Banks must 'tighten' laundering controls
A leading forensic accountant has warned that banks and other financial institutions are exposing themselves to money laundering.
Link: The Debate – reporting money laundering
Despite a 61% increase in spending by financial institutions on preventative steps against money laundering, many are still unable to track cross-border flows of illicit money, according to a survey by KPMG.
‘This is definitely something which needs to be tightened up,’ said Adam Bates, global chairman of KPMG Forensic.
‘I don’t think the regulators, or the public, are likely to find it amusing the next time a bank is found taking money from a corrupt general or political leader.’
Bates said that spending on technology and staff training have leapt following the tragedy of 9/11.
The survey also found that more than half of financial institutions now have sophisticated IT systems, but 94% still rely primarily on employees spotting discrepancies to trigger an investigation.