money laundering

Question 1

*what is money laundering

Answer 1

the process by which criminals may attempt to hide the origins of the proceeds of criminal activity. the aim is to transform dirty money into clean money which can be spent

Question 2

what is criminal property

Answer 2

Criminal property includes money or any asset that arises from:

-tax evasion
-bribery and corruption
-income received through the operation of a criminal cartel
-benefits arising from a criminal failure to comply with a regulatory requirement.

Question 3

what are the international methods for combatting money laundering

Answer 3

-The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has set global standards
-Its “Forty Recommendations” serve as guidelines for over 200 jurisdictions.

Question 4

what do FATF recommendations include

Answer 4

-scope of money laundering
-measures to be taken like CDD, record-keeping; and
reporting suspicious transactions FIU.
-transparency
-international co-operation

Question 5

why is ethical guidance needed in money laundering?

Answer 5

-wide scope
-legal and regulatory consequences
-no clear definition of suspicion
-confidentiality issues

Question 6

*three main categories of offense

Answer 6

1. laundering (those whose funds are involved and those managing the ML activity)
2. failure to report
   (auditors, lawyers, bankers, accountants, advisors)
3. tipping off (alerting suspect, misleading)

Question 7

*3 stages of a money laundering regime

Answer 7

placement: illegal funds are introduced into the financial system (eg. cash sales, abnormal deposit, underover invoicing)

layering: funds are passed through multiple transactions to hide real source. (eg. foreign transfer, purchase sale of properties, fake expense, salaries to ghost employees)

Integration: The laundered money mixed with legal amounts, such that they are not identifiable separately

Question 8

is money from tax evasion criminal money?

Answer 8

yes. tax evasion is a crime.
The proceeds of tax evasion can be laundered in the same way as those from drug trafficking, terrorist activity, theft, etc.

Tax evasion offences”
under declaring of income; and
over claiming of expenses.

Question 9

a financial institution suspects that funds are proceeds of a criminal activity

Answer 9

promptly report to FIU

Question 10

define FIU

Answer 10

a national body which collect information on suspicious activity from companies

Question 11

define STR and SAR

Answer 11

suspicious transaction report
suspicious activity report.
it means
information alerting law enforcement agencies that a client’s activity is in some way suspicious and may indicate money laundering or terrorist financing.

Question 12

what would a money laundering report (sent to MLRO) include?

Answer 12

-name of suspect
-amount involved
-reason for suspicion
-whereabouts of laundered cash
report should be made asap as it is an offence not to report asap

or
A suspicion report might include the following information, where known:

the full name of the reporting business;
identification of each subject (e.g. name, address, date of birth, nationality, occupation and employer);
the role of each subject in the matter being reported (e.g. suspect, victim, unknown);
any identification or references seen or recorded including bank account and transaction details;
details of transactions or activities (amounts, dates, currencies, sources and estimates);
the location of any laundered property.

Question 13

what is tipping off

Answer 13

the illegal act of informing a suspect that they are under investigation or that a suspicious activity report (SAR) has been filed against them. This can compromise the investigation and allow the suspect to hide or destroy evidence. tipping off can include questioning and withdrawing from the engagement, so legal counsel should be taken.
not doing what the client asks is also tipping off. so u shud file a STR then seek authority to act as per client’s wishes.

Question 14

if audit senior has suspicions of money laundering, they should report suspicions to?

Answer 14

MLRO.MLRO stands for Money Laundering Reporting Officer. An MLRO is a designated person within an organization responsible receiving and evaluating reports of suspected money laundering, and for making any reports to external bodies.

Question 15

penalties for money laundering offences

Answer 15

-imprisonment (min. 6 months)
-fines
-both

Question 16

who is liable for penalties

Answer 16

-partners and directors when it comes to firms actions
-individuals for their own behavior

Question 17

risks of not reporting ML suspicion

Answer 17

-penalty
-loss of reputation
-loss of license to conduct business

Question 18

is filing str a breach of confidentiality

Answer 18

Professional accountants will not be in breach of any professional duty of confidence if they report, in good faith, any money laundering knowledge or suspicions to the appropriate authority.
-But it’s essential to have good reasons for suspecting these things. If an accountant reveals information without proper grounds for suspicion, they might face legal action for breaching confidentiality.

Question 19

defenses for money laundering offenses

Answer 19

-lack of knowledge
-lack of intent
-legitimate business purpose
-entrapment by law enforcement

Question 20

do accountants have legal privilege

Answer 20

For lawyers, legal privilege can protect them from being charged for not reporting suspicions of money laundering. This protection only works if:

1. They receive the information in a privileged setting.
2. They don’t use or share that information to help with any criminal activity.

However, this privilege doesn’t apply to accountants. They must report any suspicions of money laundering, regardless of how the information was obtained.

Question 21

what is customer due dilligence and why is it important

Answer 21

CDD aka KYC procedures is needed as part of anti money laundering regulations
-all audit firms shud have in place when accepting new clients

it is imp because:
-dont unknowingly accept clients outside firm’s risk tolerance policy or don’t know enough about client business to identify money laundering when its occurring.
-establish trust
-manage risk
-ensure compliance with AML regulations
-helps prevent financial crime
-helps tailor services and build better customer relationship.

Question 22

when should CDD be conducted

Answer 22

-new business relationship;
-occasional transaction;
-suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing
-doubts concerning the accuracy and reliability of previous identification information.

Question 23

what information should be gathered as part of KYC/CDD

Answer 23

-identification and verification using documents obtained from reliable source
-confirm IDs of all SH and their families who own 90% of companys sc. and 10% of SH who own the remaining 10%.
-identify any beneficial owners who are not the client, on whose behalf transactions r being done
-understadn purpose and nature of business relationshiop

for individuals:
-full legal name
-DOB
-Address
-nationality
-identification number
-photographic evidence eg. passport and copy
-contact information: # or email
–purpose of account/ expected activity
-Politically exposed person

for companies:
-certificate of incorporation to confirm legal status
-passport copies of all directors
-list of all directors and SH
-confirm registered address (by obtaining head paper)
-conduct a search on company, eg. by using companies house in UK
-source of funding, loans, assets on collateral,any PGs

-ongoing monitoring must be done to identify anything sus
-retain docs for 5 yrs

Question 24

what are the basic elements to be included when designing a money laundering program

Answer 24

-dedicated resources, for eg. an MLRO to oversee compliance and a key partner
-written policies and procedures: clear documented SOPs for KYC procedures, and list of factors to identify risk of money laundering
-CDD/KYC-comprehensive coverage to ensure all necessary aspects are covered
-timely resolution
-management support, tone from the top, culture
-regularly educating staff and training
-regular audit/reviews to ensure effectiveness.
-record keeping system, including receipts to ensure auditor doesnt unintentionally start money laundering.
-monitor client activity
-suspision reporting procedures

Question 25

risk factors of money laundering

Answer 25

-account holder wants secrecy for a transaction
-doesn’t agree to KYC
-purposeless transactions
-frequent or excessive transactions

Question 26

how can timely resolution of AML reports be done

Answer 26

-produce reports in a timely manner
-reviewed appropritely and timely
-resolute clearly, timely.

Question 27

record keeping

Answer 27

-records must be maintained of client identification, activity in full audit trail form
-Retain transaction records for at least five years after the last transaction or the end relationship.
-records should not be destroyed before yes from all users of that info
-retain MLRO reports till 5 yrs after handling
-Adhere to ACCA’s Rules of Professional Conduct regarding the retention of books, files, working papers, and other documents.

Question 28

what matters must be considered before accepting a client

Answer 28

as per ISQC: CIE
-Competence and capabilities, resources
–integrity of client
-ethical requirements

Question 29

A client has reached out for a limited assurance review.
pressure for low fee
news article says client was fined for breach of employment law
client also wants tax computation services
client’s friend who provides 10% of firms revenue is pressuring to accept audit for low fee

apply CIE

Answer 29

-C: competence is there as we are a chartered accountants firm, knowledge and experience is there. however low fee pressure means not enough resources can be given. also ISQC 1 mentions that too much aggressive concern on low fee indicates a lack of integrity.

I: integrity is not there, questionable reputation, criminal activity.
news article tho may not be reliable. seek more info.

Ethical issues:
-pressure for low fee is intimidation threat
-also self interest threat as we want to maintain relationship with that 10% client
-tax planning will lead to self review threat
-management responsibilities - also a threat
safeguards can be considered: use sep teams for audit and tax
-independent reviewer
-if safeguards dont reduce threat to an acceptable level, dont carry out this service.

Question 30

how do accountants play a role to help detect and prevent money laundering

Answer 30

-KYC/ CDD
-Monitoring
-record keeping
-reporting sus to MLRO/ FIU. FILING SARS.
-training
-collaboration and understanding with bankers, lawyers, reg authorities

Question 31

MLRO

Answer 31

The MLRO, or Money Laundering Reporting Officer, is a designated person within an organization responsible for ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. They oversee AML policies, assess risks, monitor transactions, provide training, and report suspicious activities to the authorities.

Question 32

money laundering procedures after accepting client

Answer 32

-business model of client
-source of client’s funds
-expected patterns of business eg. peak seasons

Question 33

client is a bank
IA of client discovered errors in recording cash deposits of new customers
u r requested to review technology systems
-junior auditor had provided client 3 hrs advice on how to improve system but advice not used by IA team

Answer 33

issue 1-how did junior find 3 hrs to give informal advice? failure in quality control over planning. junior should be supervised.
-formal advice could be given to mgmnt in a report reviewed by audit partner and documented between parties
-junior misunderstood his role. give training

issue 2-there is increased control risk over cash deposits from customers. increased substantive testing must be carried out.
-extent of control problems must be determined, to see if other areas are also affected

banking is highly regulated
such breaches may have to be reported to authorities
get more info
discuss with mgmnt abt breach
if their response is not satisfactory aka they dont disclose breach, alert authorities

money laundering cud have occured, report to MLRO

Question 34

ethical threats of performing review of IT system?

Answer 34

-nature of work:
self review threat as they will rely on IT system for external audit assess if threat is too great or safeguards.
-safeguard could be diff teams

fee level:
-self interest threat may raised by taking additional work for same client
-if review is one off, it would not affect recurring fee. unliekly to threaten independence.

Question 35

-two juniors sent to inventory count
-management said to finish it asap
-offered free drinks
-invited them to party after inventory count
-inventory count finished in 2 hrs, last yr took a full day
-juniors spent 4 hrs at office party

ethical and professional matters?

Answer 35

-two juniors may not have enough expertise, one senior shud also have gone. poor quality control. work should be reviewed. extra procedures to be performed.

-why was party scheduled after inventory count. seems all were motivated to end it early. poor control enivronment
-gifts are not allowed, mgmgnt shud have been communicated this

-juniors may be intimidated by management pressure to finish early, not meeting quality

-self interest threat may not act professionally for drinks and party

-more procedures shud have been performed, but opposite was done.

-independence seems to have been compromised due to reception of gifts
-disciplaniry action shud be taken against juniors

Question 36

*auditor responsibilities in relation to ML?

Answer 36

-stay alert and report if any suspicion is found, investigate
-report suspicion to MLRO of client, if doubtful of mlro then dont report, tippingoff
-report to TCWG, if they r also involved then
-report to FIU, but take legal opinion first
-audit opinion may also get affected due to lack of SAE

Question 37

*suspicions of ML

Answer 37

cash transaction
over under invoicing
foreign transfer
owner involvement
abnormal deposit
fake sales
incomplete records

Question 38

*how can audit firm reduce exposure to ML/ anti money laundering program

Answer 38

-CDD
-firm shud hire its own MLRO
-train staff, identify, no tipping off
-record keeping 5 yrs
-establish reporting channels