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Monitoring for Suspicious Activity [SARs/STRs] in line with the Wolfsberg Factors from 2019

01/07/2024

The Wolfsberg Group [WG] has published a Statement on Monitoring for Suspicious Activity in line with the Wolfsberg Factors from 2019.

The WG:-

  • Takes a firm stance on the current state of SARs/STRs.
  • Believes that the value derived from these reports' (constantly increasing) volume differs from the effective outcomes in the fight against financial crime.

Despite the long-standing discussions on effectiveness by lawmakers, regulators, supervisors, standard setters, and the private sector, the WG asserts.

  • It has yet to integrate fully into the overall Financial Crime Risk Management [FCRM] framework.
  • This integration, it argues, is crucial and will require acceptance and alignment across public and private sectors.

This WG paper

  • Underscores the Wolfsberg Factors as a practical approach to Monitoring for Suspicious Activity (MSA).
  • Describes how these factors can effectively translate into a more practical approach to MSA, highlighting their significance in the process.

The WG has deliberately chosen to:-

  • Characterise this as MSA to cast a wider net than just Transaction Monitoring because customer behaviour and customer attributes can provide a broader insight into potentially suspicious activity when combined with transaction consideration.
  • Therefore, transaction monitoring is a subset of MSA, which might also include concepts such as ongoing Customer Due Diligence (CDD).

This WG paper encourages all parties to

  • Proactively develop innovative techniques and supporting technologies,
  • Which the WG believes will deliver more effective end-to-end risk detection capabilities.

THE PAPER CAN BE READ HERE:-

https://db.wolfsberg-group.org/assets/e3d83d2f-fad9-46d2-b5a9-3cf4e932f53f/Wolfsberg%20Group%20MSA%20Statement%20for%20publication.pdf?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=release

MLRO SAR/STR

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