VinciWorks

Policy Templates SRA
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5 min read

The great regulatory shift. Do we need to prepare for doom?

Presenters at this year’s Law Society conference think law firms need to be ready for increased regulation

In a law firm regulatory update at the Law Society’s Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime Conference 2023, the presenters pointed out how regulation has increased in the past 15 years. They believe it is a trend that will continue and law firms should be prepared.

The panel were uniform in their belief that more regulations were coming down the pike. They included: Amasis Saba, head of business acceptance, Simmons & Simmons LLP; Suzie Ogilvie, global head of financial crime and sanctions, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP; Emma Oettinger, head of financial crime and risk, Ashurst; and, David Artingstall, AML/CFT Consultant and Associate Fellow, Rusi.

Understanding gender diversity and non-binary identities

How to explain gender diversity to people who don’t get it

Explaining non-binary and gender diversity to people who may be older or unfamiliar with these concepts can require patience, empathy, and clear communication. Here’s a way to explain these concepts in a simple and understanding manner:

SRA Thought Leadership
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2 min read

SRA’s annual AML report indicates that many firms remain non-compliant

Solicitors Regulation Authority’s FY 2022/23 audit to be released shortly

At the Law Society’s Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime Conference 2023, Collette Best, the SRA’s director of anti-money laundering, provided a sneak peek into the regulator’s upcoming annual report. The conclusion: Many UK law firms are non-compliant. The implications for these firms are important as Best noted that the SRA will likely be entitled to provide higher fines going forward.

Best’s numbers are sobering. Out of 225 firms that were audited, less than 20% were fully compliant. Only half the firms had compliant firm-wide risk assessments (FWRAs). Significantly, the SRA took enforcement actions on 47 firms this past year.

Thought Leadership
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2 min read

Accelerate AML onboarding with World-Check and Omnitrack

VinciWorks’ end-to-end AML client onboarding solution (Omnitrack) continues to simplify the onboarding experience with a new direct integration with World-Check. This powerful combination offers direct access to World-Check’s extensive database without leaving your existing tools. The Omnitrack-World-Check integration enables you to effortlessly incorporate customer and third-party risk screening checks into your existing onboarding and monitoring workflows.

Quick setup

World-Check is directly integrated into Omnitrack with a beautiful, custom user interface. All it requires is your World-Check credentials to bring its accurate risk intelligence directly into Omnitrack.

Anti-bribery
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6 min read

Cheaper by the scandal: Gifts, bribery, and the US government

When corporate board members are held to a higher standard than public officials

The senior US senator from New Jersey Bob Menendez has so far refused to resign despite being indicted on federal charges of bribery, along with his wife and three businessmen from the state.

The senator allegedly agreed to use his official position to benefit the Egyptian military, and also interfered with a law enforcement probe into these three businessmen. The former chairmen of the foreign relations committee had cash stuffed in envelopes and clothes at his home, with his fingerprints all over them. Prosecutors say he and his wife accepted money, 13 gold bars and a luxury car in exchange for political favor’s.

Events GDPR
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1 min read

Upcoming webinar: 20 years of Cybersecurity Awareness Month – How far have we come?

Wednesday 25th October, 12:00 pm UK time

In this webinar with iSTORM, specialists in privacy, security and penetration testing, we will look at how far cybersecurity education and awareness have come over the last two decades and what are the priorities for the future to ensure a secure and interconnected world.

This free, one-hour webinar will combine practical advice with the latest cyber concepts and challenges your organisation should know. From best practices in password management and multifactor authentication to the increasingly sophisticated ways scammers target companies with phishing attempts.

This webinar will cover:

– New cyber disclosure rules from the SEC and EU
– Best practice in breach reporting and GDPR compliance
– What all organisations must do to protect themselves
– Key governance requirements for cybersecurity
– Future trends in data protection and cybersecurity

The webinar will feature experts from the consultancy iSTORM and the VinciWorks compliance team.

Sanctions
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4 min read

Exporting to Dubai? It might end up in Iran

Sanctions compliance gets complicated when shipping to grey-listed UAE

An American man was convicted of falsifying export documents to conceal the fact that shipments of US commodities through the United Arab Emirates was actually bound for the Islamic Republic of Iran, in serious violations of US sanctions.

The crime occurred when the man lied to the freight forwarder, claiming the ultimate destination of the goods was the UAE, despite their being a co-conspirator in Iran who was the true recipient of the goods.

DAC6
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2 min read

Canadian injunction against Mandatory Disclosure Rules for legal professionals

Lawyers are exempt from Canada’s MDR until at least October 20, 2023.

In the 2021 Canadian Budget, it was announced that Canada would be amending the Income Tax Act to require certain transactions to be reported to the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA). These new Mandatory Disclosure Rules are set to be implemented in 2023, but compliance will now be delayed until at least October 20, 2023.

Thought Leadership
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1 min read

Join VinciWorks at #Risk London 2023

We are excited to announce that VinciWorks will be exhibiting at #RISK in London, Europe’s leading risk-focused conference and exhibition, on 18 and 19 October 2023 at Excel London.

#RISK is where the whole risk community comes together to learn, meet, debate, break down silos and improve decision-making. It has 5,000 visitors, 150+ exhibitors, keynote presentations from 300+ experts and thought leaders, panel discussions and breakout sessions.

The SRA reveals AML enforcement trends

The Solicitors Regulation Authority wants firms to beef up their AML systems in an effort to get them to avoid the most common breaches

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is not impressed with how law firms are managing their anti money laundering (AML) systems. What’s most significant is not that money laundering crime has increased – it could be it has or at least remained the same. What bothers the SRA is that firms are not adequately prepared.

In a recent webinar, the SRA noted that law firms don’t have real control over their systems. Specifically, many aren’t conducting firm-wide risk assessments (FMRAs) and many don’t have policies, controls and procedures (PCPs) in place. Many firms are also not training and supervising their staff in AML procedures and they are not paying enough attention to warning notices and guidance.