Eurojust and Europol have supported the competent authorities in Italy, Germany and Austria in a new operation against the ‘Ndrangheta criminal organisation. Among other crimes, the suspects were allegedly involved in the manipulation of elections in Italy. During a joint action day on 27 June, 34 suspects were arrested and nine were subjected to non-custodial measures. Over 1 000 officers participated in the actions on the ground. The investigation determined that the suspects had engaged in a wide variety of crimes, including the corruption of local politicians and the manipulation of elections, installing associates in crucial administrative positions, colluding in the exploitation of public procurement tender procedures, murder, violence, extortion, fraud, money laundering, illicit waste trafficking and criminal conspiracy with other criminal organisations.

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The BIS Innovation Hub’s Nordic Centre has successfully concluded Project Aurora, a proof of concept that explores new ways of combating money laundering with a combination of payments data, privacy-enhancing technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and enhanced cooperation across institutions and borders. According to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), almost all large money laundering schemes are cross-border and involve different business sectors. Meanwhile, financial institutions often face limitations in detecting potential suspicious networks and transactions due to their reliance on fragmented data and systems. Continue reading…

A few weeks ago, the Commission adopted a Recommendation on how to combat commercial scale online piracy of sports and other live events, such as concerts and theatre performances. It encourages Member States, national authorities, holders of rights and providers of intermediary services to take effective, balanced and appropriate measures to fight unauthorised retransmissions of such streamings, in full compliance with fundamental rights and personal data protection rules. By stepping up the fight against online piracy, the Recommendation will contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the EU sport and creative industries.
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Eurojust has supported the authorities in the Netherlands and Finland with a coordinated operation against dividend fraud and tax evasion. During an action day, two suspects were arrested in the Netherlands and Finland, who are allegedly involved in so-called ‘Cum-Cum’ and ‘Cum-Ex’ fraud. Eurojust assisted with organising the action day and helped set up a joint investigation team (JIT) between Finland, the Netherlands and Germany. Continue reading…

The European Commission has updated the list of high-risk third-country jurisdictions presenting strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes. Two third-country jurisdictions were added to it: Nigeria and South Africa, while two other jurisdictions were delisted: Cambodia and Morocco. This list takes into account the information from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the changes decided at the last FATF Plenary of February 2023 in the list of ‘Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring’ (‘grey list’). Considering the level of financial systems’ integration, the Single Market would be exposed to serious risks of money laundering and terrorist financing if the EU were not to consider adding jurisdictions identified by the FATF to the EU list. Continue reading…

by Nigel Cannings

The number of fines issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) more than doubled in 2022. From the breach of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules, and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, to problems with operating guidelines, individuals and businesses within the UK paid out more than £215 million in fines last year. Regulations have become more stringent. Compliance is much more closely monitored, leaving businesses struggling not only to adhere to the regulations but to demonstrate that they have done so and one of the most effective solutions has taken the form of voice tech.  Continue reading…

Transparency International has sent an open letter to European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness calling for support for proposals from the European Parliament regarding transparency of ultimate beneficial owners (UBO) in the 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directive. McGuinness is European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and the Capital Markets Union, and has done pioneering work in combating financial crime. The letter was signed by 200 representatives from academia, civil society and media organisations active in 67 countries. 

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Judicial and law enforcement authorities in Germany, Estonia and Latvia have carried out a coordinated action against an organised crime group suspected of defrauding thousands of German companies. During a joint action day in all three countries, three suspects were arrested and 17 places searched. Investigators seized cash, illegal drugs and additional pieces of evidence. Moreover, over 300 bank accounts were frozen.

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by Donald van Deventer

Are we on the brink of a new banking crisis? In March 2023, California’s Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. Rising interest rates had made refinancing existing loans expensive and difficult. Although the US government intervened to avert a widespread banking crisis,  the financial services industry cannot ignore the alarming signs.  Asset liability management must be central in months ahead.

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Genesis Market has been taken down in an operation involving judicial and law enforcement authorities in the United States, nine European Union countries, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Genesis Market was a criminal marketplace accessible on the dark web and clear web that sold packages of account access credentials – including usernames and passwords for email, bank accounts, and social media. The credentials had been stolen from malware-infected computers around the world and were subsequently used by cybercriminals to commit cyber-enabled fraud. In a coordinated action supported by Eurojust and Europol, the infrastructure and operations of Genesis Market were dismantled and law enforcement in 13 countries conducted more than 100 arrests and more than 200 searches of Genesis Market customers who had purchased stolen access credentials.

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