Financial Crime

Fraud, Scams & Cybercrime

FSC Korea Cancels Business Licence of Optimus Asset Management

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 25/11/2021

The FSC has also fined Optimus and ordered board member removals, over “numerous counts of violations and inappropriate fund management activities”.

KYC & CDD

MAS Proposes Amendments to the Business Trusts Act

By Editors | 25/11/2021

Business trusts will have to obtain and maintain information on beneficial ownership and disclose their CEOs’ interests in transactions.

Operational Risk

MAS Considers ‘Appropriate Supervisory Actions’ After DBS Outage

By Mark Johnston | 24/11/2021

MAS considering “appropriate supervisory actions” following two days of digital services disruption at DBS Bank.

Data Privacy

RBI Panel Suggests Increasing Regulation for Digital Lenders

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 22/11/2021

The panel suggests the establishment of a self-regulatory organisation which would be charged with formulating a code of conduct for digital lenders.

Anti-Money Laundering

The Rising Standards of AML/CFT Compliance in Hong Kong

By Susanne Harris | 22/11/2021

Mayer Brown’s Susanne Harris, Wei Na Sim, Alan Linning and Charlene Wong discuss key developments in the AML/CFT space in Hong Kong in 2021.

Anti-Money Laundering

AUSTRAC Issues Guidance on Misuse of Payment Text Fields

By Editors | 22/11/2021

Payment text fields in financial transactions are increasingly being used as a method of criminal communication or abuse, AUSTRAC says.

Anti-Bribery & Corruption

US Extradites Ex-BOC Banker to China Over Corruption Charges

By Darien Choong | 22/11/2021

The former BOC managers stole the bank’s money and laundered it through Canada and the US, in a case that dates back 20 years.

Anti-Money Laundering

Singapore Repatriates Another $16.3m of 1MDB Funds to Malaysia

By Editors | 21/11/2021

Total 1MDB assets amounting to $4.9bn have now been returned. Asset recovery is still being pursued in the US, UAE, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, among other countries.

Anti-Money Laundering

HKMA Penalises Four Banks for AML Violations

By Editors | 21/11/2021

ICBC (Asia), UBS, CCB (Asia) and CTBC Bank were fined a combined HK$44.2mn for deficiencies in customer monitoring, periodic reviews and due diligence.