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ESG and anti-financial crime: Two sides of the same coin?
Journal of Financial Compliance,
7
(3),
242-248
(2024)
Abstract
Over the past years the fields of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and anti-financial crime (AFC) have grown to encompass major concepts which various business entities have struggled to grapple with. Both ESG and AFC developed separately, against different backgrounds and for different reasons. ESG is still a growing area (when compared to AFC) and much of the focus so far has been on investments within the ‘environmental’ criteria. Hence, it has not come naturally to most industry players to consider these two important risks together and highlight similarities between these two concepts. This paper looks into each of the factors making up the ‘ESG’ domain and assesses further how these are linked to AFC considerations. The aim of this paper is ultimately to get financial services market players to think about how to manage ESG and AFC together rather than in silos, in the hope of reaping even more benefits and avoiding duplication of similar workstreams.
Keywords: ESG; AML; AFC; corruption; risk management
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Diane Bugeja is a senior associate at Camilleri Preziosi Advocates, principally advising clients on their obligations and compliance with the AFC framework and compliance with other regulatory obligations in the wider financial services sphere. She has assisted a number of clients subject to regulatory investigations as well as appeals against regulatory decisions. Diane also holds the position of Non-Executive Director on the board of directors of Bank of Valletta plc, Malta's main bank. She holds a PhD in law from King's College London and an MSc in accounting and finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
