My first position after qualifying as a solicitor was in the legal department of a large bank in Bermuda, and my responsibilities covered every department (other than company secretary). Subsequent positions with banks in Hong Kong and Luxembourg led me back to private practice in London, Guernsey, Switzerland and Mauritius (thus giving me a very wide exposure to different systems of law).
The biggest change internationally is the introduction of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBO) Registers for companies (and theoretically for trusts, although discretionary trusts don’t actually have UBOs). In the UK, the recent UBO registration requirements under Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 for UK properties held in ‘entities’ has changed the concept of what civil lawyers call a ‘Société Anonyme’ or limited company.
As the Financial Action Task Force’s initiatives in relation to crypto have been a self-evident failure (as witnessed by the collapse of FTX Exchange Bahamas last November) we should expect to see an embarrassed ‘catch-up’ effort during 2023-24. Also, the continued expansion of the regulated sector, for example, to include dealers in precious metals and stones (DPMS).
Most people think that an AML offence is only committed when money is actually laundered (ie there must be an actus reus), whereas in practice, AML offences are most frequently committed merely by ignoring proper guidelines and procedures (and irrespective of whether this was wilful, negligent or accidental). The large amount of fines on banks and financial professionals in recent years bear witness to this misconception.
