Successful taking down of criminal network committing high-volume cargo thefts from lorries

20 December 2021

Eurojust has provided rapid support to the Romanian, German and French authorities to dismantle an organised crime group (OCG) involved in large-scale cargo thefts from lorries parked in motorway rest areas in Germany and France. During a joint action day, 34 suspects have been charged, of whom 14 were arrested in Romania and Germany. A total of 57 places were searched in Romania and Germany. Eurojust assisted the authorities with the setting up and funding of a joint investigation team (JIT) and enabled cross-border judicial cooperation and coordination. Continue reading…

The 2021 Global Insurance Market Report

17 December 2021
Knowledge Base

The 2021 Global Insurance Market Report (GIMAR) reports on the outcome of the 2021 Global Monitoring Exercise (GME), the IAIS’ risk assessment framework to monitor key risks and trends and to detect the potential build-up of systemic risk in the global insurance sector. The report also provides an update on the outcome of the Covid-19 targeted assessment based on year-end 2020 data. The GME builds on data collected from approximately 60 of the largest international insurance groups (individual insurer monitoring or IIM) and aggregate sector-wide data from supervisors across the globe (sector-wide monitoring or SWM), covering over 90% of global written premiums. Continue reading…

Klaas Knot about cryptos: Unsuitable as a means of payment, store of value and unit of account

16 December 2021

On 9 December, Klaas Knot spoke at the 13th Conference on Payments and Market Infrastructure, jointly organised by the National Bank of North Macedonia and De Nederlandsche Bank. This year’s conference title was “Payments in the digital era: inside out”. Mr. Knot talked about a few payment trends: the use of cash, the development of cryptos and stablecoins, and the use of big data and AI. For each of these, he highlighted both opportunities and risks. He stressed that “[…] as central bankers and supervisors, we welcome any technological innovation that has the potential to make payments more convenient and accessible for everyone; the potential to contribute to our societies’ welfare; the potential to contribute to a trustworthy and stable financial system. But there is a big sine qua non. For us, as supervisors and central bankers, trust goes hand in hand with rules, regulation and supervision.”
Continue reading…

Economic Crime: From Conception to Response – 3rd Winter Economic Crime Symposium 2022

15 December 2021

The University of Portsmouth has officially set a date for its 3rd Winter Economic Crime Symposium, which will be held online for free on February 3 2022 from 10:00 – 16:00 UK time. Fraud, corruption, bribery, money laundering, price-fixing cartels and intellectual property crimes pursued typically for financial and professional gain, have devastating consequences for the prosperity of economic life. Too often an effective response to economic crime is limited by institutional, disciplinary, and cultural barriers. The 3rd Winter Economic Crime Symposium brings together a diverse body of researchers, practitioners, students, and other community members to discuss how economic criminology can feed an effective response to economic crime.  Continue reading…

Tokenise : A New Revolutionary Stock Exchange

14 December 2021
Knowledge Base

by Michel Klompmaker

Risk & Compliance Platform Europe had the chance to interview Mike Kessler, the Chief Executive Officer, on his new revolutionizing project, the launch of a new stock exchange called Tokenise. Tokenise will be one of the first fully regulated global stock exchanges for security tokens in the world. Tokenise is democratizing ownership by allowing anybody to own and sell a portion of what they love, as well as allowing asset owners and artists to receive formerly untapped revenue. Through Tokenise, for the very first time, people can now participate in fractional ownership or royalties by investing in security tokens on a stock exchange fully regulated in Barbados.

Continue reading…

Elena Pykhova

Elena Pykhova

Elena Pykhova is a thought leader, influencer and founder of a think tank, Best Practice Operational Risk Forum.

Positive Outlook for Risk Practitioners in 2022: Risk Recruitment is on the rise

13 December 2021

The importance of the risk profession has been increasing even pre-pandemic, and the demand for practitioners is on the rise. To quote Bloomberg, ‘risk management is suddenly a hot job’1, with firms looking to employ more resilience and crisis management experts. The regulatory landscape also influenced the hiring drive, with focus on hot topics such as cyber and third-party risk management. A survey conducted by the Best Practice Operational Risk Forum, comprised of risk professionals from over fifty international financial services firms, noted that risk recruitment in fact accelerated during 2021, with 45% of firms increasing the size of their risk teams. 74% remarked that the composition of the team has changed, with more focus on specialist roles.  Continue reading…

FCA reforms decision-making to tackle consumer harm

09 December 2021

The FCA has reformed its decision-making process to ensure it can make faster and more effective decisions for consumers, markets and firms. As part of its transformation to a more innovative and assertive regulator, more decisions will be taken by the FCA’s senior managers rather than by the Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC). The new process will ensure decisions to prevent or stop consumer harm are taken more quickly.  Continue reading…

The U.S. Releases its First-Ever Strategy on Countering Corruption

08 December 2021
Knowledge Base

Corruption is a cancer within the body of societies—a disease that eats at public trust and the ability of governments to deliver for their citizens. The deleterious effects of corruption impact nearly all aspects of society. It exacerbates social, political, and economic inequality and polarisation; impedes the ability of states to respond to public health crises or to deliver quality education; degrades the business environment and economic opportunity; drives conflict; and undermines faith in government. Those that abuse positions of power for private gain steal not just material wealth, but human dignity and welfare. Recognising corruption’s ability to corrode democracy, on June 3, 2021, President Biden established the fight against corruption as a core U.S. national security interest. Continue reading…

Global Gateway: The EU’s strategy to boost sustainable links around the world

07 December 2021

European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy have recently launched the Global Gateway, the new European Strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport and strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. It stands for sustainable and trusted connections that work for people and the planet, to tackle the most pressing global challenges, from climate change and protecting the environment, to improving health security and boosting competitiveness and global supply chains. Continue reading…