In the Financial Secretary’s 2020 – 2021 budget speech, the Hong Kong government announced that it will consider extending the anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing requirements to cover cryptocurrency service providers. Cryptocurrencies are currently classified as virtual assets in the city and are regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission. By including cryptocurrencies under AML regulations, the…
More regulatory responses to COVID-19
Following on from last month’s newsletter, we’ve put together the following list to examine different regulator responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here it is interesting to note the development and changes, as regulators begin to get a grasp on the crisis and develop innovative responses to meet the changing environment. If you have any questions…
FLSC launches anti-money laundering and terrorist financing risk advisory for the legal profession
The Federation of Law Societies of Canda (FLSC) has launched a series of risk advisories and risk assessment case studies, designed to help legal professionals adapt to the new anti-money laundering rules. The rule changes are based on an FLSC model rule and have been adopted by Nova Scotia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The…
Law Society of Ontario approves AML amendments
In November 2019 the Convocation (Board of Directors) of the Law Society of Ontario approved in principle amendments to by-laws designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The amendments which build on existing regulation include: a requirement that licensees identify and record the source of client funds for a transaction clarification with respect to…
SRA to increase AML checks on law firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced that they will be increasing checks on law firms after it found that 21 percent of the 400 firms consulted were not complying with anti-money laundering regulations. The majority of firms were using templates and these firms’ risk assessments were generally of lower quality as firms appeared to take…
FATF guidance for legal professionals
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has produced risk-based approach (RBA) guidance to help legal professionals design effective measures to manage money laundering and terrorist financing risks. The guidance is also aimed at supervisors of legal professionals, highlighting the importance of supervising the RBA. The FATF developed this non-binding guidance with input from the legal…
The Federation of Law Societies of Canada working with government in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing
The regulators of the legal profession in Canada and the Canadian government have embarked on a new chapter in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. Late last Spring Canada’s Minister of Finance announced the creation of a joint working group comprised of representatives of the government and the Federation of…
Anti-Money Laundering and Lawyer Regulation: The Response of the Professions
Abstract The extension of anti-money laundering (AML) controls to lawyers has been a controversial topic since the early 2000s. The legal professions facing these measures have adopted differentiated strategies of response, three examples of which are examined and contrasted in this paper. In the US, the legal profession vocally objected to the measures and has been able to deflect…
Event: 2019 NOBC Annual Meeting
7-10 August 2019 Hotel InterContinental Mark Hopkins, San Francisco Topics include: AML, cybersecurity, re-branding regulators, dealing with vulnerable lawyers and regulating out of state attorneys. This event has now passed.
The relevance of FATF’s recommendations and fourth round of mutual evaluations to the legal profession
More than two hundred countries in the world have agreed to abide by the anti-money laundering (“AML”) recommendations developed by the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), which is an intergovernmental organization. This article focuses on the potential impact on the legal profession of FATF’s fourth round of mutual evaluations. During these mutual evaluations, which currently…