Italian authorities have disrupted a sophisticated operation that was illegally exporting precious archaeological artefacts belonging to the Italian state. The criminal group worked with expert grave robbers and thieves to excavate numerous objects. Following a complex investigation lasting over several years, Italian authorities, supported by Eurojust, dismantled the organisation and arrested four suspects.

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For 22 years, an MoU (memorandum of understanding) between KLM and the Dutch State shielded KLM from criminal prosecution for transporting passengers without proper travel documentation. Meanwhile, other airlines were held criminally liable numerous times.

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The FCA has fined Arian Financial LLP (Arian) £288,962.53 for failing to ensure it had effective systems and controls against financial crime. Arian’s failure to implement adequate systems and controls against financial crime put it at risk of being used to support fraudulent trading and money laundering on behalf of clients of the Solo Group. This is the seventh case brought by the FCA in relation to cum-ex trading and withholding tax schemes. This has involved proactive engagement with EU and global law enforcement authorities. The FCA has imposed fines of more than £22m in relation to this trading. Continue reading…

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has on 9 January published its final Guidelines on the management of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risks. The Guidelines set out requirements for institutions for the identification, measurement, management and monitoring of ESG risks, including through plans aimed at ensuring their resilience in the short, medium and long term. Continue reading…

Quantum computing stocks have taken a notable hit following Nvidia CEO’s recent comment that “very useful quantum computers” are twenty years away from fruition. The following commentary from the co-CEOs of Pasqal, a global leader in the quantum computing space, Georges-Olivier Reymond and Loic Henriet, explains why a 20-year timeline is inaccurate, provides a more realistic estimate, and notes the current impact quantum computing is having today. Continue reading…

The Commission welcomes the Council’s adoption of the 15th sanctions package against Russia. The focus of this package is to keep cracking down on Russia’s shadow fleet, as well as combating sanctions’ circumvention. It also includes substantial individual and entity listings related to the Russian military-industrial complex and increases the legal protection of EU Central Securities Depositories (EU CSDs). With this package, the EU has, for the first time, imposed ‘fully-fledged’ sanctions (travel ban, asset freeze and prohibition to make economic resources available) on various Chinese actors. Continue reading…

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has recently published a consultation report on leverage in non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI). The proposed policy recommendations are addressed to FSB member authorities and SSBs. They aim to enhance the ability of authorities and market participants to monitor vulnerabilities from NBFI leverage, contain NBFI leverage where it may create risks to financial stability, and mitigate the impact of these risks. The recommendations build on the 2023 FSB report on The Financial Stability Implications of Leverage in Non-Bank Financial Intermediation, which found that NBFI leverage played a significant role in recent episodes of market stress. Continue reading…

At its Annual General Meeting recently, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) adopted the global Insurance Capital Standard (ICS). Additionally, members endorsed substantial updates to the IAIS Insurance Core Principles (ICPs) and Common Framework for the supervision of internationally active insurance groups (ComFrame). This significant milestone marks a major advancement in insurance supervision – enhancing financial stability and building a more resilient global insurance sector to better serve and protect policyholders around the world. Continue reading…

The European Central Bank (ECB) has on 19 December published the results of the latest study on the payment attitudes of consumers in the euro area (SPACE). Despite the trend towards digital payments, the number of cash payments remains significant in 2024, especially for small-value and person-to-person payments. In terms of number of payments, cash is used at the point of sale in 52% of transactions, down from 59% in 2022. In terms of value, cards are the most dominant payment instrument (with a share of 45%, down from 46%), followed by cash (39%, down from 42%) and mobile apps (7%, up from 4%). Continue reading…