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New data has revealed that there are some parts of the UK that are more vulnerable to breaches in AML Compliance than others. The data comes from a survey of 500 regulated UK businesses across many different sectors, including legal and finance. It shows that there are some serious issues with AML Compliance in some parts of the UK and that this is creating 'hotspots' where there are more opportunities for money laundering than in other areas. Northern Ireland is one example of this - 71% of those who responded to the survey in this part of the UK had not altered their approach to onboarding new customers since Russia invaded Ukraine. 85% had not changed their approach to monitoring clients since the beginning of the conflict. This means that it would in theory be much simpler for Russian-originating money laundering to happen here.

Every organisation needs AML Solutions in place today - and where there are failings, the UK regulator will often hold a CEO accountable. The recent case of the Sonali Bank CEO is a prime example of this. Mohammad Ataur Rahman Prodhan was the former CEO of Sonali Bank and he has been found by the FCA to be responsible for multiple failings at the institution. In particular, during the period of 7 June 2012 to 4 March 2014, the CEO failed to take steps to mitigate AML risks at the bank that came from an embedded culture of non-compliance. Other failings were also listed, including not making sure that there was a clear chain of responsibility to oversee the UK branches of the bank and not ensuring that the Money Laundering Reporting Officer Function was effective at the bank.

Santander is the latest big name in finance to fall foul of anti-money laundering requirements with a significant fine of more than £107 million. The bank's response was that it was "very sorry" for the problems that led to the fine from the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). According to the FCA, Santander failed to properly oversee and manage the systems that had been set up to prevent money laundering. Attempts that had been made to later try and address the problem were labelled by the regulator as "inadequate" and the FCA said that the situation created a prolonged and severe risk of money laundering and financial crime. The total amount of the fine - £107.7 million - is designed to reflect the severity of the situation at such a prominent financial institution.

Money laundering was at the top of the agenda at the recent Anti-Corruption Conference that took place in December. The event attracted leaders from all over the world and the UK representative was particularly vocal about the need to continue the fight against corruption on a global level. The UK representative at the event was Karen Pierce, UK ambassador to the US, and she made several key points about the global efforts to fight illicit finance, including highlighting how the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia shows just how much of a threat corruption is to global stability. Pierce also focused on how illicit finance has been specifically used to gain access and influence, not just in the UK but countries all over the world. She said the message from the UK was about the necessity of redoubling efforts to counter these threats.

Yet more issues with compliance among UK based banks, as the UK regulator handed out another fine in December, this time to Metro Bank. London-headquartered Metro Bank was fined for publishing incorrect information to investors, something that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says the bank was fully aware of. In fact, the FCA is so convinced that the top team at Metro Bank knew about the failure in compliance that it has also taken action against former Chief Executive Craig Donaldson and former Chief Financial Officer David Arden. Both received fines as a result of what the FCA says was being knowingly concerned with what happened, £223,100 for Donaldson and £134,600 for Arden.

Significant action has been taken by regulators over the past decade against institutions where AML Monitoring and processes have been poor. HSBC is one of those institutions that has been hit with enforcement - in particular by the US Federal Reserve. However, in September this year, the Fed terminated a decade-long enforcement action against HSBC, which was the result of the bank violating money laundering and sanction rules. In 2012, when the enforcement action was implemented, the Fed accused HSBC of becoming the preferred financial institution for Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. The Department of Justice at the time described the actions of HSBC as "stunning failures of oversight" and the bank was ordered to pay fines that (at the time) were record figures, amounting to a total of $1.92 billion.

AML Compliance is a non-negotiable for the US Treasury today - and the rising number of enforcement actions being taken is a key indicator of this. It's not just traditional financial institutions that are held to high standards but all those operating in new markets like cryptocurrency too. This is illustrated by the most recent compliance settlements announced by the US Treasury, which relate to Bittrex, a virtual currency exchange. In October this year the Treasury announced that compliance settlements had been reached after enforcement actions by OFAC and FinCEN with the amount of the settlements coming in at $24 million and £29 million respectively.

The market for AML Solutions is booming all over the world, as organisations seek to obtain more control over exposure to financial crime. Regulators continue to increase the standards for compliance, as well as penalties for a lack of attention to risk, and this has created an environment in which it has become essential to have AML Solutions in place. In 2021 the global market for AML Solutions was valued at USD$1485.61 and by 2029 this is expected to expand significantly, ultimately being valued at around USD$3059.95. The range of tools available to help businesses combat money laundering is increasing all the time, with monitoring and detection of fraudulent activities being delivered in a range of different ways.

The Danish regulator, Spillemyndigheden, reported the mobile betting business Tipwin to the police earlier this year - and issued two injunctions back in June. According to the regulator, Tipwin had breached two sections of the Danish Money Laundering Act and was being penalised for failures in anti-money laundering compliance at its retail betting shops. The two sections of the legislation that the business had fallen foul of were Section 7, which deals with risk assessments, and Section 8 which is focused on the policies and practices in place for staff to help spot the signs of money laundering. Now, however, the second of these injunctions - relating to Section 8 - has been cancelled by the regulator because the staff who should have been responsible for processes and policies were outsourced.

Last month, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which is the global financial terrorist and money laundering watchdog, issued some new advice for EU states in terms of Anti-Money Laundering Compliance. FATF also acknowledged how much of an impact several events had made in terms of financial terrorism and money laundering, including the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. A rise in the level of money laundering in the wake of the pandemic and the conflict has meant that there are now many more risks for EU businesses to contend with. Other risk factors include the increase in the size of the gambling sector during the pandemic and the explosion in online gambling in recent years.