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OpusDatum
@opusdatum.bsky.social
16 followers 160 following 130 posts
OpusDatum offers market-leading Financial Crime Compliance assurance and advisory services, along with investigations, remediation, data analytics, and technology solutions.
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opusdatum.bsky.social
Is the UK’s Wire Transfer Regulation regime ready for the FATF’s 2025 accountability reset? ravelRule #FATF #AML #Compliance #FinancialCrime #PaymentTransparency #DataIntegrity #UKFinance #Payments #Regulation #FinTech #RiskManagement
Trust in Transit: Rebuilding Accountability in the UK’s WTR System
When OpusDatum published The UK’s Wire Transfer Regulation Framework: A System in Crisis in October 2025, it exposed what many practitioners already suspected: that the UK’s wire transfer regime was l...
wix.to
February 12, 2026 at 1:24 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Is ethics still an optional extra in RegTech, or should integrity, explainability and accountability be engineered into compliance systems from the first line of code?
#RegTech #EthicalAI #FinancialCrime #Compliance #Technology #AIGovernance #RegulatoryCompliance
Integrity by Design: Embedding Ethics into RegTech Architecture
RegTech was born out of necessity, not ideology. After the 2008 financial crisis and a decade of compliance expansion, institutions reached a saturation point. Technology promised relief — a way to au...
wix.to
February 10, 2026 at 1:08 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
How Mauritius transformed FATF grey-listing into a blueprint for Travel Rule compliance, digital governance and financial integrity.
#FATF #TravelRule #AML #Compliance #FinancialServices #RegTech #Governance #FinancialIntegrity #Africa #Mauritius
Mauritius Rewired: How a Grey-Listed Nation Set Africa’s Travel Rule Standard
When the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed Mauritius on its grey list in February 2020, the decision exposed weaknesses that went beyond technical compliance. The island’s reputation as a clea...
wix.to
February 5, 2026 at 2:12 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
As Companies House verification takes hold, can you confidently defend your beneficial ownership decisions?
#BeneficialOwnership #AML #FinancialCrime #CompaniesHouse #UK #CorporateTransparency #RegulatoryReform #Governance
The Currency of Trust: Why Beneficial Ownership Still Fails the Transparency Test
When the UK launched the world’s first public beneficial ownership register in 2016, it was hailed as a breakthrough for financial transparency. The Persons of Significant Control (PSC) register posit...
wix.to
February 3, 2026 at 12:16 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
OFSI’s £160,000 fine is a warning shot for UK banks, signalling a tougher, more forensic approach to sanctions screening, governance and control effectiveness. wix.to/lAoz2E1
#Sanctions #AML #Compliance #RiskManagement #FinancialServices #OFSI #Regulation
This Was Never About £160,000: What OFSI’s Bank of Scotland Penalty Really Signals
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's £160,000 monetary penalty against Bank of Scotland plc is not significant because of its size, nor because it followed voluntary disclosure. It matte...
wix.to
January 31, 2026 at 3:20 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Interoperability, not implementation, has become the true test of Travel Rule compliance, and IVMS101 is where many VASPs are quietly falling short. wix.to/pCqYerd
#IVMS101 #TravelRule #FATF #AML #Compliance #RegTech #Crypto #VASPs
IVMS101: The Test of True Travel Rule Compliance
Interoperability has become the real measure of readiness under the Travel Rule. The interVASP Messaging Standard 101 (IVMS101) was developed to create a single, consistent data format for originator ...
wix.to
January 30, 2026 at 12:17 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Facilitation payments are one of the most persistent blind spots in global finance. They’re rarely framed as bribery - and that’s precisely the problem.
#Bribery #ABC #FinancialCrime #Compliance #Governance #RegulatoryRisk #RiskManagement #FinancialServices #Payments
The Culture of Facilitation: Why Bribery Is Still Misunderstood in Global Finance
In the fifteen years since the Bribery Act 2010 entered into force across the UK, corporate-compliance frameworks have adjusted dramatically. Yet despite the zero-tolerance rhetoric and the sophistica...
wix.to
January 27, 2026 at 12:00 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Greylisting may force reform, but does it create lasting change? What does it really takes to move from temporary credibility to a true AML Green Zone?
#FATF #GreyList #AML #Compliance #FinancialCrime #Regulation #Governance
Grey List to Green Zone: Lessons from Countries Emerging from FATF Scrutiny
When the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) concluded its October 2025 Plenary in Paris, the headlines focused less on new sanctions or blacklisting and more on two countries that had fought their way...
wix.to
January 22, 2026 at 3:52 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
AI is reshaping financial crime detection, but speed and scale come with ethical limits that compliance leaders can no longer ignore. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #FinancialCrime #AML #Compliance #Governance #Ethics #FinancialServices #RegTech
Beyond the Algorithm: The Ethical Limits of AI in Financial Crime Detection
Artificial intelligence has become the new backbone of financial crime compliance. Institutions that once relied on human analysts now lean heavily on machine learning to detect anomalies, flag high-r...
wix.to
January 20, 2026 at 12:50 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Who owns the Travel Rule in DeFi when decentralisation was built to avoid intermediaries? As regulators tighten expectations, accountability is shifting with real consequences for protocols, interfaces and access layers.
#DeFi #FATF #TravelRule #WTR #Regulation #AML #Compliance #Blockchain #Crypto
Who Owns the Travel Rule in DeFi?
Decentralised finance (DeFi) was built to remove intermediaries. The Travel Rule was built to hold intermediaries to account. That tension now sits at the centre of global supervision. The FATF expect...
wix.to
January 15, 2026 at 12:46 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Is open banking really a white elephant, or have we been judging it by the wrong standards?
#OpenBanking #Fintech #FinancialServices #UKFinance #RegTech #BankingStrategy #SmartData #Regulation
Is Open Banking a White Elephant? Rethinking Its Role in the UK’s Financial Future
When the UK Fintech Academic Network convened in May 2025, a provocative question echoed across its panels and breakouts: has open banking become a white elephant? Eight months later, that critique st...
wix.to
January 13, 2026 at 2:20 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Kenya’s fintech success story is entering a more complex phase as cross-border mobile payments bring heightened FATF scrutiny and wire transfer regulation obligations.
#Kenya #Fintech #WireTransferRegulation #WTR #FATF #AML #Compliance #MobileMoney #CrossBorderPayments
Kenya: Balancing Innovation & WTR Oversight in East Africa’s Fintech Hub
Kenya’s financial landscape is routinely held up as proof that innovation can widen access while fuelling real-economy growth. M-Pesa turned basic mobile phones into wallets long before “fintech” ente...
wix.to
January 8, 2026 at 4:03 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
What does a detained superyacht in Canary Wharf really tell us about the state of UK sanctions enforcement?
#Sanctions #Compliance #FinancialCrime #Enforcement #Superyacht #Phi #Russia #RuleOfLaw #FinancialServices
Phi in Canary Wharf: The Limits of Sanctions Enforcement
It has been twelve months since I last wrote about Phi, the 58.5-metre superyacht detained under the UK's Russia sanctions regime. In that time, nothing has changed. She remains where she has been sin...
wix.to
January 6, 2026 at 1:13 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Can AI really distinguish truth from fiction in adverse media screening, or are compliance teams placing misplaced trust in scale over substance?
#PEPs #AdverseMedia #AML #FinancialCrime #Compliance #Screening #RegTech #RiskManagement#AI
Can AI Really Discern Truth in Adverse Media Screening?
Financial crime compliance has always been shaped by the information available to us. We trust media reports, legal filings, regulatory notices, and increasingly, online data streams to help identify ...
wix.to
December 22, 2025 at 11:01 AM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Is the word whistleblower holding back ethical reporting in financial services?
#Whistleblowing #SpeakUpCulture #Bribery&Corruption #ABC #FinancialCrime #Compliance #FinancialServices #EthicalReporting
Time to Retire the Whistle? Rethinking the Language of Ethical Reporting
The financial services industry has long relied on employees to act as a final line of defence against misconduct. From exposing sanctions breaches and insider trading to highlighting fraudulent trans...
wix.to
December 20, 2025 at 10:45 AM
opusdatum.bsky.social
South Africa and Nigeria’s removal from the FATF Grey List highlights how compliance decisions now shape market access, investor confidence and global risk appetite.
#FATF #GreyList #AML #CFT #FinancialCrime #Compliance #DeRisking #GlobalFinance
Integrity, Inclusion & FATF’s Grey List
The October 2025 plenary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) marked a turning point in the politics and perception of international compliance. South Africa and Nigeria, two of Africa’s largest ...
wix.to
December 15, 2025 at 12:39 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
PEP screening is moving beyond static lists towards smarter, network-based risk analysis.
#FinancialCrime #AML #PEPs #Compliance #Screening #RiskBasedApproach #RiskManagement #AI #RegTech
From Static Lists to Smart Networks: The Future of PEP Screening Risk
A Politically Exposed Person (PEP) is an individual entrusted with a prominent public function who may present a heightened risk of involvement in bribery, corruption, or other financial crime. In the...
wix.to
December 12, 2025 at 2:08 PM
opusdatum.bsky.social
The UK’s rare Compliant rating for FATF Recommendation 16 signals global leadership, but FOI disclosures and FCA enforcement show that real-world Travel Rule execution is far from flawless. #FATF #TravelRule #FinancialCrime #AML #CTF #Compliance #UKRegulation
FATF Recommendation 16: The UK Benchmark, Tested by Reality
The Financial Action Task Force’s Recommendation 16 (R.16), commonly known as the ‘Travel Rule’, mandates that originator and beneficiary information must accompany all wire transfers. This obligation...
wix.to
December 8, 2025 at 10:44 AM
opusdatum.bsky.social
AI is reshaping financial crime compliance, but ungoverned use is creating hidden risks that bans alone cannot solve.
#FinancialCrime #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Compliance #AIGovernance #RiskManagement
The Tortoise Strategy: Avoiding the AI Shortcut in Financial Crime Compliance
Generative AI, once a speculative tool, has now embedded itself in the daily fabric of financial services. Banks across Europe and the UK are quietly facing a growing reality: their employees are alre...
wix.to
December 5, 2025 at 9:53 AM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Wire transfer regulations are far more than technical data fields; they are a powerful early-warning system for sanctions evasion, fraud, bribery and money laundering. #WTR #WireTransferRegulation #FinancialCrimeCompliance #FCC #AML #Sanctions #Compliance #Fraud #FinCrimeStrategy #RiskManagement
Breaking the Silo: Why Wire Transfer Regulations Must Anchor Financial Crime Strategy
Wire transfer regulations (WTR) have long operated in the shadows of the anti-money laundering (AML) regime. Introduced to provide greater transparency in cross-border fund transfers, their role is of...
wix.to
December 2, 2025 at 11:49 AM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Is Western integrity a myth? Uncover how corruption in the West often hides in plain sight, while developing nations are criticised for more visible, transactional forms of bribery.
#ABC #Corruption #Governance #FinancialCrime #Transparency #Politics #Compliance #Integrity
Bribery in Broad Daylight: Are Developing Nations Really More Corrupt than the West?
The assumption that bribery and corruption are more prevalent in developing nations has been a longstanding tenet of both media narratives and compliance frameworks. Western governments and institutio...
wix.to
December 1, 2025 at 10:21 AM
opusdatum.bsky.social
UK VASPs face rising pressure to get identity verification right as the MLRs and FATF Travel Rule tighten expectations.
#VASPs #Cryptocurrency #Crypto #WTR #WireTransferRegulation #MLR #AML #KYC #Compliance #TravelRule #FATF #FCA #DigitalIdentity
Identity Matters: How VASPs Verify Customers to Meet UK MLR & Travel Rule Requirements
As the cryptoasset sector continues to evolve, regulation is rapidly catching up with technological innovation. In the UK, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) must ensure that robust customer iden...
wix.to
November 24, 2025 at 10:32 AM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Modern fraud has evolved into a global, industrialised supply chain, where criminal networks specialise, collaborate and scale their operations with alarming efficiency.
#FinancialCrime #Fraud #AML #Cybercrime #Prevention
Inside the Fraud Supply Chain: How Criminal Networks Industrialise Financial Crime
Fraud is no longer the work of lone actors exploiting isolated weaknesses. In today’s digital economy, financial crime has evolved into a highly organised, global industry with its own logistics, cust...
wix.to
November 21, 2025 at 11:38 AM
opusdatum.bsky.social
Discover how FATF Recommendation 16 became a political fault line shaping everything from crypto oversight to international credibility.
#FATF #TravelRule #FinancialCrime #AML #Compliance #Crypto #Regulation
FATF Recommendation 16 & the Politics of Compliance
FATF Recommendation 16, commonly referred to as the Travel Rule, sits at the heart of the international framework designed to combat illicit financial flows. It requires that countries ensure financia...
wix.to
November 17, 2025 at 11:43 AM
opusdatum.bsky.social
In an era marked by technological disruption, understanding financial crime has never been more critical. Our new blog delves into how deepfake technologies are reshaping risk frameworks.
#FinancialCrime #Fraud #AML #Deepfakes #AI #Crypto #Compliance #Risk#FinancialServices #RiskManagement
The Age of Fakery: Financial Crime in an Era of Deception, Disruption & Deregulation
We are living through a profound transformation in the architecture of risk. The convergence of deepfake technologies, generative artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and regulatory rollback has n...
wix.to
November 14, 2025 at 11:09 AM