The Central Bank has issued Consultation Paper 57 "Inquiry Guidelines to be prescribed pursuant to section 33BD of the Central Bank Act 1942 (as amended) ". This Consultation Paper sets out draft updated Guidelines for the Administrative Sanctions Process.

Click here for a copy of the Consultation Paper.

Th Central Bank has announced major changes to the Fit & Proper regime. While technical in nature, the changes will address many of the difficulties firms had encountered in practically implementing the stringent requirements of the Fit & Proper regime. The changes will be particularly welcomed by Irish subsidiaries of international groups and firms working in the funds industry, where the outsourcing stipulations had posed particular challenges. The Central Bank is to be congratulated on the flexibility it has shown to accommodate legitimate concerns that came to light as the implementation effort geared up, without diluting the original intention of the fit & Proper Regime.

Click here for a copy of the Information Release announcing the new changes.

Click here for a copy of the finalised Guidance.

The FATF concluded its Mutual Evaluation of Argentina on 22nd October 2011 and the results aren't good.

The FATF Chairman’s Summary identified Argentina as a jurisdiction that raises serious concerns due to substantial deficiencies in its AML/CFT regime. On 28th October 2011 the FATF recognised the progress made by Argentina as well as its continued political commitment to strengthen its AML/CFT measures. However, the FATF is still concerned about the large number of AML/CFT deficiencies identified in October 2010 that remain. The FATF will continue to monitor progress made by Argentina and more specifically, will work with Argentina on measures and milestones to assess Argentina’s effective implementation of its criminalisation of money laundering.

Argentina is currently designated under Section 31 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Finance) Act 2010 as a jurisdiction considered to have controls equivalent to those in Ireland. The publication of this report suggests that privileged position may shortly be under threat.

On 28th October 2011 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a public statement drawing attention to serious deficiencies in the anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regimes of specific jurisdictions under its review. The publication of this listing has implications for how Irish firms risk-assess customers in those jurisdictions.

This FATF list is separated into two sections:

I)         Jurisdictions subject to a call to apply counter-measures:

• Iran
• The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)

II)        Jurisdictions with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies that have not made sufficient progress in addressing the deficiencies or have not committed to an action plan developed with the FATF to address the deficiencies:

• Bolivia
• Cuba [Note: Cuba has not engaged with the FATF in the process.]
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Nigeria
• Myanmar
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Sri Lanka
• Syria
• Turkey

The inclusion of Turkey in this list is of particular notice as it was until July 2010 a 'white list' prescribed country designated by the Irish Minister for Justice under the old 1994 regime.

The UK Financial Services Authority has stressed to firms regulated by it that they should take this notice into account in respect of their systems and controls to counter financial crime, and take appropriate actions to minimise the associated risks. Persons regulated for money-laundering purposes are advised to consider applying increased scrutiny to transactions associated with these jurisdictions, including by conducting enhanced due diligence and ongoing monitoring.

The FATF has also issued a separate statement where it reviewed the progress of other jurisdictions which have previously undertaken to the FATF to improve their AML/CFT regimes. The FATF found some jurisdictions have made substantive improvements in their AML/CFT regimes, while others have not made sufficient progress.

III)      Improvements made, but deficiencies remain:

Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Ecuador, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Philippines, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

IV)       Improvements unsatisfactory:

Ghana, Indonesia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Thailand