Publication
Building long-term integrity in the voluntary carbon market
In recent years, an important question has arisen in relation to the voluntary carbon market (VCM) as it continues to expand: How do we elevate and maintain its integrity?
Australia | Publication | 6 November 2019
Anti-money laundering (AML) risk is fast evolving into one of the key risks any business has to manage. If companies get their AML risk management wrong, it can mean major reputational damage and massive value destruction for investors. After all, no one wants to be seen as an accessory to criminality.
In AML and counter-terrorism financing, things are accelerating in Australia and around the globe and boards and managers need to move quickly up the curve in dealing with this risk.
A couple of recent trends are highlighting AML as a key risk to mitigate:
(1) Heightened Enforcement
(2) Regulatory Change
The Global Financial Action Task Force is currently reviewing Australia’s AML framework. And the Parliament is considering a new Bill to amend Australian AML legislation.
The Bill contains a range of overdue measures that seriously strengthen Corporate Australia’s capability to fight money laundering, bringing it closer to the standard of other developed economies:
The Bill, if passed, will not provide a silver bullet for regulated entities. Regulated entities must continually assess their legal, regulatory and reputational risk arising from financial crime, and then deal with those risks (echoes of Hayne).
And they will need to get across the Bill’s implications for their business.
Building a Culture of Compliance
Updating your Risk Assessment
Review your Risk Assessment regularly. You need to determine the impact of the changes to the AML landscape and legislation. Make this an agenda item for the Board or at the very least your Risk Committee.
Go back to first principles when you make changes to your systems, policies and processes. Failing to ask the “why” can mean that risks are misunderstood leading to possible money laundering exposure.
Aligning Technology
Implementing and adapting technology solutions is essential for managing AML risk. Your AML related technology has to keep up with your business and how bad actors are exploiting control weakness.
One of the causes of recent examples of non-compliance was an integration failure between IT systems and ineffective communication between the risk owner and those responsible for technology.
With the challenging AML landscape, boards and senior management should obtain independent advice to assist them discharging their AML obligations and particularly when instances of AML non-compliance occur.
How those instances are managed could be critical to customer retention and, even, business continuation.
Publication
In recent years, an important question has arisen in relation to the voluntary carbon market (VCM) as it continues to expand: How do we elevate and maintain its integrity?
Publication
On 16 April 2024, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, the Minister for the Environment and Water (the Minister) announced progress on the package of reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act).
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