The European Banking Authority (EBA) has recently issued new Guidelines on the so-called ‘travel rule’, i.e. the information that should accompany transfers of funds and certain crypto assets. This rule will help tackle the abuse of  such transfers for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes. The Guidelines specify which information should accompany a transfer of funds or crypto assets and also list the steps that payment service providers (PSPs), intermediary PSPs (IPSPs), crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) and intermediary CASPs (ICASPs) should take to detect missing or incomplete information, and what they should do if a transfer of funds or a transfer of crypto-assets lacks the required information. Continue reading…

The FCA, working with the Metropolitan Police Service, has conducted an operation to arrest two individuals, aged 38 and 44, suspected of running an illegal cryptoasset exchange. More than £1 billion of unregistered cryptoassets are believed to have been bought and sold through this business. The FCA inspected the offices associated with the suspects and the police seized several digital devices during searches of two residential London properties.

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by Craig Ramsey

The entire EU financial system is on countdown. By January 9th 2025, it will be a legal requirement for the region’s payment service providers to receive real-time credit transfers in Euros thanks to the new Instant Payments Regulation. Time is ticking and there are countless challenges to overcome. But the single biggest issue of all is consumer protection from fraud. To explain, a real-time payment is a credit transfer that makes funds available in a payee’s account within ten seconds of a payment order being made. Once received, it’s irreversible and the money can be withdrawn immediately. Continue reading…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has brought charges against nine individuals in relation to an unauthorised foreign exchange trading scheme promoted on social media. Emmanuel Nwanze has been charged with running an unauthorised investment scheme and issuing unauthorised financial promotions. The FCA alleges that, between 19 May 2018 and 13 April 2021, Mr Nwanze and Holly Thompson used an Instagram account (@holly_fxtrends) to provide advice on buying and selling contracts for difference (CFDs) when they were not authorised to do so. CFDs are a high-risk investment product used to bet on the price of an asset, in this case the price of foreign currencies. The FCA also alleges that Mr Nwanze paid Biggs Chris, Jamie Clayton, Lauren Goodger, Rebecca Gormley, Yazmin Oukhellou, Scott Timlin and Eva Zapico to promote the @holly_fxtrends Instagram account to their millions of Instagram followers. Ms Thompson, Mr Chris, Mr Clayton, Ms Goodger, Ms Gormley, Ms Oukhellou, Mr Timlin and Ms Zapico each face one count of issuing unauthorised communications of financial promotions. Continue reading…

Eastnets, a global provider of compliance and payment solutions for the financial services sector, has appointed four expert, Independent Board Directors to deepen industry impact and expand global reach. Together with the existing team, the enhanced Board will strengthen Eastnets’ company leadership, further its commitment to high standards of corporate governance, and bring new perspectives to decision-making. Continue reading…

For the first time, Eurojust has supported an international joint action led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) against large-scale cross-border carousel VAT fraud involving companies in several Member States. The joint operation, also supported by Europol, resulted in the arrest of 14 suspects and more than 180 simultaneous searches in 17 countries. Over 680 officers participated in the actions on the ground.

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On 15 February, Mr Mohammed Zina was found guilty of six offences of insider dealing and three offences of fraud following a 12-week trial at Southwark Crown Court brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Between 2014 and December 2017, Mohammed Zina worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs International. Through his role in the Conflicts Resolution Group, which he joined in 2016, he came into possession of inside information relating to potential mergers and acquisitions that his employer was advising on. 

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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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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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