The EU will come forward with a proposal in the WTO focusing on:

clarifying and facilitating the use of compulsory licences in crisis times like this pandemic;
supporting the expansion of production;
trade facilitation and limiting export restrictions.

All G20 members also acknowledged the need to address the funding gap of the ACT-Accelerator, a global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines, and launched by the WHO, the European Commission, France and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. And agreed to extend its mandate to the end of 2022.
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The FCA has recently set out plans for a new Consumer Duty, which will set a higher level of consumer protection in retail financial markets for firms to adhere to. Firms are already bound by FCA rules and principles to treat customers fairly and many firms are delivering the right outcomes for consumers, including good products and services at fair prices, supported by high standards of customer service and clear communications. The FCA has seen evidence of practices that cause consumer harm, including firms providing information which is misleadingly presented or difficult for consumers to understand, hindering their ability to properly assess the product/service. This may provide some insight into why 1 in 4 respondents to the FCA’s 2020 Financial Lives Survey said they lack confidence in the financial services industry and only 35% of respondents agreed that firms are honest and transparent in their dealings with them. Continue reading…

The European Commission recently adopted the EU Action Plan: “Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil” – a key deliverable of the European Green Deal and the main topic of this year’s EU Green Week. It sets out an integrated vision for 2050: a world where pollution is reduced to levels that are no longer harmful to human health and natural ecosystems, as well as the steps to get there. The plan ties together all relevant EU policies to tackle and prevent pollution, with a special emphasis on how to use digital solutions to tackle pollution. Reviews of relevant EU legislation are foreseen to identify remaining gaps in EU legislation and where better implementation is necessary to meet these legal obligations. Continue reading…

Decades of self-regulation and rapid expansion has led the sport sector to lag behind other industries in corporate governance and policy implementation, as demonstrated by the consistent media exposure documenting scandals at football clubs, and at National and International Sport Federations. On Wednesday April 28th 2021, the Economic Crime Series: Governance and Ownership Issues in Football was held online. The event was organised and chaired by Prof. Lisa Jack who welcomed two speakers, Dr. Rob Wilson and Mrs. Christina Philippou. The Risk & Compliance Platform Europe also took part in this webinar and has subsequently covered it on its website. Continue reading…

For the vast majority of organisations, both corporate and government agencies, compliance requirements are a painfully complex and expensive area to manage. And the challenge is only getting greater. Virtually every sector faces an ever-growing and ever-changing number of regulations with which they need to comply. Every organisation also faces the risks of failing to comply with its own internal corporate policies and controls, spanning multiple financial and operational systems. We know that businesses and government entities alike struggle to manage compliance requirements. Many have put up with challenges for so long—often with limited resources—that they no longer see how problematic the situation has become. The good news is that there is a solution to a big part of the problem. There are practical things that you can do to transform your compliance processes, so they become far more efficient, and far less expensive and cumbersome to maintain. It’s all about optimising the interactions of people, processes, and technology around regulatory compliance requirements across the organisation.

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At the request of the German authorities, Eurojust and Europol have assisted in bringing four different online investment scams to a halt, which defrauded thousands of victims for an estimated amount of approximately EUR 30 million. During a joint action day, six suspects have been arrested for organising a fake trading scheme in high-risk options and cryptocurrencies, using manipulated software to project victims’ alleged capital gains. The operation was rolled out on the ground in Bulgaria, Poland, Sweden, Latvia, Spain, North Macedonia and Israel. Continue reading…

The private sector working group on euro risk-free rates has recently published its recommendations addressing events that would trigger fallbacks in EURIBOR-related contracts, as well as €STR-based EURIBOR fallback rates (rates that could be used if a fallback is triggered). While there is currently no plan to discontinue EURIBOR, the development of more robust fallback language addresses the risk of a potential permanent discontinuation and is in line with the EU Benchmarks Regulation (BMR). The valuable feedback from the two market-wide consultations on the draft recommendations has been taken into account in the final recommendations. Continue reading…

In a new major operation against international drug trafficking and money laundering, Eurojust and Europol have supported the competent Italian and German authorities with the arrest of 31 suspects in both countries, alleged to be part of the ‘Ndrangheta mafia’, operating in different regions of Italy and abroad. Further to this, in the context of a joint investigation team (JIT) between Italy and Germany, 65 other suspects have been identified and their places were searched during a large-scale action, for which around 800 police officers and tax officials were deployed in both countries. Continue reading…

The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently published three regulatory instruments to address de-risking practices based on evidence gathered in its call for input. The instruments clarify that compliance with anti-money and countering terrorist financing (AML/CTF) obligations in EU law does not require financial institutions to refuse, or terminate, business relationships with entire categories of customers that they consider to present a higher ML/TF risk. In these documents the EBA also set out steps that financial institutions and competent authorities should take to manage risks associated with individual business relationships in an effective manner. Continue reading…

by Alex Movchan

2020 was a year full of unexpected and unknown, when countries and businesses had to deal with new risks and adjust their business strategies and operations to be successful in the new environment. But while leaders around the world were trying to find ways to keep businesses profitable and prevent people from losing their jobs, corrupt government officials and fraudsters were actively exploring new vulnerabilities and using those for their personal, illegal gain. In these circumstances, the work of risk management and fraud prevention professionals to secure their organisations became even more important than ever before. Continue reading…