In relation to Eurojust, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union will put a particular focus on tackling serious organised drug-related crime. Special attention will be paid to the use of logistic hubs for this type of cross-border crime and, more specifically, how to combat drug trafficking via major ports. The Presidency will also prioritise the importance of victims’ rights and small-scale detention as an alternative to prisons for small groups of offenders with short sentences.

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by Tareq Shaheen

Through open banking, the European Union continues to embrace its interconnected financial ecosystem; connecting, collaborating and sharing customer data instantly.
Yet, the risk of fraud looms larger than ever. Today’s criminals are relentless architects of deception, exploiting every crack in our financial systems at the touch of a button. They threaten to undermine the foundations of the EU’s open banking market, putting its expected 63.8 million users by 2024 at risk [*1]. Open banking simply extends the financial services ecosystem, expanding the attack surface and creating more entry points for fraudsters[*2]. Yes, it offers customers additional payment sources, but it simultaneously offers new opportunities for fraud. From phishing emails to ‘formjacking’ on websites that steal a user’s banking data, consumers lose on average €4,191 for fraudulent credit transfers[*3]. 
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The European Commission decided to refer Ireland (INFR(2018)2319) to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to adopt and to notify the penalties applicable to breaches of the Invasive Alien Species Regulation (Regulation (EU) 1143/2014). Invasive alien species are one of the five major causes of biodiversity loss in Europe and worldwide. They are plants and animals that are introduced accidentally or deliberately as a result of human intervention into a natural environment where they are not normally found. They represent a major threat to native plants and animals in Europe, causing an estimated damage of €12 billion per year to the European economy. Addressing them is an important aspect of the EU’s aim to stop biodiversity loss as articulated in the European Green Deal and the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
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As in other industries, the explosion of generative AI has forced the financial services sector to quickly adapt while riding a wave of regulatory and ethical questions. How will banks, insurers and other financial firms balance the risks and rewards of GenAI and other transformative tech in the year ahead? Experts and execs from SAS anticipate a year of great promise – and potential peril – as generative AI and other technologies reshape financial services. Continue reading…

Ground-breaking new EU rules come into effect today introducing a minimum rate of effective taxation of 15% for multinational companies active in EU Member States. The framework will bring greater fairness and stability to the tax landscape in the EU and globally, while making it more modern and better adapted to today’s globalised, digital world. The entry into force of the minimum effective taxation rules, unanimously agreed by Member States in 2022, formalises the EU’s implementation of the so-called ‘Pillar 2′ rules agreed as part of the global deal on international tax reform in 2021.
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The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published the Global Monitoring Report on Non-Bank Financial Intermediation 2023. The report presents the FSB’s annual monitoring exercise assessing global trends and vulnerabilities in non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI). The report mainly covers developments in 2022, when most economies experienced a rising interest rate environment in response to inflationary pressures. It describes broad trends in financial intermediation across 29 jurisdictions that account for around 85% of global GDP, before narrowing its focus to the subset of NBFI activities that may be more likely to give rise to vulnerabilities. This year’s exercise includes data enhancements on interconnectedness, sources of funding, and vulnerability metrics. Continue reading…

Yesterday, December 27th, the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) has entered into force, providing the EU with the means to deter and respond to economic coercion, and thereby better defend its interests and those of its Member States on the global stage. The ACI is first and foremost designed to act as a deterrent against economic coercion. Where coercion still happens, the tool provides a structure to respond in a well-calibrated way to stop the coercion. It gives the EU a wide range of possible countermeasures when a country refuses to remove the coercion. These include the imposition of tariffs, restrictions on trade in services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, and restrictions on access to foreign direct investment and public procurement. Continue reading…

by Eddie Yue

It is a great pleasure to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ICCHK with the very distinguished audience here today, and the HKMA is very pleased to support today’s (30 November 2023) event. At last year’s ICCHK event, I shared our thoughts on how connecting digital islands can contribute to a more digitally integrated trade finance system, thereby addressing the pain points in trade finance and improving SMEs’ access to financing. Today, I would like to share our thoughts on a more holistic approach to digitising trade and finance in Hong Kong and how we can reaffirm our global leadership through accelerated digitalisation. Continue reading…

by Rasha Abdel Jalil

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping our world, moving beyond its initial harmless applications to power more sinister activities. Its ability to create convincing fake content is enabling criminals to exploit personal information obtained from the vast numbers of internet-connected people for illicit purposes. In response, businesses bolster defences and often rely on Know Your Customer (KYC) as an essential step in fraud prevention. While advances like biometrics and facial recognition have undoubtedly improved identity verification, KYC isn’t foolproof. Criminals are good at finding these weaknesses and slipping past checks. Continue reading…

by Ahsan Habib

Let’s start with talking about greed which is the ethical root cause of corruption. At the root of corruption it has always been the culture of greed which enables accumulating wealth at any cost and without limits. When greed has power, we name it corruption. Corruption is a primary incubator for the global surge in organised crime. And it has a long history. Al Capone who was once one of the most wanted men for the U.S. Treasury, allegedly paid 20 cents of every tainted dollar he earned to ‘pay off’ government officials and greedy politicians. Since then greedy people never had to ‘look back’ and to stop their ‘winning journey’. 
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