The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, travelled to Kyiv last week, accompanied by 15 Commissioners, for the first ever meeting between the College and the Ukrainian Government. The meeting takes place back to back with the EU-Ukraine summit, the first since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the granting of candidate status. The meeting between the College and the government of Ukraine sends a strong signal of the EU’s unwavering commitment to stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes, including with a new €450 million assistance package for 2023 announced by President von der Leyen. This brings the total support made available so far to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s war from the EU, its Member States and European financial institutions to around €50 billion. In addition to this, the Commission is working towards a €1 billion contribution to fast recovery. Continue reading…

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has recently published an Opinion on the draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). In this Opinion, addressed to the European Commission, the EBA acknowledges that, overall, the draft ESRS are consistent with international standards and any other relevant EU Regulation. In addition, the EBA very much welcomes the level of alignment with the Pillar 3 disclosure requirements reached at this stage. The EBA also highlights a few aspects that should deserve further consideration by the European Commission. Continue reading…

Are you ready to protect your company and employees from misconduct? Look no further than the Dutch Whistleblower Protection Act! Formerly known as the Wet Huis voor Klokkenluiders, this powerful legislation was established in 2016 to ensure that those who report abuses and wrongdoing in good faith will not be disadvantaged in their careers. Despite delays in implementation, progress is being made and the Netherlands is finally taking steps to fully transpose the EU Whistleblowing Directive into Dutch law. Don’t miss this opportunity to stay informed and prepare your internal processes and tools. Continue reading…

Supported by Eurojust, judicial and law enforcement authorities in Romania and the Republic of Moldova have taken coordinated action against border officials who allegedly demanded and accepted bribery to facilitate the illegal passage of vehicles transporting passengers or parcels. During an action day, eight suspects were detained and 45 locations were searched across Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Eurojust provided assistance to the Romanian and Moldovan judicial authorities in setting up and funding a joint investigation team (JIT).

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Former swimming star Reggie de Jong, after her swimming career, was the victim of an international conspiracy by large industrialists who, together with certain financial institutions, defended themselves against Ms De Jong after she uncovered shady dealings. She clung to this case as a victim, as a close friend of another now deceased victim, also fighting against corruption. Legal proceedings are still ongoing, but Reggie de Jong nevertheless agreed to speak to us briefly, literally at a high level, on the 21st floor of EY in Amsterdam, during the Behavioral Risk Congress 2022. Continue reading…

The Commission has disbursed a first instalment of €3 billion of the up to €18 billion Macro-financial Assistance+ (MFA+) package for Ukraine. This follows the swift adoption and entry into force of the MFA+ Regulation mid-December 2022, less than two months following the request from the European Council meeting on 20-21 October 2022. What is the MFA+ package and how does it work? With the stable, regular and predictable financial support of up to €18 billion for 2023 under this instrument, Ukraine will be able to keep on paying wages and pensions and maintain essential public services running, such as hospitals, schools, and housing for relocated people. It will also allow Ukraine to ensure macroeconomic stability and restore critical infrastructure destroyed by Russia in its war of aggression, such as energy infrastructure, water systems, transport networks, roads and bridges. Continue reading…

Mr. Denis Beau, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, made an introductory statement at the European and American Chamber of Commerce event, New York City. Digitalisation is far from being new in the financial sector, but tokenisation based on DLTs may be a new turn. In my initial remarks I would like to explain why, at the Banque de France and the ACPR, from the standpoint of our financial stability mandate, we have a strong interest in the development of tokenised finance, and how it impacts the policy tools we use to fulfil our mandate. Continue reading…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Al Rayan Bank PLC (Al Rayan) £4,023,600 for failing to put in place adequate anti-money laundering (AML) controls. Between 1 April 2015 and 30 November 2017, Al Rayan allowed money to pass through the bank and be used within the UK without carrying out appropriate checks. The firm failed to adequately check its customers’ Source of Wealth and Source of Funds when it was required to make sure the money was not connected to financial crime.  The failings were made worse by the lack of proper training provided to staff about how to handle large deposits, which further heightened the risk of money laundering and financial crime.  Al Rayan was aware of these weaknesses and failed to implement effective changes to fix them, despite the FCA raising concerns about the inadequacies of their systems.   Continue reading…

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) published its 2023-2024 Roadmap. The Roadmap outlines the IAIS’ work programme for the next two years and is guided by the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan. “In the 2023-2024 period, the IAIS will prioritise efforts on key multi-year projects while also responding to the many global issues and trends facing the insurance sector,” said IAIS Executive Committee Chair, Vicky Saporta. Continue reading…

With the active support of Eurojust and Europol, a coordinated action has led to the dismantling of a cryptocurrency fraud network operating from Bulgaria, Cyprus and Serbia. The network operated professionally to set up call centres, which defrauded numerous victims in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia and Canada for at least tens of millions of euros. Four call centres and 18 places were searched, and over 250 workplaces were identified in Serbia, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Germany. Fourteen persons were arrested in Serbia and one in Germany. Overall, more than 250 persons were interviewed and over 150 computers, various electronic equipment and data back-ups, three cars, two luxury apartments and one million US dollars in cryptocurrencies and 50 000 EUR in cash were seized.  Continue reading…