Financial Crime World

Wallis and Futuna to Strengthen Banking Regulations for Financial Crime Prevention

Regulatory authorities in Wallis and Futuna are intensifying their focus on combating financial crime, including fraud and money laundering, as part of efforts to protect the country’s financial system. According to experts from KPMG, regulators will be particularly concerned about:

  • Terrorist financing
  • Beneficial ownership
  • Sanctions/tax evasion
  • Consumer scams
  • Potential compliance violations

Regulatory Focus Areas

The report highlights several areas of focus for regulatory authorities, including:

  • Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) frameworks: preventing illicit exploitation of access to the financial system
  • Fraud models, operations, and investigation processes
  • Insider corruption and cybercrime
  • Crypto and digital assets: combating threats and vulnerabilities posed by digital assets and strengthening financial safeguards

Additional Areas of Focus

Regulators are also paying attention to:

  • AML for NFTs and DeFi platforms
  • Sanctions and price cap compliance, including virtual currency mining, dark net markets, and bans on services to sanctioned entities/countries
  • Consumer protection, assessing companies in areas such as:
    • Use of account holds and freezes
    • Model development and validation
    • Payment sender/receiver authentication procedures
    • Oversight and monitoring of synthetic identity fraud

Priorities for Vulnerable Populations

Regulators expect companies to implement risk programs that identify and mitigate fraud/scams directed at:

  • Elderly populations
  • Military personnel
  • Other vulnerable groups

Governance Factor of ESG

The report highlights the importance of recognizing that fraud and financial crime management is directly within the Governance (“G”) factor of ESG. Companies are expected to enhance their risk and compliance frameworks for effective oversight and governance in areas such as:

  • Anti-bribery and corruption
  • Competitive behavior
  • Lobbying/political involvement
  • Code of conduct

Industry Insights

“Companies should consider ways to responsibly leverage technology and data to monitor activity, coupled with a deep focus on customer experience.” - Fiachre O’Neill, Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at PayPal

Actionable Steps

To mitigate risk, fintech and payments companies are advised to:

  • Add analytics and automation to client onboarding
  • Eliminate antiquated technology
  • Establish a mature conduct risk program
  • Strengthen controls in regulatory focal areas (FinCEN priorities)

For more information on the report’s findings and recommendations, please visit KPMG Regulatory Insights.