Tag Archives: AML

St James’s Place upgrades financial crime defences with Napier’s advanced screening tool

Napier, provider of advanced financial crime compliance solutions, has partnered with one of UK’s top wealth management and financial planning specialists, St. James’s Place. The partnership will upgrade SJP’s client and entity screening capabilities, strengthening and enabling agility within its financial crime compliance function.

 

With Napier’s AI-enhanced screening solution, St James’s Place can leverage large-scale, ongoing customer screening and re-screening capabilities. The solution provides SJP with the tools to continuously screen entities against global watch lists of sanctions, politically exposed persons, adverse media, as well as any internal whitelists and blacklists, across the entire organisation.

 

Chris Thomas, Group Money Laundering Reporting Officer at St. James’s Place, said: “We are very pleased with the performance of the system to date. It enabled us to deal with the introduction of sanctions against Russia very effectively. At SJP we prioritise offering the most secure and compliant financial services solutions, and part of that commitment is investing in the best and most robust technologies available to always stay one step ahead of financial criminals”.

 

“The fact that we are now able to undertake daily screening means that management of the operational workflow is far more efficient. The system offers greater flexibility than the previous one, and there are lots of opportunities for further automation of the review and decisioning process.”

 

Julian Dixon, founder and CEO at Napier, said: “The regulatory landscape moves at a rate of knots, and organisations must be agile, continuously adapting their approaches to financial crime compliance. A single, rigid solution won’t keep an organisation secure for very long- which is why organisations must embrace flexible, modern technologies. Napier’s customer screening solution enables faster screening and decision making, which is why SJP’s journey with us has already seen its use of our solution expand.”

70% accountants and lawyers have money laundering fears over Russian dark funds

  • Survey reveals only 45% are completely confident in their current anti-money laundering procedures
  • 76% believe the threat of money laundering will worsen over the next three years

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM 25th MAY, 2022: 70% of accountants and lawyers are more concerned about money laundering since Russian events and sanctions began, with 75% moving anti-money laundering (AML) up the company agenda in the past year. That’s according to First AML, the end-to-end AML software solution, which surveyed 200 accountants and lawyers in the UK to discover attitudes toward current compliance and AML procedures.

Despite 53% of respondents having identified an instance of suspected money laundering in the past three years (with 24% identifying more than one) only 45% are completely confident in their AML procedures. Alongside this, a staggering 91% think companies need to embrace online technologies to aid compliance with AML regulations. Likewise, 87% respondents are putting more rigid policies in place to be compliant and meet AML regulations.

The core reason for money laundering rising up company agendas is a focus on customer transparency and ethical customer onboarding (68%). This was closely followed by external risks (50%), such as the situation in Russia and people traffickers, and increased risks of fines (46%). Worryingly, 76% of respondents believe the threat will continue to get worse over the next three years.

To deal with the growing threat of money laundering, 80% of respondents reported that they are turning to technology to become more compliant, while 53% said they were turning to outsourcing services and 28% turning to hiring.

Simon Luke, UK Country Manager commented: “Even before the Ukrainian conflict and Russian sanctions, the UK has been recognised as a hub for Russian money-laundering. Accountants and lawyers need quick, easy and accurate ways to onboard customers and complete financial transactions without fear. However, this is an industry wide issue that impacts not just businesses but also the economy and everyday Britons. That’s where First AML’s technology comes in, especially as countries globally call for tighter compliance in business.”

When asked what the main causes for concern were, the growth in online transactions (38%) was the most common answer. This was followed by the growth of unethical business practices (23%) and the Russian situation (18%).

To learn more about First AML, visit the website here: https://www.firstaml.com/