The FCA has announced a package of work in the insurance market amid concerns about rising prices, alongside the launch of the Government motor insurance taskforce. The FCA has launched a review, known as a competition market study, to see whether people who borrow to pay for motor and home insurance are receiving fair, competitive deals. Premium finance allows people to pay for insurance in instalments. With the average yearly rate on the amount of money borrowed ranging between 20 to 30%, the FCA is concerned that premium finance may not be providing fair value. Continue reading…

Eurojust supported authorities in Germany, Croatia, Czechia and Italy to counter a long-term fraud with illegal or undeclared labour and tax evasion. During an action day, five suspects were arrested for allegedly running a network of building enterprises that employed labourers without paying taxes and social levies. In total, 47 places were searched in the four countries concerned. Continue reading…

ESMA, the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has published its 2025 Annual Work Programme (AWP), which reaffirms ESMA’s strategic orientation and commitment to safeguarding resilient, transparent, and sustainable European financial markets. ESMA has contributed to the ongoing discussion of how to make European capital markets more efficient and attractive, and in 2025 will advance on those aspects within its control, while working with the co-legislators and others to support the construction of the European Savings and Investment Union. Continue reading…

With just over a week until the compliance deadline for NIS2 hits, Andy Norton, European Cyber Risk Officer at Armis, made some remarks about it. He specifically looks at why the technical requirements of NIS2 are far from an easy tick-box exercise. Continue reading…

The FCA has fined Starling Bank Limited £28,959,426 for financial crime failings related to its financial sanctions screening. It also repeatedly breached a requirement not to open accounts for high-risk customers. Starling grew quickly, from approximately 43,000 customers in 2017 to 3.6 million in 2023. However, measures to tackle financial crime did not keep pace with its growth.

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On 29 September, the European Commission announced €10 million in additional humanitarian aid to help people in Lebanon affected by the ongoing escalation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. This emergency funding aims to tackle the most urgent needs such as protection, food assistance, shelter and health care. The EU stands ready to provide further support by mobilising all the available emergency response tools, including via use of the Civil Protection Mechanism. Continue reading…

German and Italian authorities worked together with Eurojust and Europol to stop a fraudulent scheme. The suspects targeted public institutions, cities, and municipalities, and were able to cause damages of several million euros. On 24 September, an operation took place where technology and assets were seized and search warrants against five suspects were executed.

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During a global operation, authorities from around the globe took down an encrypted communication platform used for criminal activities such as drug trafficking, homicide, corruption and money laundering. The wide scale operation, supported by Eurojust and Europol, led to over 50 arrests and the seizing of financial assets. Continue reading…

The FCA has charged Mr Olumide Osunkoya, who is 45 and resides in London, for unlawfully running multiple crypto ATMs without FCA registration. Crypto ATMs are machines that allow you to buy or convert money into cryptoassets. Mr Osunkoya is accused of running crypto ATMs, which processed £2.6m in crypto transactions across multiple locations between 29 December 2021 and 8 September 2023 without the required registration. Continue reading…