Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in to the Daily Compliance News. All, from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world, compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.
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The theme of today’s episode is the recent decision by US President Donald J. Trump’s administration to scale back enforcement of anti-money laundering via the Corporate Transparency Act—specifically, about beneficial ownership. The administration claims the act, which was passed under the Biden presidency, poses an onerous compliance burden for small and medium firms (SMEs).
In our initial Spotlight segment, we will speak with the renowned counter-money laundering specialist Nigel Morris-Cotterill on the implications of the Trump administration’s move for Asia and why the CTA was ultimately doomed to fail.
Following that, we will chat with former US Naval intelligence officer Malcolm Nance and compliance maven Oonagh Vandenberg, the founder of the RAW Compliance consultancy, about what Washington’s recent action means from a policy perspective for the world more broadly.
Nigel Morris-Cotterill
Nigel Morris-Cotterill was a solicitor in London. Over the course of his career, he dealt with a wide range of matters, including contracts, property company law, litigation, international trade, criminal law, intellectual property, family law, and financial services compliance.
In 1994, he brought all of those areas together to address what was then a new field: financial crime risk and compliance. As a strategist, he identifies and discusses trends long before they become fashionable.
Nigel is the author of How Not to Be a Money Launderer, which in 1996 described all the areas that would, in some cases decades later, become topics for international groups and regulators to prioritize. He also authored the only book on Understanding Suspicion in Financial Crime.
He has also written a book entitled Safe Word: No for families and others to help start discussions about online safety and fraud for young people and the elderly. As of April 2025, he will publish the second volume of Trade Based Financial Crime—Beyond TBML.
Additionally, Nigel provides training and consultancy services, though he admits to becoming jaundiced by the prevalence of superficiality and a lack of attention to the fundamentals. He has experience in technology since the 1980s and advises caution over the fashion of so-called “artificial intelligence,” frequently demonstrating its failures in the simplest tasks.
Oonagh van den Berg
Oonagh van den Berg founded the compliance consultancy and training firm Raw Compliance. She grew up in Northern Ireland during the tumultuous 1980s and is a compliance industry veteran. A lawyer by training and an entrepreneur by vocation, she grew up in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles” and went on to become a lawyer, compliance officer, recruiter, and later, a consultant and educator. She has been based in Asian financial hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong and is currently based in Portugal.
Malcolm Nance
Malcolm Nance joins us from upstate New York. He was a 20-year veteran of the US Navy, where he was an intelligence officer specializing in counter-terrorism, intelligence, and violent extremism as an advisor for the US government’s law enforcement, homeland security, and intelligence agencies. As an Arabic-speaking special intelligence collections operator and field interrogator, he provided top-secret anti- and counter-terrorism support to national intelligence agencies while on numerous reconnaissance and combat operations in the Balkans, Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa.
Now a member of the Board of Advisors at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, Mr. Nance was honored as one of the “Noteworthy African-Americans in American Espionage History.”
He’s best known for his appearances on MSNBC, where he warned about Russian interference in the run-up to the 2016 and 2020 US Presidential elections. Malcolm is also a best-selling author—with his books The Plot to Hack America, The Plot to Destroy Democracy, The Plot to Betray America, and most recently, They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency.
You can discover more from Malcolm at his Substack and his podcast Black Man Spy on YouTube.
Discussion:
The US Treasury Department announced in early March that it would halt enforcing “any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadlines, but it will further not enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect either.”
The net result: the US government will no longer require shell companies to disclose their owners and beneficiaries, allowing wealthy corporations and individuals to hide their profits from the public. The rule was part of the 2021 CTA, which required some businesses to report information on people who own or control a company, indirectly or directly, to the department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN.
President Trump took to Truth Social after the Treasury announcement to post, almost gloatingly, “This Biden rule has been an absolute disaster for small businesses nationwide,” Trump’s post read.
“Furthermore, the Treasury is formally finalizing an emergency regulation to suspend this rule for American businesses. The economic menace of [beneficial ownership information] reporting will soon be no more.”
Republicans had long opposed the act, claiming its requirements were too complex for SMEs. The rule on beneficial ownership was supposed to go into effect in January, but a federal court order froze enforcement of the rule. The Biden administration passed the CTA to tackle tax evasion and corporate cronyism, which the Trump administration views very differently.
Following his second inauguration on January 20, Trump has targeted financial regulation and governmental agencies seeking to limit corporate and banking power, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In early March, the president also issued an executive order halting enforcement of the nearly half-century-old Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for at least a year, pending revised guidelines from the Department of Justice. The FCPA prohibits any person or company tied to the United States from paying money or offering gifts to foreign officials to help their business.
The Spotlight portion of today’s broadcast commences with Nigel sharing his thoughts on what the Trump administration’s actions will mean for the fight against AML and financial crime in the APAC region with Regulatory Ramblings host Ajay Shamdasani. He explains his reasons why the CTA was doomed to fail and whether to expect more enforcement against money laundering and financial crime lapses by regional governments such as China, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore.
Nigel is unequivocal in his view that compliance officers and in-house counsel at banks or multinational corporations in Asia, particularly those based in key financial hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore, not slack off.
He also shares his views on the FCPA as a powerful legislative tool to ensure international compliance and acknowledges that, given the current president’s transactional nature, selective extraterritorial enforcement of the anti-corruption and AML rules can be expected.
Malcolm and Oonagh then share their impressions on the Trump administration’s move to expand AML and financial crime compliance worldwide.
Oonagh notes genuine concerns amongst SMEs about how difficult it was to comply with the CTA. What this means for the global battle against financial crime and related matters such as bribery, terrorist financing, sanctions, and tax evasion remains to be seen.
Malcolm and Oonagh note that while regulation is important, blind and excessive regulation can be counterproductive.
The conversation concludes with a discussion of how data points and AI might aid AML/CTF/KYC compliance.
Regulatory Ramblings podcasts is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong—Reg/Tech Lab, HKU-SCF Fintech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in Fintech, with support from the HKU Faculty of Law.
Welcome to the award-winning FCPA Compliance Report, the longest-running podcast in compliance. In this episode, Tom welcomes back Corporate Transparency Act expert and maven Jonathan Wilson for a look at how the Trump administration killed the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
In March, the Treasury Secretary announced that all domestic reporting companies would be exempt from filing Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reports, with only foreign reporting companies required to file. This obviously violates both the intent of the law and its plain language. Jonathan outlines the impact of this interim final rule, noting the loss of a critical tool for federal and state law enforcement and financial institutions. The pod explores the potential for legal challenges and the possible implications for ongoing constitutional lawsuits related to the Act.
Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in to the Daily Compliance News—all from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world: compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.
Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in to the Daily Compliance News—all from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world: compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.
Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in to the Daily Compliance News—all from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world: compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.
Top stories include:
China gives the death penalty for corruption. (Bloomberg)
Welcome to the award-winning FCPA Compliance Report, the longest-running podcast in compliance. In this episode, Tom welcomes back Corporate Transparency Act expert and maven Jonathan Wilson for a look at judicial insights and recent developments in the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) litigation.
Tom and Jonathan discuss the recent developments, including a preliminary injunction by Judge Kernodle in the Smith v. Treasury case and its implications on CTA enforcement. Important differences between this injunction and previous ones, such as the Texas Top Cop Shop case, are highlighted. Wilson offers insights into the constitutional debates, particularly regarding the Commerce Clause, and reviews key decisions from federal district courts, including the persuasive Boyle decision from the District of Maine. They also touch on upcoming appeals and the potential impacts on the CTA’s nationwide enforcement.
Welcome to the award-winning FCPA Compliance Report, the longest-running podcast in compliance. In this episode, Tom welcomes back Jonathan Wilson to discuss recent turbulent developments regarding the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) at the Supreme Court.
The conversation includes key legal battles in Texas involving injunctions against the CTA. They explore the Supreme Court’s recent stay on a previous injunction, the new Smith v. Treasury case, and its implications. The hosts analyze the confusion and uncertainty surrounding compliance with the CTA and offer strategic advice to businesses during this chaotic period. They conclude with insights on the political and judicial landscape, potential future rulings, and the importance of the CTA in combating money laundering.
Welcome to the award-winning FCPA Compliance Report, the longest-running podcast in compliance. In the first episode of the 2025 FCPA Compliance Report, Tom welcomes back Jonathan Wilson, founder and CEO of the FinCEN Report, to discuss recent legal machinations surrounding the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). They delve into a December court ruling by the Eastern District of Texas, which issued a universal injunction against the CTA, claiming it oversteps Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause. The Fifth Circuit stay panel initially stayed this ruling but was later reinstated by the merits panel, leading the government to appeal to the Supreme Court. The episode also covers historical context, potential impacts on businesses, and predictions for future court actions regarding the CTA.
Welcome to 10 For 10, the podcast that brings you the week’s Top 10 compliance stories in one podcast each week. Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you the compliance professional and the compliance stories you need to know to end your busy week. Sit back, and in 10 minutes, hear the stories every compliance professional should know from the prior week. Every Saturday, 10 For 10 highlights the most important news, insights, and analysis for the compliance professional, all curated by the Voice of Compliance, Tom Fox. Get your weekly filling of compliance stories with 10 for 10, a podcast produced by the Compliance Podcast Network.
McKinsey agrees to FCPA settlement for corruption in South Africa. (DOJ Press Release)
