The gambling regulator in the Isle of Man has handed a £70,000 penalty to an operator for anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance failures.
The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission says SK IOM did not ensure that its money laundering reporting officer and its AML and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) compliance officer had “seniority, expertise, competency or sufficient time and resources” to carry out the role.
SK IOM did not demonstrate sufficiently monitoring and testing compliance, and did not demonstrate the recording, maintaining and operation of appropriate procedures and controls for AML/CFT, the regulator said.
The regulator was also not able to definitively conclude that SK IOM undertook annual AML/CFT reviews.
The penalty was discounted by 30 per cent to £70,000 due to SK IOM’s commitment to “comprehensive remediation” and co-operation with the investigation into its practices, which the Commission started in July 2024.
“In determining the appropriate regulatory response when identifying non-compliance, the Commission will have regard, amongst a range of other facts, to an operator’s prior supervisory history. Operators must operate their compliance framework proactively and ensure that any weaknesses and vulnerabilities it may be exposed to, have been identified, analysed, understood and mitigated and not merely be reactive to such issues following inspections,” the regulator said.
“It is essential that the board of an operator ensures the appointment of individuals to appropriate roles, confirming that such individuals possess the requisite expertise and can dedicate sufficient time to fulfil their responsibilities.
“This is critical to ensure that the framework and controls are adequately structured to effectively manage and mitigate risks related to money laundering, terrorist financing or proliferation financing.”
