AML / KYC

Crypto exchange operators are prohibited from accepting new clients and ongoing ICO projects must return all client funds, until the securities regulator is ready to formally authorise their activities.

Online financial institutions including those engaged in online lending, equity crowdfunding, fund sales and consumer finance are required to register on the platform by 31 January.

The law represents a framework to streamline payment services regulation in Singapore under a single legislation and bring payment activities under the remit of the MAS.

Former RCBC bank manager Maia Santos-Deguito faces 49 years imprisonment and fines of up to $110mn for her role in the February 2016 theft of $81mn from Bangladesh’s central bank.

The relaxation of account opening policies will enable companies to open bank accounts in a few days rather than wait months for central bank approval.

Non-bank payment institutions will be required to report to the central bank any consumer transactions exceeding 50,000 yuan and cross-border transfers over 200,000 yuan.

The majority of banks' clients pose low money laundering risks, and should not be subject to the same level of scrutiny as high risk clients, said FSC chairman Wellington Koo.

Banks will need to adapt existing AML programmes to include new monitoring scenarios and train staff to recognise human trafficking red flags, says Nick Turner at Clifford Chance.

An HKMA investigation found that JPMorgan Hong Kong failed to establish and maintain effective controls for handling wire transfers, conducting CDD and monitoring business relationships.

Insufficient disclosures of corporate clients' beneficiaries by financial institutions was cited as one of Taiwan's shortcomings in the APG's latest report.