Compliance in international logistics' finance: Anti-money laundering and know-your-customer

Oldenburg, Dorle Katharina; Ostendorf, Thomas Article Compliance in international logistics' finance: Anti-money laundering and know-your-customer Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung (VAW) Provided in Cooperation with: Institut Arbeit und Wirtschaft (IAW), Universität Bremen / Arbeitnehmerkammer Bremen Suggested Citation: Oldenburg, Dorle Katharina; Ostendorf, Thomas (2025) : Compliance in international logistics' finance: Anti-money laundering and know-your-customer, Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung (VAW), ISSN 2942-1470, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, Vol. 2, Iss. 2, pp. 223-248, https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/317915 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access– Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Duncker & Humblot · Berlin Compliance in International Logistics’ Finance– Anti-Money Laundering and Know-Your-Customer By Dorle Katharina Oldenburg* and Thomas Ostendorf** Summary Approximately sixty percent of German goods exports are transported via sea freight. The international shipping industry is dominated by firms registered in offshore centers with little transparency. Criminals feel invited to abuse these opaque constructions for laundering their illegally acquired income or to also circumvent sanctions imposed on certain countries or goods. Banks and other financial enterprises thus need risk management and mitigation processes to stop illegal money laundering and other illegal financial transactions. At the core of these measures is the Know-Your-Customer process. Apart from watching and controlling money flows it is important to identify the owner of both money and firms employed in transactions. However, many offshore centers lack adequate registers that transparently document who is the owner. These registers are therefore not easily accessible resources for banks fighting money laundering. This paper discusses the current state of the art in anti-money laundering, mandatory know-your-customer screenings and its challenges in German banks involved in international trade finance. Zusammenfassung Ca. 60 Prozent der deutschen Exporte werden per Schiff getätigt. Die internationale Schifffahrtsbranche wird von Unternehmen dominiert, die ihr Domizil in sogenannten Offshore-Zentren haben, die durch geringe Transparenz gekennzeichnet sind. Kriminelle fühlen sich dadurch eingeladen die undurchsichtigen Strukturen zu nutzen, um illegale Geldströme zu verbergen oder Sanktionen zu umgehen, die gegen bestimmte Länder oder Waren verhängt wurden. Banken und andere Finanzinstitute müssen daher Risikomanagementprozesse installieren, um diese illegalen Geldwäschetransaktionen aufzudecken und zu stoppen. Im Zentrum dieser Mitigationsmaßnahmen steht der sogenannte Know-Your-Customer Prozess. Neben der Beobachtung und Kontrolle der Geldströme gilt es im Rahmen dessen die berechtigten Parteien, sowohl des Geldes als auch der involvierten Unternehmen, zu identifizieren. Allerdings fehlen in vielen Offshore-Zentren angemessene Register, die einen transparenten Überblick über die Eigentümerstrukturen * Dorle Katharina Oldenburg, Business Manager Shipping, Real Estate & KYC Specialist at M.M. Warburg & Co., email: [email protected] ** Thomas Ostendorf, Professor of Finance at FOM University of Applied Sciences, email: [email protected] Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung 2 (2025) 2: 223 – 248 https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 224 Dorle Katharina Oldenburg and Thomas Ostendorf Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 gewährleisten. Darum bilden diese Register für Banken, die Geldwäsche bekämpfen, keine leicht zugänglichen Quellen. Der vorliegende Artikel zeigt die gegenwärtigen Maßnahmen der Geldwäschebekämpfung sowie der obligatorischen Know-Your-Customer Prüfungen in Finanzinstituten auf und diskutiert die Herausforderungen für deutsche Banken, die in der internationalen Handelsfinanzierung tätig sind. JEL classification: F1, F3, G15, G21, G28 Keywords: money laundering, know-your-customer, compliance, fraud, sanctions, shipping industry, logistics finance, risk management, ultimate beneficial owner, politically exposed person, offshore company, Panama Papers, Paradise Papers 1. Introduction Behind the shiny facades of the financial world, where business is conducted at rapid speed and billions shift hands with a simple mouse click,1 an invisible web of concealed transactions and manipulated business structures weaves itself.2 Money laundering is not a practice of the last century, but still a relevant component of organised crime today.3 Reported global events of economic crime include eleven percent that are associated with money laundering.4 The term money laundering covers the injection of illegal assets into the legal economy in order to subsequently be able to reinvest these legally in other places.5 The issue posed by money laundering lies in its ability to obscure its criminal origins and legitimise assets without leaving any trace of illicit activity.6 The implications extend from supporting terrorist activities to funding drug cartels7 and mafia clans.8 While creative criminals and corrupt networks try to cover their money laundering tracks from public sight,9 regulators, experts, and banks are working to identify those responsible and hold them accountable.10 Similarly, state and private actors trying to circumvent sanctions need to disguise the illegal flow of financial assets. To prevent or uncover this, financial institutions are legally obliged to enforce anti-money laundering (AML) compliance measures im1 Cf. Idzikowski, L., Transactions in banking, 2021, p. 49. 2 Cf. Iosifidis, A., Jensen, R. I. T., Money laundering, 2023, p. 8889. 3 Cf. Sullivan, K., Money laundering, 2015, p. 1. 4 Cf. PwC, Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey, 2020, p. 4. 5 Cf. Teichmann, F. M. J., Money laundering purposes, 2018, p. 372. 6 Cf. Naheem, M. A., Money laundering techniques, 2016, p. 136. 7 Cf. Sullivan, K., Money laundering, 2015, p. 2. 8 Cf. The New York Times, Gambling parlours as mafia’s money laundering model, 2022, n. pag. 9 Cf. Barone, R. et al., Money laundering, 2022, p. 320. 10 Cf. Iosifidis, A., Jensen, R. I. T., Money laundering, 2023, p. 8889. OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 Compliance in International Logistics’ Finance 225 Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 posed by investigative authorities to monitor their clients.11 In the global finance industry, 29percent of fraud incidents in 2022 resulted from failed socalled know-your-customer reviews, which display the core AML measure.12 In case of non-compliance with the legal regulations on money laundering prevention, banks are not only exposed to reputational damage, but also to penalties. For instance, in 2021, HSBC was fined GBP 63.9million because the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority revealed that they had not fulfilled their due diligence obligations.13 As another example, in 2024 the German online bank N26 was fined EUR 9.2million for AML failures.14 Globalisation has made international payments for globally transported goods and trading operations common practice.15 Germany as a maritime exporting nation transports approximately sixty percent of its export goods by sea.16 Establishing offshore company structures is a legal tax saving model.17 Their lack of transparency complicates the clear distinction between legality and illegality.18 This results in challenges for banks in screening their logistics customers for AML purposes.19 The number of Suspicious Activity Reports filed by German financial institutions is steadily increasing annually.20 In this context the following research question will be addressed in this paper:21 What approaches do German banks employ to enforce legally required anti-money laundering compliance measures monitoring their logistics customers and what obstacles do they face? What are possible solutions for shortcomings? 2. International Ownership Structures in Maritime Shipping In the globalised world, cargo is transported all over continents and seas, involving numerous logistics companies.22 Especially in maritime shipping as part of the logistics industry, certain varieties of ownership structures like ship-own11 Cf. Barone, R. et al., Money laundering, 2022, p. 320. 12 Cf. PwC, Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey, 2022, p. 6. 13 Cf. The Guardian, Millions in fines for HSBC’s AML failings, 2021, n. pag. 14 Cf. Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, Millions in AML fines for N26, 2024, n. pag. 15 Cf. Ndizera, V., International trade, 2023, p. 329. 16 Cf. Drumm, L., Zhang, P., German maritime industry, 2020, p. 470. 17 Cf. Polsky, S., Offshore companies, 2022, p. 74. 18 Cf. Cox, D., Money laundering, 2014, p. 11. 19 Cf. Iosifidis, A., Jensen, R. I. T., Money laundering, 2023, p. 8899. 20 Cf. Financial Intelligence Unit, German Suspicious Activity Reports, 2021, p. 17. 21 This paper is based on a research project conducted at FOM University of Applied Science in 2023. 22 Cf. Paun, C., Topan, V., Maritime ownership structures, 2016, p. 360. OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 226 Dorle Katharina Oldenburg and Thomas Ostendorf Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 ing companies, partnerships, foundations, trusts, and holding companies are commonly used to facilitate investments and operations, each providing specific advantages in terms of liability and taxation.23 Figure1 above illustrates the corporate structure of the so-called ship-owning company, also known as a one-ship company (in German: Einschiffsgesellschaft) which is commonly used by German shipping companies which own a ship. This is a special type of limited commercial partnership, whose investments are held by a general partner (in German: Komplementär) and limited partners (in German: Kommanditisten). Various investors can act as limited partners, both legal entities and individuals who do not cover an active management role. The liability of the limited partner is limited only to the amount of the asset contribution. The general partner in this construct, in contrast, is a limited liability company (in German: Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, abbreviated to GmbH). Generally, the so-called general partner is liable with all his private assets, but this is limited to the business assets of the so-called GmbH.24 This set-up of one-ship companies is specifically established to own and operate only one asset which is the vessel registered under its name. It is common to establish these kinds of companies even for several separate vessels of a whole 23 Cf. Harlaftis, G., Maritime ownership structures, 2019, p. 238. 24 Cf. Verband Deutscher Reeder, Zentralverband Deutscher Schiffsmakler, Seafreight, 2013, p. 281. Figure 1: Shareholding structure of a common German one-ship company Source: Based on Verband Deutscher Reeder, Zentralverband Deutscher Schiffsmakler, Seafreight, 2013, p. 282. OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 Compliance in International Logistics’ Finance 227 Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 fleet.25 These limited commercial partnerships offer flexibility in terms of capital contributions and management responsibilities, making them attractive for investors seeking to participate in the maritime industry without assuming excessive risks or liabilities. Due to the significant volume of equity required for building or purchasing a vessel, which usually sums up to several million euros, one-ship companies enable the owner of the vessel to attract private investors that intend to bear only limited liabilities.26 As another common maritime ownership structure holding companies play a significant role in the maritime industry. They are established to hold ownership interests in various maritime companies or assets, providing centralised control and management of investments.27 As a further legal form, foundations are used in shareholding structures of companies in the maritime sector. They hold and manage assets for specific beneficiaries or charitable causes, and in the maritime context, they may manage vessel ownership and operations, ensuring long-term asset preservation and goal fulfilment.28 As another common legal form, a trust, established by a trustor, and managed by a trustee as a legal entity, serves to manage assets and wealth on behalf of individuals or entities, ensuring effective management, protection, and strategic growth of entrusted resources.29 The process of transporting goods from the producer to the end customer by sea involves not only logistics companies, but also financial institutions, in particular banks, which provide financing support and management of the transport.30 3. Compliance This chapter introduces compliance as the paramount topic encompassing AML measures. As a part of it, in the first sub-chapter the principle of money laundering and the financial scandals Panama Papers and Paradise Papers are displayed. Moreover, the second sub-chapter introduces different compliance measures and their purposes. The third subchapter presents the vocabulary commonly encountered in banks for the conduct of compliance measures to be 25 Cf. Hathi, B., Hathi, S., One-ship company, 2019, p. 344. 26 Cf. Verband Deutscher Reeder, Zentralverband Deutscher Schiffsmakler, Seafreight, 2013, p. 282. 27 Cf. Panayides, P., Maritime holding companies, 2019, p. 331. 28 Cf. Hartley, C., Maritime foundations, 2023, p. 360. 29 Cf. Ettmann, B. et al., Banking, 2015, p. 78. 30 Cf. Heilig, L. et al., Relationship between logistics companies and banks, 2018, p. 1188. OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 228 Dorle Katharina Oldenburg and Thomas Ostendorf Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 applied to corporate clients. Subsequently, the fourth sub-chapter delves into the legal framework for compliance measures in German banks. 3.1 Money Laundering as Economic Crime To transfer funds from criminal businesses into the legal economy, the principle of money laundering has been used for decades.31 The term money laundering was formed in the 1920s32 by the criminal Al Capone in Chicago. He built up his fortune with criminal business from gambling, prostitution, and illegal alcohol trade during prohibition. In order to transfer these illicit funds into the legal economic cycle, he invested his fortune in laundrettes. At that time, the use of laundry machines in the respective salons was paid by coins. Thus, it was not traceable how often the machine ran daily, how many coins were inserted, and where the money originated from. Illegal earnings were taxed just like legal ones, hence recorded as seemingly legitimate revenue for the laundrettes. The term money laundering is also still used today to figuratively represent the procedure of laundering illicit money from criminal operations into untainted, freely usable money.33 There are three phases of the money laundering process, as illustrated in the Figure2 below.34 In the following, the stages of money laundering are explained in more detail using the below diagram. In the first phase of the money laundering process, known as placement, the money launderer introduces cash from illegal sources into the legal money circuit, e. g., by depositing small sums of cash into bank accounts which is called smurfing.35 Subsequently, in the second phase, layering, the concealment of the source of the illicitly obtained money, is enforced. A common technique is to transfer the money to an international bank account of a foreign bank.36 Ultimately, the third and last phase of money laundering is integration, whereby the laundered money is utilised to acquire legitimate assets, such as e. g., real estate, shares in legal businesses37 and luxury goods38. This process serves to legalise the laundered money within the economic cycle while also covering up its trail.39 31 Cf. Fiedler, I. et al., History of money laundering, 2017, p. 3. 32 Cf. Sullivan, K., Money laundering, 2015, p. 1. 33 Cf. Bausch, O., Voller, T., History of money laundering, 2020, p. 1. 34 Cf. Ghazanfari, F. et al., Techniques for Anti-Money Laundering, 2017, p. 10085. 35 Cf. Alkhalili, M. et al., Watch list for AML, 2021, p. 18482. 36 Cf Ghazanfari, F. et al., Techniques for Anti-Money Laundering, 2017, p. 10085. 37 Cf. Reuter, P., Trumann, E., Anti-Money Laundering measures, 2004, p. 3. 38 Cf. Moody’s, International money laundering, 2024, n. pag. 39 Cf. Reuter, P., Trumann, E., Anti-Money Laundering measures, 2004, p. 3. OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 Compliance in International Logistics’ Finance 229 Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 In the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers40 financial scandals exposed an intricate web of offshore corporate structures exploited for economic crimes such as money laundering and tax evasion.41 The so-called Panama Papers were uncovered and published in 201642 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in cooperation with the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung43 and more than 100 additional media firms.44 It exposed the operations of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca,45 revealing the involvement of narcotics cartels, mafia clans,46 but also high-profile individuals such as political representatives47 and international corporations in tax evasion and the concealment of assets.48 The 11.5million leaked documents49 revealed the activities of 214,000 offshore companies which are connected to the services of the law firm. The firm Mossack Fonseca set up off40 Cf. Berglez, P., Gearing, A., Paradise Papers, 2018, p. 4574. 41 Cf. Obermaier, F., Obermayer, B., Publication of the Panama Papers, n.d., n. pag. 42 Cf. Ibid. 43 Cf. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Panama Papers, 2016, n. pag. 44 Cf. Leyendecker, H. et al., Sueddeutsche Zeitung about Panama Papers, n.d., n. pag. 45 Cf. Bernstein, J., Panama Papers, 2017, p. 23. 46 Cf. Leyendecker, H. et al., Sueddeutsche Zeitung about Panama Papers, n.d., n. pag. 47 Cf. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Involved politicians, n.d., n. pag. 48 Cf. Bernstein, J., Panama Papers, 2017, p. 23. 49 Cf. Statista, Leaked files of Panama Papers, 2016, n. pag. Figure 2: Three phases of money laundering Source: Based on Ghazanfari, F. et al., Techniques for Anti-Money Laundering, 2017, p. 10085. OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 230 Dorle Katharina Oldenburg and Thomas Ostendorf Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 shore jurisdictions50 and illegal shell companies with engaged sham directors for the purpose of tax evasion, asset concealment, and money laundering.51 In this context, so-called bearer shares were also mentioned,52 where the holder of the physical share certificate is automatically considered the owner of the company, which complicates the identification of the actual ownership.53 Subsequent to the Panama Papers, the so-called Paradise Papers were published in 201754 based on information gathered from 21 different sources. These revealed the offshore investments and financial activities of numerous celebrities, multinational corporations, and wealthy individuals worldwide.55 The 13.4million leaked documents revealed offshore structures and accounts in various countries, including prominent tax havens such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands,56 the Cook Islands, Malta, and others.57 The Paradise Papers also uncovered Donald Trump’s then trade secretary as a business partner of Vladimir Putin’s family in connection with his shares in the shipping company Navigator Holdings.58 The revelations of both leaks have caused concerns about the integrity of international shipping companies that were involved59 and exposed vulnerabilities in the global financial system. Since then, the topic of the so-called Russian shadow fleet that is supposedly used to circumvent sanctions has added further concern in the international shipping industry. This has led to calls for regulatory reforms to combat illicit activities60 disguised by complex ownership structures61 and offshore tax havens.62 Global efforts to increase regulations, transparency and the fight against financial crime have highlighted the necessity and importance of due diligence, compliance measures and risk assessments in the 50 Cf. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Panama Papers, 2016, n. pag. 51 Cf. Leyendecker, H. et al., Sueddeutsche Zeitung about Panama Papers, n.d., n. pag. 52 Cf. Fischer, H.-D., Bearer shares, 2023, p. 198. 53 Cf. Roach, L., Bearer shares, 2022, p. 458. 54 Cf. Berglez, P., Gearing, A., Paradise Papers, 2018, p. 4584. 55 Cf. Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Paradise Papers leak, 2017, n. pag. 56 Cf. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Paradise Papers release, 2017, n. pag. 57 Cf. Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Paradise Papers leak, 2017, n. pag. 58 Cf. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Paradise Papers, 2017, n. pag. 59 Cf. ibid. 60 Cf. Sylle, F., Increased regulatory requirements due to Panama Papers, 2019, p. 285. 61 Cf. Rapp, M. S., Trinchera, O., Offshore ownership structures, 2017, p. 30. 62 Cf. Meunier, D., Offshore ownership structures, 2018, p. 2. OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 Compliance in International Logistics’ Finance 237 Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 because, beside the country risk, there is also a product risk and economic risk.121 Country risk also includes foreign corporate offices and relations to offshore firms (e. g., Cayman Islands) with a negative reputation. In this context it is crucial to review the trustworthiness of the business partners and negative media to avoid a reputational risk and to guarantee that the firm engages in tax-saving with assets, but not in tax fraud or tax scam with shell companies. It is also more complex to maintain customer relations and proximity when the company is based abroad, which is why banks consider customer visits as particularly relevant. Also, there is a legal form risk in foreign companies. It is common that the location of the shipping company’s registered office is in an offshore country and its operational headquarter in an EU country.122 Due to lower legal and regulatory standards for corporate customers abroad (e. g., employment contracts, incorporation, etc.) obtaining information may be more difficult, and the audits of foreign companies are more complex. Therefore, banks often rely on third-party providers to provide the necessary data. Additionally, foreign companies often have complex ownership structures (e. g., fiduciary accounts).123 Further risk involves the concealment of ownership through so-called bearer shares. There is a risk that the persons involved are not discovered and may already have been convicted of tax fraud or money laundering without being detected. In order to ensure that both the company and the UBO are not involved in international crime related to tax havens and foreign companies, the entire ownership structure as well as the UBO are thoroughly investigated after identification.124 The aim of the supervisory authority is to prevent money laundering. However, it is probably impossible to prevent money laundering completely as long as business and transactions are handled.125 Banks strictly implement the legal requirements in order to detect criminal offences and to satisfy the regulatory demands of the supervisory authority. At the same time, they do not seek to restrict clients, but to rather expand their business with them. Banks thus serve as a buffer between a high demand for information from the supervisory authorities and the corporate clients who try to disclose as little data as necessary, e. g. for cost reasons. However, in the end, the customers have a duty to cooperate and lack the possibility to express their 121 Cf. Swift, Risk factors, n.d, n. pag. 122 Cf. Financial Action Task Force, In-depth KYC factors, 2018, p. 152. 123 Cf. Moody’s, KYC solution, n.d., n. pag. 124 Cf. Fischer, H.-D., Bearer shares, 2023, p. 193. 125 Cf. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Money laundering cycle, n.d., n. pag. OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 238 Dorle Katharina Oldenburg and Thomas Ostendorf Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 wishes regarding the state regulations. In summary, various interests of the stakeholders must be considered by the banks.126 5. Obstacles in Enforcing Mandatory Compliance Measures Regarding the legally obliged KYC review of corporate maritime customers as part of the account opening process and the regular screening, German banks encounter numerous challenges, e. g. accessing documents (i. e. identity documents, extracts from registers) and investigating foreign companies as major issues. The problem occurs because in German banks, companies are assessed according to German law, although in other countries, especially tax havens (e. g., Seychelles, Marshall Islands, etc.), less strict laws apply to the firms based there. In some countries, the document standards are lower than in Germany. Furthermore, a higher research workload arises from foreign companies, as there are fewer publication regulations. Generally, there are greater difficulties in accessing registers abroad as these are often either not accessible or do not even exist. The lack of transparency of international firms in offshore areas leads to a dependence on customer information. Often, banks use third party providers in order to verify the information received from customers. Another obstacle can be language barriers for some offshore customers when conducting video verification with third-party providers in Germany.127 At times challenging can be the determination of the ultimate beneficial owner in complex ownership structures. An increase of the non-transparency and complexity of the structures as well as that of KYC screenings in the last decades complicate the determination of the UBO. Nowadays, most banks review all corporate levels in the ownership structure down to the smallest detail and the results are usually reviewed internally by at least three departments. Since BaFin set-up a particular examination framework without specifying detailed requirements for the collection of documents and information, banks are using different approaches to interpreting the identification of the UBO. The discrepancies in document requirements among different banks frequently lead to confusion among clients. They occasionally raise complaints with banks, pointing out instances where they had to provide varying or less comprehensive information to other banks. This disparity demands extra resource expenditure from them.128 During the UBO’s KYC assessment, databases are employed to ascertain whether an individual holds a politically exposed person (PEP) status. This results in extra effort for customers and the bank when an event driven review (EDR) is activated, e. g., by a change of managing director. Thus, up-to-date 126 Cf. Odak, D., Balancing conflict of interests, 2020, p. 73. 127 Cf. PwC, Global Economic Crime Survey, 2024, p. 12. 128 Cf. LSEG, Different in-house screening guidelines, 2023, p. 9. OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 Compliance in International Logistics’ Finance 239 Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 quality of the data is a main challenge, as proactive notifications from customers on changes in their ownership structure are rarely submitted to the bank despite the client’s obligation to provide information on changes.129 Another challenge can be the verification of the source of funds and source of wealth as shipping companies are often traditionally managed over several generations so that the family wealth dates sometimes far back in history.130 6. Proposals for Solutions The exchange between banks is perceived as useful and valuable because recurring KYC screenings are required in each bank. There are already service providers offering the digital generation of a KYC profiling (e. g., third-party providers SWIFT,131 Moody’s132) as well as the utilisation of artificial intelligence for analysing document content. By linking public registers, KYC EDRs are triggered upon changes, enabling increased data quality (Sinpex).133 For a potential future system, it is relevant that there is a customisable scope of use for all banks. In this context, two options are regarded as feasible. The first option is outsourcing the KYC process of all German banks to designated external service providers.134 The second approach is to assign competence for conducting KYC screenings for clients to certain banks and subsequently their profiling results might be transferred to all banks nationally or in the EU. Thus, each bank does not have to conduct similar KYC checks itself, but can rely on the results of the other responsible banks. The cooperation and coordination of the banks for the integration of a functioning cross-bank process is the precondition. An improved information exchange, reduced review expenses, an increase in the efficiency of the KYC process as well as faster compliance processing of priority transactions would benefit all three stakeholders, i. e. customers, banks, and regulatory supervision. Customers benefit from a reduced workload due to identical, unified KYC requirements from different banks (common standard for all information and documents). Shortened waiting times for account opening are made possible. BaFin benefits from an improvement in data quality. And banks save costs by sharing the effort to fulfil regulatory requirements. 129 Cf. Sinpex, AI-driven monitoring, n.d., n. pag. 130 Cf. Financial Action Task Force, In-depth KYC factors, 2018, p. 108. 131 Cf. Swift, KYC registry, n.d, n. pag. 132 Cf. Moody’s, KYC solution, n.d., n. pag. 133 Cf. Sinpex, AI-driven monitoring, n.d., n. pag. 134 Cf. Swift, KYC registry, n.d, n. pag. OPEN ACCESS | Licensed under CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/ DOI https://doi.org/10.3790/vaw.2025.1457706 | Generated on 2025-05-19 12:47:06 240 Dorle Katharina Oldenburg and Thomas Ostendorf Vierteljahreshefte zur Arbeitsund Wirtschaftsforschung, 2 (2025) 2 Additionally, establishing a global register would help to improve and alleviate data collection. Such a centralised global register ought to provide information on all companies worldwide. Thus, it provides access to the shareholding structures of all banks’ corporate customers. Documents which are required by banks in context of KYC screenings are accessible without waiting for customer responses. By giving banks access to all necessary data in a global register, the transmission of information might be automated and standardised. The documents of the global register should be filed in English in order to reduce language barriers and make the files comprehensible for all banks worldwide. Within this framework, the implementation of a standardised minimum document requirement is requested for offshore corporations, given the current lack of substantial regulations for these. The realisation of such a registry might not only mitigate the costs incurred in verifying translators or lawyers but also enhance the efficiency of the overall procedure. The data that remains unavailable through the global registry or databases ought to be transmitted by the customer. 7. Conclusion The focus of this paper has been the legally mandatory monitoring of logistics’ customers by German banks to prevent money laundering and other illegal international financial transactions. For this purpose, the status quo of the applied anti-money laundering compliance measures for account openings and existing customers has been investigated and the resulting challenges for German banks have been identified. In addition, a future scenario for an ideal anti-money laundering compliance process has been developed. The know-your-customer process is the central anti-money laundering compliance measure, involving several departments in each bank. There is a need, however, for a simplified access to foreign registers. The implementation of a cross-bank standardised anti-money laundering process has pros and cons. On the one hand, it can be assumed that a cross-bank process would generate synergy effects such as less effort and an acceleration of processes. On the other hand, a possible vulnerability for data insecurity is a problem that needs to be addressed when banks should share customer data with each other or with external partners to perform KYC-checks. 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