemmed from Ruhanmas' lack of understanding of the regulatory requirements that applied to it.
Ruhanmas has since subscribed to a commercial sanctions database service and integrated it into its currency exchange system. The company paid the RM11,500 penalty on September 17.
Mexico Tightens Money-Laundering Rules After U.S. Pressure
The Wall Street Journal
Mexican authorities are intensifying their efforts against cartel money laundering after pressure from the United States and other international authorities.
The country's legislature recently broadened its anti-money-laundering laws, introducing stricter due diligence requirements and pushing companies to gather more information on their controlling owners, among other measures. President Claudia Sheinbaum also appointed a new head of Mexico's financial intelligence unit, the body that collects information on suspicious transactions and refers it to law enforcement.
However, anti-money-laundering experts doubt whether these measures will strengthen the country's enforcement or be sufficient to satisfy the Trump administration and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international body that sets standards for fighting money laundering. Both U.S. authorities and FATF, each of which can effectively cut Mexico's banks off from their global counterparts, have criticized the country's low number of money-laundering convictions.
Monaco's Watchdog Defends its €6m UBS Fine Against Industry Criticism
Monaco Life
Monaco's financial-crime regulator has publicly defended the €6 million fine it imposed on UBS Monaco, pushing back against commentary it says misrepresented the ruling and clarifying the obligations banks have to verify complex corporate ownership structures.
In a statement dated September 28, the Autorité Monégasque de Sécurité Financière (AMSF) said it sought to explain the foundations and scope of the decision following comments it described as inaccurate or approximate. According to the regulator, some analyses had questioned its interpretation of the law and its use of its own guidance, and had warned about the consequences for legal certainty among the Principality's banks and financial firms.
The penalty was issued on April 28 and made public on May 8. It followed an inspection conducted between March and June 2024 of UBS's Monaco subsidiary, the local branch of the Swiss banking giant and one of the largest private banks in the Principality. The inspection identified a range of anti-money-laundering shortcomings, from insufficient compliance staffing to weak verification of the source of funds of some wealthy clients. At €6 million, compared with the bank's average annual net banking income of around €132 million over the previous three financial years, it was the largest fine the AMSF has imposed since it was established in 2023.
The reasoning behind the decision prompted unusually sharp commentary from lawyers and compliance specialists, enough to lead the regulator to respond publicly so that, in its words, the debate would rest on a legally accurate reading of the decision.
