- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Aaron Nicodemus2024-01-29T21:44:00
An Iraqi bank faces severance from the U.S. financial system for being a conduit of terrorist financing, according to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
FinCEN issued a finding and notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) Monday on Al-Huda Bank, alleging the bank and foreign sponsors “fuel violence that threatens the lives of U.S. and Iraqi citizens” while diverting funds that could support legitimate business, according to a press release.
The bank leveraged its access to U.S. dollars to support several foreign terrorist organizations, including Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard and its Quds Force, as well as Iran-aligned Iraqi militias, per FinCEN.
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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an alert addressing the financing of Israeli extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
A survey of financial crime professionals found that while three of every four companies added more anti-money laundering employees in 2023, nearly all respondents said growing their department’s headcount alone won’t keep up with emerging risks.
Fraud remains the leading form of identity-related suspicious activity cited in Bank Secrecy Act reports by a large margin, while technologies enable greater overall risks around exploitation, according to new research from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
The EU and U.K. have rushed to commit themselves to intensifying action on sanctions evasion after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, but any compliance managers who believe Trump will make global sanctions compliance easier in 2025 are likely to be disappointed.
With a new political regime ready to take over in the U.S., the effectiveness of sanctions against malign foreign actors like Russia, North Korea, and Iran have come into question. While the European Union and U.K. have increased sanctions pressure, critics have publicly asked: Is it enough?
The U.K. has issued 56 new sanctions against entities and individuals involved with Russia’s war effort, including several private mercenary groups operating in Africa that are connected to the Kremlin.
