29 June 2019 is the effective date of amendments to the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act supported by Parliament in their third reading on 13 May. The Act has been renamed the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism and Proliferation Financing Act.
Since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018, data processors have seen its restrictions becoming tighter. What is the difference between protecting personal data and monitoring individuals? And how can the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD) coexist peacefully with the GDPR?
The events surrounding ABLV Bank and its subsequent liquidation have torn open a wound in the Latvian banking sector. The harsh ban on opening accounts for shell companies spares no one. @WeAreNotShell is a slogan posted on Telegram, Twitter and Facebook as well as other social networks since April 2018 by non-residents suffering at the hands of Latvian banks and complaining how they are having to prove the existence of their business and how endless enquiries and requests from Latvian banks are becoming absurd.
The scope of activity expected from organisations in terms of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) no longer comes as a surprise, unlike a year ago. The lack of statutory measures in organisations now increasingly indicates wilful non-compliance with, rather than ignorance of, statutory requirements. To ensure that the measures in place are properly implemented and achieve their goals, organisations need an understanding of the forms money laundering can take.
