Tag Archives: Satish M. Kini

BSA/AML and KYC in a Crisis: Supervisors Provide Guidance as Financial Institutions Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Satish M. Kini, David G. Sewell, Zila Reyes Acosta-Grimes, Isabel Espinosa de los Reyes, Robert T. Dura, and Jonathan R. Wong

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, the U.S. Congress, Treasury Department and Federal Reserve have taken extraordinary measures that would have been unimaginable just weeks ago in an attempt to stabilize the U.S. economy. Financial institutions are on the front lines of many of the new programs and are otherwise taking steps to support customers and communities affected by the crisis—while also protecting their employees through remote work arrangements and other measures.

Meeting obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act (the “BSA”) and associated anti-money laundering (“AML”) regulations—as well as supervisory know your customer (“KYC”) expectations—is challenging under ordinary circumstances and even more so in these conditions. Regulators have begun to offer guidance regarding their BSA expectations in these challenging circumstances. We highlight and summarize relevant developments below. Continue reading →

UK Treasury Publishes First Post-Brexit UK Sanctions Regulations and Guidance

 by Jane Shvets, Konstantin Bureiko, Tom Cornell, and Satish M. Kini

On 31 January 2019, the UK’s HM Treasury published the first set of regulations (the “Regulations”) under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (“SAMLA”).[1] The Regulations are due to come into force on “exit day”—29 March 2019 at 11.00pm—if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal. The UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) has also published new guidance on post-Brexit financial sanctions, which should be read in tandem with the Regulations.[2] In many respects, the Regulations mirror sanctions measures currently in force in the UK under EU regulations and merely give them an independent statutory footing in the UK. But the Regulations do diverge from established EU sanctions practice in certain places and may require companies in the UK to change their sanctions compliance practices. Continue reading →

Professional Service Advisers in the United Kingdom Under New Obligations to Report Suspicions of Financial Sanctions Breaches

by Satish M. Kini, Carl Micarelli, Alex Parker, and Konstantin Bureiko

On August 8, 2017, the United Kingdom (“UK”) broadened the obligation to report known or suspected financial sanctions breaches to apply to a range of professional service providers and certain businesses, including lawyers, external accountants and auditors. This reporting obligation reflects a wider trend of the UK government taking a more proactive approach to enforcing sanctions compliance.[1]

This reporting obligation is now similar in scope to the money laundering reporting obligations, as imposed by the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.[2]

As well as impacting the internal compliance policies of professional services firms operating in the UK, this new obligation may also impact the dealings of their clients, particularly in a mergers and acquisitions context. It is also likely to significantly increase the number of reports made to the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”). Continue reading →