by Mark Pieth

When Russia invaded Ukraine, the US and the EU announced economic sanctions, whereas official Switzerland announced that it would first have to analyse the new situation. Obviously, one would ask what the Swiss Government has been doing over the last few weeks when tensions rose. What is more, Switzerland announced it would take some measures to reduce the risk of circumvention of sanctions, but that it did not envisage blocking funds of persons close to the Russian regime. Now, this may be understandable from a purely economic point of view. Isn’t Switzerland the seat of Nordstream 1 and 2, isn’t a large part of Russian oil traded through Geneva, including by Russian oligarchs? The official Swiss attitude does, however, echo the experiences with this country during the Second World War, large parts of the Cold War and Apartheid: neutrality was considered a licence to do business with anyone, including criminal regimes.
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by Michel Klompmaker

At the moment, the Ukrainian capital Kiev is under siege and being bombed. The West is watching and Putin can carry out his long-devised plan without too much opposition. Let’s not pretend that this has been a big surprise. It quickly brings to mind 1938 when the ‘Anschluss’ through Austria with Germany became a fact. Putin has waited neatly with this invasion until after the Olympic Games in China so as not to embarrass his supporters there. One dictator learns the tricks of another dictator. China is now going to learn from the reaction of the West and can benefit from this, in the very important step for China, namely the ‘Anschluss’ of Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China that is on the program. Let’s not be naive and think that this is a utopia and that the intake can be prevented through consultation. Time for the West to wonder if we shouldn’t divide the world in two… a part that is undesirable and objectionable to the West and a part that is as little involved as possible with such dictatorships. This means that many western knots have to be counted… no more SWIFT, but also no more sponsors like Gazprom to admit to the Champions League. But banks are also embarrassed, because all those billions of money are stored somewhere. Meanwhile, the European Union has changed the sanctions regime. Continue reading…

by Francesco Domenico Attisano, Fabio Accardi & Roberto Rosato

The ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) issue is now on everyone’s lips. The buzzword of the moment is very often wrongly focused only on the environmental issue (see for example Climate Change). Instead, even examining the evolution of global risks, as shown by the latest Global Risk Report1, we note an ever-increasing worldwide perception of risks related to all environmental, social and corporate governance factors. Organisations should pursue sustainable development objectives that reward the creation of long-term value. For this purpose, as outlined in the new Italian Corporate Governance Code, “greater pervasiveness of corporate sustainability, integrated into its strategic perspectives” is essential. Continue reading…

How can we break open closed-up communities all around the world and protect children from hurt? Listen to Dina-Perla’s heartfelt personal story on child abuse, harmful traditional practices, healing and empowerment. She states: “to see the patterns is to see the solutions”. Dina-Perla also shares a couple of urgent call-to-actions with us – for all of us, for the closed-up communities and for governmental bodies. Continue reading…

The EuroMed Justice Programme (EMJ) has organised a workshop between Belgian and Lebanese authorities on the international exchange of information for the detection and recovery of criminal assets. The activity was held in Brussels on 1-3 February using the new Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) tool. A delegation of seven judges and prosecutors from Lebanon, one of the South Partner Countries (SPCs), met with representatives of the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Police, the Central Organ for Seizure and Confiscation (OCSC) and the Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTIF). Continue reading…

In his speech at the 6th Annual Afore Conference, Steven Maijoor spoke about the complexity of reshaping regulation and supervision in a financial sector where platforms and new technology play in increasingly important role. ‘This is not Basel 3, this is Basel to the power of 3.’, he said. He emphasised that, despite these complexities, financial regulators and supervisors have a responsibility to make sure that they can continue to deliver on their mandate to safeguard financial stability. Continue reading…

by Francesco Domenico Attisano, Fabio Accardi & Roberto Rosato

A quick overview on historical trend of global risks, as outlined by the Global Risk Report, with a focus on the last two years in particular, and of the outlook drawn in the latest GRR edition, can help us to take out relevant insights on risk governance and compliance. Continue reading…

KPMG has apologised for misconduct and misleading the UK’s accounting regulator after former auditors were accused of “forgery” related to audits including that of Carillion, the major government contractor that collapsed four years ago. Jon Holt, the chief executive of KPMG UK, said it was “clear” that misconduct had occurred, in a statement published to mark the start of a disciplinary tribunal on Monday. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has alleged that KPMG misled its investigators over routine inspections of the audits of Carillion and the software company Regenersis, in 2016 and 2014 respectively. The FRC has alleged that “relevant individuals acted with a lack of integrity in dishonestly or recklessly misleading the regulator”, according to tribunal documents. Continue reading…

The FCA has recently published a Discussion Paper aimed at maintaining a compensation framework that provides appropriate protection for consumers, funded in a fair and sustainable way. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) provides compensation when certain authorised financial services firms are unable to meet claims against them. The FSCS plays a critical backstop role in protecting consumers and ensuring confidence in financial services markets. Continue reading…

The European Commission has recently presented a key initiative to fight against the misuse of shell entities for improper tax purposes. The proposal should ensure that entities in the European Union that have no or minimal economic activity are unable to benefit from any tax advantages and do not place any financial burden on taxpayers. This will also protect the level playing field for the vast majority of European businesses, who are key to the EU’s recovery, and will ensure that ordinary taxpayers do not suffer additional financial burden due to those that try to avoid paying their fair share. Continue reading…