In a judgment issued today, the Supreme Court confirmed that Asset Land had been operating an unauthorised collective investment scheme (CIS) in the course of operating a land bank which involved the selling of small plots of land to investors at hugely inflated prices. The Supreme Court found that, although investors were the legal owners of their individual plots of land, in reality the arrangements of the scheme were that investors did not have control over their investment and Asset Land was the central operator of the scheme.
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by Evert-Jan Lammers

Nobody wants to be spied upon and then reported to the authorities like it happened during the war. Whistleblowers provoke war traumas even to those who have never experienced war. However, whistleblowers are not war-heroes but peace-heroes. No drama then?
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The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has today issued for consultation Prudential treatment of problem assets – definitions of non-performing exposures and forbearance. At present, banks categorise problem loans in a variety of ways and there are no consistent international standards for categorising problem loans.
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Tracey McDermott, Acting Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today announced that she is to leave the organisation on 1 July 2016. On 7 January 2016 Tracey announced that she decided in early December 2015 to withdraw from the process to appoint the permanent Chief Executive of the FCA but would continue as Acting Chief Executive until a permanent replacement was in post.  Continue reading…

by Kieran Beer

The Panama Papers are justifiably grabbing headlines based on the number of “A-list” politicians and celebrities, as well as the handful of notorious criminals, that they name. And their sheer volume—11.5 million documents—represents an unparalleled look at the machinations involved in the use and abuse of shell companies, in this case those created by Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. But it’s important to step back and have a little perspective: the use of shell companies for tax evasion, the proceeds of corruption and other crimes detailed in the papers are outrageous, but sadly nothing new.
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned Paul White from performing any function in relation to any regulated financial activity and publicly censured him. Were it not for Mr White’s serious financial hardship, the FCA would have fined him £250,000.
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published its annual Business Plan. The Business Plan outlines seven priority themes which will guide how the FCA will use its flexible resources and provide additional focus for the core activities of the organisation.  The seven themes are: pensions, financial crime and anti-money laundering, wholesale financial markets, advice, innovation and technology, firms’ culture and governance, and the treatment of existing customers.
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Media in the Nordic region has portrayed Nordea International Private Banking in Luxembourg as a provider of tax haven structures for its customers. Therefore Nordea wants to make the following statement.
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Edwin Jacobs

For the past six months there have been quite a few ground-breaking developments in the EU’s legal domain of personal data processing. We are referring first and foremost to the General Data Protection Regulation, a new European legal instrument that will be the main tool in the legal arsenal for the protection of personal data. Secondly, in the aftermath of the Schrems-judgement in October last year, the European Union and the United States intensified their work towards a suitable replacement for the Safe Harbour regime, a legal arrangement for transferring personal data from the EU to the US. In February this year these efforts culminated in an “EU-US Privacy Shield”. These developments will have a significant impact on how businesses are allowed to process personal data.
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by Evert-Jan Lammers

Some organizations address integrity issues in the in-house magazine, in balanced scorecards, in board meetings, in their communication to stakeholders. Other organizations don’t. Good versus bad company or proactive versus reactive company. Let’s zoom-in on the pro-active companies, the mature organizations. Their board meetings are not only about the what-and-when, but also about the why-and-how. Participants in these meetings dare to speak-up, empowered and protected by shared values. These meeting rooms are light and clear.

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