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Simplify the way you meet regulatory requirements with Effiya’s powerful compliance tools. Our solutions offer clear, actionable insights to help businesses stay ahead of ever-changing laws and reduce risks. Designed for seamless governance, Effiya supports organizations across industries worldwide, ensuring compliance is easier, smarter, and more effective.

Parent group DBS, Southeast Asia's largest bank, was also among the lenders caught up in a multibillion-dollar money laundering scam in Singapore last year.  

The Bank of Hong Kong has fined a local branch of Singapore's DBS Bank HK$10 million ($1.3 million) for violating anti-money laundering rules, the banking regulator said on Friday.

The HKMA said the bank had failed to "continuously manage business relationships and carry out due diligence in high-risk situations".

Among the "control deficiencies" found in the HKMA, investigators identified the failure to keep records of some of its customers in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Ordinance, the regulator said in a statement.

HKMA’s executive director Raymond Chan said banks should "put in place effective and appropriate customer surveillance systems to combat money laundering and terrorist financing".

Take control of your compliance with our cutting-edge anti-money laundering solution. Our comprehensive Customer Due Diligence (CDD) process ensures thorough verification and identification of all your customers, eliminating the risk of fraudulent transactions. With real-time Sanction Screening, you can screen thousands of individuals against global watchlists within seconds to ensure AML/CFT regulatory requirements are met. Stay ahead in the fight against money laundering with AI-driven technology that continuously monitors for suspicious activity and provides actionable insights for AML Compliance.

Monaco could soon be added to an intergovernmental “grey list” of countries under pressure to clamp down on money laundering if regulators determine that the wealthy principality has not made sufficient progress in prosecuting financial crimes. The Financial Action Task Force, an international organization that sets regulatory standards to protect financial systems, is expected to announce its decision on adding Monaco to the grey list on June 28, Bloomberg reported.

Money laundering represents a significant global issue. Annually, between 800 billion and 2 trillion dollars, accounting for approximately 2–5% of the worldwide GDP, are funnelled through various illegal channels.

AML and CFT standards are recommended for adoption by all financial institutions, corporations, and even non-governmental organizations. Their purpose is to standardize a general system of preventive efforts to reduce the level of economic crimes and the financing of terrorism.

AML requirements are imposed on banks, money transfer operators, and digital platforms providing payment services. When serving clients who are on sanctions lists, secondary sanctions are possible directly for service operators, accompanied by substantial fines. For instance, in 2023, fines for violating AML procedures exceeded 5 billion US dollars.

Interacting with sanctioned clients is seen as a conscious or unconscious endorsement of financial crimes. Undoubtedly, allowing sanctioned clients access to the economic system poses an additional threat to overall security.

Sanctions screening is a component of the regulatory requirements of AML and CFT and is a fundamental part of any organization dealing with finances. This process involves checking client and transaction data against sanctions lists to ensure that the financial institution is not dealing with individuals or legal entities posing a risk under international law.

Main Challenges of Sanctions Screening

Absence of a single list—fragmented databases.

Dynamics of Changes in Sanctions Lists and Technological Issues

Inaccurate Data Matching and False Positives

To overcome these challenges, #Effiya’s efficient Sanction screening solution accommodates scanning through millions of data records from trusted sources ensuring that no transaction bypasses your vigilance. With user friendly dashboards you can also track real time analytics regarding sanctioned entities or individuals, preventing any form of illegal activity associated with them within your network.

According to BRS, there were 690,222 private companies registered in Kenya by December 2022, out of which 395 were reported in relation to terrorism financing incidents and a total of 10,733 reported for money laundering.

More than half (56.5 percent) of these firms were involved in the construction sector, signaling the rapidly growing sector as a preferred conduit for money launderers.

This was followed by real estate (8.07 percent), manufacturing (7.17 percent), money transfer agents (5.83 percent), consultancy (4.48 percent), textiles (4.04 percent) and retailers (3.14 percent).

“The responses indicated that private limited companies (98.09 percent) were the highest legal structures associated with money laundering. Further, out of the 98.09 percent cases involving private limited companies 43.51 percent of the cases involved abuse by directors of the company, employees were also involved to a great extent,” said the report.

This has placed Kenya under high surveillance in what is known as the ‘grey list’ alongside 21 other countries by the global anti-money laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

According to the FATF, being grey-listed or black-listed means the country is not effectively implementing measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing according to its standards, including the management of an efficient, up-to-date, and accurate register of beneficial ownership.

This could lead to a decline in confidence by global financiers in Kenya’s financial system, which could lead to capital flight as investors, both domestic and international, may withdraw their funds due to concerns about the integrity of the financial system, say analysts.

“Based on the findings of this report it is recommended that the country reviews the laws governing the trust regime in Kenya and put in place measures to mitigate or deter their use for money laundering and terrorism financing purposes,” states the report.

Effiya's CDD, transaction screening and PEP screening are the perfect choice for money laundering and terrorist financing prevention. Our best-in-class technology helps you to identify suspicious patterns of behavior quickly, so you can prevent money laundering activities before they occur. With inbuilt sanctions checks and easy integration with existing workflow processes, our software simplifies anti money laundering compliance while providing increased security at every stage of your customer onboarding journey.  

For more information book a demo now  https://effiya.com/request-demo/ or visit us at https://effiya.com/

An internal report from Canada’s financial crimes watchdog found that most banking and real estate companies it audited last year are not following the country’s anti-money laundering laws, sparking calls for greater oversight and higher fines.

The 2022/2023 report, prepared by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FinTRAC), found that only 106 out of 237 financial institutions complied with the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act.

Global News obtained the report under the Access to Information Act. It audited financial services and real-estate companies among other sectors but did not name any individuals or companies.

FinTRAC, which reports to the federal Finance Minister, works to identify and prevent dirty money from entering Canada by analyzing millions of documents submitted by reporting entities like banks, real estate businesses, casinos, and others.

More than 24,000 businesses currently fall under Canada’s anti-money laundering act, according to the agency.

Of the 18 financial entities it examined, including 11 banks, 78 per cent had incomplete or absent anti-money laundering policies and procedures, such as screening for potential criminals or sanctioned persons. (There are roughly 80 regulated banks in Canada, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.)

Of the 88 money-service businesses examined, roughly 74, or 84 per cent, of them had incomplete or non-existent processes to detect dirty cash and the majority hadn’t completed proper risk assessment to determine whether the client or business had a link to criminal activity.

Of the 71 real estate firms, 61 businesses had incomplete or no anti-money laundering policies and nearly half of the businesses “did not meet client identification requirements.”

Of the 38 securities dealers reviewed 33, or 87 per cent, lacked the proper policies and procedures. Securities dealers, which help people buy stocks or investments, remain “susceptible to securities fraud, including investment misrepresentation and other capital market fraud-related misconduct, such as insider trading,” the agency said.

AML Regulatory Compliance is a crucial step to providing robust sanction screening and fraud detection services for businesses globally. #Effiya provides a complete suite of tailored solutions that enable organizations to meet their regulatory requirements efficiently. Our cutting-edge technology leverages advanced analytics techniques, helping you stay compliant and protect your assets from malicious activities quickly yet accurately.

For more information book a demo now  https://effiya.com/request-demo/ or visit us at https://effiya.com/

Simplify and streamline Customer Due Diligence (CDD) processes using our cutting-edge anti money-laundering software, designed to increase efficiency while reducing risk exposure for businesses.

Effiya understands the importance of conducting proper customer due diligence when it comes to identifying suspicious activity within your organization. Through our innovative transaction monitoring software, you can proactively manage risks associated with different types, patterns, and volumes. Remain compliant at all times without compromising on operational efficiency.

For more information book a demo now  https://effiya.com/request-demo/ or visit us at https://effiya.com/