The stark rise in the production of synthetic drugs such as (meth-)amphetamines poses increasing challenges for prosecutors across Europe. By rapidly changing the composition of chemicals used for these drugs – as, for instance, red phosphorus, MAPA and APAA – or creating new substances, producers try to exploit legal gaps and avoid prosecution. Also, due to legal uncertainties, it is often difficult to prove suppliers are deliberately selling illegal drugs or substances. Furthermore, the sale of synthetic drugs via online marketplaces, particularly on the darknet, is an obstacle for prosecutions and seriously harms public health. These are some of the main conclusions of the new Eurojust Report on Drug Trafficking. Illicit drug trafficking across the EU is generally growing strongly, with an estimated value of at least EUR 30 billion. The report gives further recommendations to increase financial investigations, asset recovery and judicial cooperation, including with third countries. Continue reading…

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, recently published a call for evidence on digital finance. The call for evidence aims to gather relevant information on particular issues including value chains, platforms and groups’ provision of financial and non-financial services. The feedback will contribute to ESMA’s technical advice to the European Commission. Digital transformation and the application of innovative technologies in the EU financial sector bring a host of opportunities, including better financial services to a wider range of businesses and investors, possibly at a lower cost.
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by Frank Staelens

Although the global amount spent on combating financial crime went above $1,3 billion, 2020 saw a record number of enforcement actions in numerous global jurisdictions. Furthermore, estimates suggest between $800 billion and $2 trillion of criminal money flows went through the financial system in 2020, while an overwhelming majority of it remained undetected. In other words, the Financial Crime combat status at the average financial institution today is too high in spending, and too low on results. Although regulators around the world always allowed for financial institutions to design their own risk based approach, review procedures are often copied from one institution to another and/or are standardised by using fixed checklists and risk weights. For instance, the risk weight for involvement with real estate activities is usually the same for all clients, while the specifics around the nature of the real estate activities (professional/private person, renting/promotion/project development, number of transactions and amounts concerned, the regions of activity, risk mitigating factors …) are best taken into account to avoid either over- or under qualification of risks. 
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The Financial Stability Board (FSB) Regional Consultative Group (RCG) for Europe held a virtual meeting recently to discuss global and regional macroeconomic and financial market developments, and their potential impact on European economies. The group exchanged views on financial stability issues during the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, including potential threats to regional financial stability arising from the pandemic. Members also discussed authorities’ considerations in exiting from temporary public support measures, when conditions allow. Continue reading…

The uneven economic impact of the pandemic means that financial stability risks are concentrated in specific sectors and countries, often with higher pre-existing vulnerabilities, concludes the May 2021 Financial Stability Review (FSR) of the European Central Bank (ECB). “As the euro area emerges from the third wave of the pandemic, risks to financial stability remain elevated and have become more unevenly distributed. A higher corporate debt burden in countries with larger services sectors could increase pressure on governments and banks in these countries,” said Luis de Guindos, Vice-President of the ECB. “Extensive policy support, particularly for corporates, could gradually move from being broad-based to more targeted,” he added. Continue reading…

Five members of a Slovak organised crime group (OCG) have been sentenced in the United Kingdom for up to eight years in prison for the exploitation of fellow nationals in a case of modern slavery and money laundering. Between 2008 and 2017, the victims were forced to work under appalling circumstances in British restaurant kitchens and car wash facilities, receiving only approximately EUR 25 for working weeks of up to 80 hours a week. In 2019, Eurojust organised and supported coordinated actions of the UK and Slovak authorities that led to the arrest of the five perpetrators. Continue reading…

Eurojust has supported an operation against large-scale VAT fraud, money laundering and forgery of documents, which have cost the Spanish tax authorities EUR 26 million in missed revenues. In record time, the Agency coordinated the judicial cooperation with Slovakia, Belgium and the Netherlands to halt the fraud scheme. The scammers had set up a series of fake companies to avoid paying VAT within the internal market. During an action day, 22 suspects were arrested and 24 places were searched. A total of 13 properties and 16 vehicles were seized, and tens of bank accounts were frozen. Continue reading…

Nikhil Rathi, CEO to Association of Foreign Banks recently delivered a speech at the Association of Foreign Banks – CEO Programme 2021 – on 6 May 2021. Given the events of the last couple of years, it’s no surprise that so many of the financial services industry’s events at the moment have ‘post’ in the title. We may have finally gone from ‘post-financial crisis’ to ‘post-Brexit’ and, hopefully very soon, ‘post-Covid’. But of course, the really interesting question for regulators and for industry is always what comes next, and how we can shape that and prepare ourselves for it. I’m looking forward to discussing some of the most significant issues and how we’re approaching them. Of course, at this stage, I can’t promise you with certainty as to how these issues will be resolved – but we want to be as open and clear as possible in explaining our perspective, our approach, and the outcomes that we are working towards. Continue reading…

by Michal Pleticha

Whistleblowing is back in the spotlight, ready to ignite heated debates later this year. Why? The 17th of December 2021 marks the expiration of the transposition period of the EU Whistleblower Directive1. To put it simply, every EU Member State should have the effective law on the protection of whistleblowers by the end of this year, which means that the internal compliance systems of many public and private entities is about to change. Let’s have a closer look at the preparations in two EU countries, Germany and the Czech Republic who share the similar model of whistleblower protection: partial and fragmented. Continue reading…

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has recently published the findings of its first EU-wide pilot exercise on climate risk, whose main objective is to map banks’ exposures to climate risk and provide an insight into the green estimation efforts banks have carried out so far. The findings give a clear picture of banks’ data gaps and highlight the sense of urgency to remedy them if they are to achieve a meaningful and smooth transition to a low-carbon economy. It is only through a more harmonised approach and common metrics that banks’ efforts will prove meaningful in addressing and mitigating the potentially disruptive impacts of environmental risks. The findings also show big differences in banks’ application of the EU taxonomy. A first estimate of the starting point of their green asset ratio (GAR) estimated with a top-down tool currently stands at 7.9%. Continue reading…