A company that provides money transmission services in Bermuda has been issued with a public censure by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

The BMA said it had issued the public censure to Blue Nile Services Limited for a number of breaches of the Proceeds of Crime (anti-money laundering and antiterrorist financing) Regulations 2008 and the International Sanctions Regulations 2013.

The company, on Burnaby Street, is permitted to continue with its existing business, however it will be subject to enhanced supervision. The enhanced supervision will remain in place until the BMA is satisfied that the company is fully compliant with all of its obligations under the POCA regulations and the sanctions regulations.

Blue Nile Services is a privately-owned limited liability company that was formed in 2017, and is the official agent for Western Union in Bermuda.

The BMA said the breach of the POCA regulations was in seven key areas, which were: application of customer due diligence measures; ongoing monitoring; enhanced due diligence; outsourcing; training; compliance officer — training; and systems. It said the breaches also included a failure to comply with the customer screening requirements of the sanctions regulations.

The breaches were identified during an on-site review conducted at Blue Nile Services’ premises by BMA officials last October. A statutory process was followed, culminating in a 28-day appeal period which ended on September 7. The decision was not appealed.

The BMA said the company had been fully co-operative in its remediation efforts and the Authority said Blue Nile Services had shown “continued commitment to satisfy all requirements to enable it to exit enhanced supervision in a timely manner”.