Money laundering expert Anomaly42 said the global use of technology by legislators and regulators to scan for financial crime is set to expose a “countless” amount of banks by 2020.
It described the multi-million pound fines levied against banks for breaking anti-money laundering rules to date as “the tip of the iceberg,” before noting that bank’s are employing “armies” of compliance officers to counter the rising threat of money laundering, estimated at between $1.44trn and £3.59trn annually.
Director of strategy and innovation at Anomaly42, Freddie McMahon, said: “Once legislators and regulators have dealt with one bank, they are moving onto the other banks embroiled in these ecosystems, even if unknowingly.
“The top banks are starting to understand that the rules of the game have changed, that the simplistic money laundering ring is a thing of the past. But the vast majority are still blissfully unaware of the storm that is coming their way.”
In January, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said it planned to tighten controls aimed at combating money laundering in some sectors over warning that financial adviser controls “showed weakness”.
