With the support of Eurojust, authorities in Finland, Germany, Belgium and Latvia have succeeded in striking a blow against the operators of various fraudulent online investment platforms that have defrauded victims from 11 different countries out of several million euros. During an action day, two suspects were arrested and 12 locations were searched. According to the investigation, victims were directed to seemingly reputable online trading platforms in search of offers for lucrative investments. Through these platforms, they were promised enormous profits in a short time by trading in cryptocurrency, foreign exchange or shares. Continue reading…

Authorities in Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland have dismantled a criminal network involved in a large-scale VAT fraud concerning tobacco smuggling. The estimated damage caused by the tax evasion to the European Union budget amounts to over EUR 8 750 000. In an action supported by Eurojust and Europol, one suspect was arrested. Over EUR 750 000, 7 high-value cars and 49 very high-value wristwatches were seized. Continue reading…

During the last International Risk Congress in Brussels, with a theme on Combating Financial Economic Crime, moderator and presenter Dina-Perla Portnaar spoke with Valérie Urbain from Euroclear. Valérie has been working at Euroclear since July 2021. Within her role as Chief Business Director & Executive Director, she has the total overview of all activities, as well as the responsibilities that go with it. The interview took place at the Euroclear headquarters in Brussels and was conducted in English. How will we be able to combat Financial Economic Crime? Which types of crimes lie ahead of us? What strategies have already been deployed in the public and private sectors? What types of solutions are most desirable and necessary? Are we combating FEC in an effective and concerted manner? What does Euroclear do in terms of diversity and inclusivity?

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The FCA has fined Ghana International Bank Plc (GIB) £5,829,900 for poor anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls over its correspondent banking activities. GIB provided correspondent banking services to overseas banks. This allowed them to provide products and services they would not otherwise be able to, including making payments in different currencies and across borders. The FCA requires banks to do extra checks on their correspondent banking customers to reduce the higher risk of money laundering and terrorist financing associated with the service.  Continue reading…

The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently published its Guidelines specifying the role and responsibilities of the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance officer and of the management body of credit or financial institutions. These Guidelines aim to ensure a common interpretation and adequate implementation of AML/CFT internal governance arrangements across the EU in line with the requirements of the EU Directive on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing (ML/FT).  Continue reading…

by Michel Klompmaker

Last Thursday, June 16, our traditional Risk & Compliance Annual Congress took place at the Groot Kievitsdal Estate in Baarn. The weather was beautiful and all those present could fully enjoy it on the terraces of the Estate. But of course there was also the serious angle, the theme around the role of the gatekeepers in 2022. The three keynotes before the break each had a clear opinion about this from their own background. The international bank customer, through the CEO of HVA International Miltiadis Gkouzouris, started off, after which Jaap van der Molen of the ABN Amro Bank spoke and then the Ministry of Justice and Security, represented by Zosha Zuidema. Later in the afternoon, the Great AML/CDD/KYC Debate took place, led by Michael van Woerden. Geert Vermeulen, who led the day in the right direction, was our chairman. Continue reading…

Ingrid Gacci

What a journey! This is the impression after three days spent at Money20/20. Money20/20 is not only the largest global fintech event where payment and financial industries are connected to commerce, but a fascinating event that gave Risk & Compliance Platform Europe the opportunity to meet innovative top managers and professionals from all over the world. We recently had the pleasure of conducting one of our most insightful interviews together with the CEO of Trulioo, Steve Munford. Trulioo is a Canadian-based company that provides electronic identity and address verification of both individuals and businesses. Continue reading…

During the International Risk Congress in Brussels, presenter and moderator Dina-Perla Portnaar had the opportunity to talk with one of the speakers, the CFO of Icoinic Capital and former compliance manager at ING, Egbert Krop. The conversation centred on cryptocurrency and compliance.

Egbert Krop stated: “crypto is a community-driven industry. We are definitely in the bubble now, but remember that the cryptocurrency market is like the internet used to be in the beginning. There will be waves, but cryptocurrency is here to stay.”

Egbert Krop also talked about how transparent and self-regulating the world of cryptocurrency is, and about the fact that NFTs form an immature market. Yet, it is an interesting market indeed. Tip is to only invest in cryptocurrency with money that you can afford to lose.

Eurojust has supported the Italian and Bulgarian authorities to counter an elaborate tax scam of at least EUR 69 million. During an action day, 26 suspects were identified who had illegally changed or ‘cloned’ Italian into Bulgarian enterprises, to avoid paying tax. A hotel and other properties, as well as other assets with a total value of EUR 11 million, were seized. The operation was the result of a joint investigation team (JIT) between the two authorities concerned, which was set up with the assistance of Eurojust. Continue reading…

More than 500 corruption cases have been registered at Eurojust during the past six years. Compared with the 78 cases registered at the Agency in 2016, the number of cases rose to 112 in 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase reflects the EU’s priority to crack down on corruption and Eurojust’s growing importance in helping Member States tackle this specific type of cross-border crime. Eurojust Casework on Corruption: 2016–2021 Insights, presents key findings based on the Agency’s casework and offers expert advice to practitioners to assist them in similar cases in the future. The report, published on May 5th, is the Agency’s first dedicated publication in the field. It aims to support national authorities dealing with cross-border corruption cases by identifying possible problems and solutions. Continue reading…