The increasing focus on trade based money laundering as a conduit of illicit financial flow follows years of ever tightening anti money laundering controls. Those seeking to move funds illicitly have had to innovate, and international trade offers many opportunities. Jesse Spiro, Global Head of Threat Finance and Emerging Risks at Thomson Reuters chats to Khalid Shaikh, Senior Vice President – Head of Compliance and Bank MLRO, Masreqbank, about how why it is important that compliance...

Financial inclusion is key to economic growth, yet many banks and financial institutions are choosing to de-risk by suspending services to entire sections of the business population. While there are many reasons for derisking, cost is undoubtedly a factor, yet de-risking potentially endangers the stability of the financial system. James Swenson, Head of Enhanced Due Diligence and Screening Services, Thomson Reuters, chats to Ibtissem Lassoued, Partner – Financial Crime, Al Tamimi & Co,...

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) facilitates scheduled peer review evaluations that help governments to benchmark their anti money laundering efforts against a global standard. In the run up to an evaluation it is usual for government policy to be scrutinised and upgraded where necessary, and this will have an impact on organizations. David Shepherd, Market Development Lead for Risk in MENA chats to Dr. Hans-Peter Bauer, Member of the Board, Basel Institute on Governance & Senior...

According to experts, less than 1% of the proceeds of financial crime is identified in the financial system and recovered. Despite increasing financial regulation, illicit money transfers still flow freely. Regulators are looking at the potential of the sharing of financial information as a way of stemming the tide. Listen to Jorg Schaper, our Global Head of Proposition for Third Party & Customer Risk, ask Nick Maxwell, Head of the Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing Program, why...

The Financial Crime in MENA Report tracks changing norms and standards in compliance across the region. Now in its 4th year, we note moderating budgets while the regulatory burden continues to increase for compliance departments.

Trade based money laundering is receiving increasing attention from regulators. It involves a complex and sophisticated layering of paperwork and touchpoints, and can be difficult to unravel. We speak to Ibrahim El-Adawi, Senior Compliance Consultant at Thomson Reuters, about how organizations can protect themselves.

Recent surveys in the MENA region reveal that the issue of ‘derisking’ – when larger, international banks withdraw their correspondent relationships with smaller regional banks – has become a substantial concern for many MENA-based banks. David Shepherd, Market Development Lead - Risk (Middle East & North Africa), Thomson Reuters, chats to Antoine Hobeiche from React … Adapt … Lead Consulting and Dr Ali Awdeh from the Union of Arab Banks about the scale of the issue and the steps that...

The task of complying with anti money laundering regulation has never been so complicated. The collection, analysis and management of client data to meet regulatory demands and find hidden risk has become an increasingly complex and laborious task. Automation will help to reduce some of the burden of the task, yet the growing role of technology in compliance brings is own set of challenges. Martin Wood, the Head of Financial Crime for Thomson Reuters, chats with Khaled Alhuneidi and...

FATF assessments can have a substantial impact on countries and on the organizations that are based there. Andy Critchlow, the Middle East editor for Breakingviews, chats to Abdul Hafiz Mansour, the Secretary General of the Special Investigation Commission FIU Lebanon & Vice Chairman, Egmont Group, about the impact of FATF on the MENA region.

Risk management of the supply chain has been a constantly expanding and challenging task over the past few years, but as we enter 2017, the need for a robust and effective compliance policy has never been stronger. James Swenson, Global Head of Proposition for Risk Managed Services at Thomson Reuters, speaks to Carla Koffel, Executive Director at The Pearl Initiative, the Gulf business-led, non-profit organisation that works to promote a corporate culture of accountability and transparency as...

Why is whistleblowing such a contentious subject and what is it that makes it so difficult for people to come forward when they have evidence of wrong-doing in corporate organizations? James Swenson, Global Head of Proposition for Risk Managed Services at Thomson Reuters chats to Wendy Addison, the CEO of SpeakOut SpeakUp, about the complexities of whistleblowing and why it is becoming an increasingly important issue for the MENA region.

Technology is driving rapid change in financial services, with the latest developments seen as a revolution rather than evolution. The finance sector is ripe for disruption, and start-ups are employing innovative technology – such as cloud computing, mobile communications, digital currency and blockchain – to enter the market. So far, banks have been using some of these technologies to help automate and augment their services, but will they soon be fighting for market share? Andy Critchlow,...

We are nearing the 10th anniversary of the global financial crisis and banks now face a new challenge – that of potential disruption to a degree never before experienced by their sector. Experts foresee opportunities for agile and sophisticated start-ups to meet the growing demand of a technology savvy consumer base, but how will banks respond? Andy Critchlow, the Middle East editor for Breakingviews, speaks to Bryan Stirewalt, Managing Director, Supervision, Dubai Financial Services...

The third annual survey on financial crime in the MENA region, a joint initiative of Thomson Reuters and Deloitte, follows two previous surveys on the same topic. The surveys are conducted in the same month of each year with the same audience sample and contain a set of core questions. The reports from the survey will eventually form part of a longitudinal study that tracks changing norms and standards in the fight against financial crime in the MENA region. From the responses, we identified...

On a break... coming back soon.

With the introduction of VAT to the GCC as of 2018, businesses need to understand how best to prepare. Listen to Stewart Nivision, Global Head of Indirect Tax at Thomson Reuters, discuss how technology can steamline the process of VAT implementation.

Supply chains have become increasingly complex, making them challenging to manage at a time of growing regulatory risk. The drop in oil prices has meant a headcount reduction across the industry, mostly in supporting departments, at a time when supply chains require more, not less, supervision.

Ultimate beneficial ownership has become a high priority for regulators, and there is now a regulatory obligation for compliance officers in certain companies to be able to provide documented evidence of ownership of business relationships. Unfortunately, this is not a straightforward task.

In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the demand for talented compliance staff. Demand for GRC skills and expertise has grown exponentially, and at a time of increasing enforcement activity, skilled professionals are scarce on the ground. For many organizations, upskilling an existing workforce is one of the most workable solutions, but how do you retain the much sought after skills once you’ve produced them? The compliance function is under more pressure than ever before, and...

The regulatory environment is putting increasing pressure on banks and other financial institutions, as they are compelled to focus on meeting current compliance obligations while at the same time prepare for upcoming regulatory change. In the past, it was only during the process of onboarding new clients that organizations were expected to scrutinize certain documentation under ‘Know Your Customer’ regulations. Following a series of global events however, beginning with the attacks of 9/11,...

The issue of cyber crime is fast becoming one of the biggest global challenges to business, although action to reduce the threat it is still perhaps muted, partly due to a lack of regulation. indeed, it is a difficult issue to regulate against, yet the threat to organizations of a cyber attack is high and needs to be attended to. While compliance professionals are not expected to be technological experts, the task of reducing cyber crime risk is increasingly falling within their remit and for...

Geopolitical risk refers to the risk of investing in a country where there is political or economic instability that may cause a threat to the value of the investment. This threat may come from regime change, legislative change, military intervention or some other destabilising force that may substantially impact the value of the investment. Many people use economic theory to understand the market without realising that politics can be just as important in critical decision. Geopolitical...

We are in an era of enhanced regulatory scrutiny, increasing fines and increasing cooperation between authorities. Regulatory pressure has been building on organizations around the world for some time and we can expect this to continue. Thomson Reuters looked at compliance trends for the year ahead, and one trend that stood out was the swing towards personal liability by authorities. This focus on personal liability means that there is an increase in personal risk for senior executives,...

For a while now, corruption has been at the top of the global agenda. Authorities around the world are devoting a great deal of resources in a bid to diminish corruption, but the issue is proving stubbornly resilient. Corruption is an insidious phenomenon that undermines people’s trust in institutions and political systems, a dangerous state of affairs. It threatens sustainable economic development, ethical values and justice; it causes great harm to our society and endangers the rule of...

On 31 December 2011, the United States (US) imposed a range of diplomatic and legal sanctions to prevent foreign financial institutions from conducting transactions with Iran as part of international efforts to prevent further development of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The European Union (EU) also agreed to impose sanctions on Iran that would become fully effective from July 2012 onwards. Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) authorized a range of sanctions that aligned with the US and EU...