A total of 12 individuals wreaking havoc across the world with ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure have been targeted as the result of a law enforcement and judicial operation involving eight countries. These cyber actors represented a dangerous combination of aggressive disruption and high-stake targets. The attacks are believed to have affected over 1800 victims in 71 countries. These cyber actors are known for specifically targeting large corporations, effectively bringing their business to a standstill. The actions took place in the early hours of 26 October in Ukraine and Switzerland. Most of these suspects are considered high-value targets because they are being investigated in multiple high-profile cases in different jurisdictions. Continue reading…

On November 10th, the European Banking Authority (EBA) published its first draft implementing technical standards (ITS) on Pillar 3 disclosure of institutions’ exposures to interest rate risk on positions not held in the trading book (IRRBB). The final draft ITS put forward comparable disclosures that will help stakeholders assess institutions’ IRRBB risk management framework as well as the sensitivity of institutions’ economic value of equity and net interest income to changes in interest rates. The standards will amend the comprehensive ITS on institutions’ public disclosures, in line with the strategic objective of developing a single and comprehensive Pillar 3 package that should facilitate implementation by institutions and further promote market discipline. Continue reading…

With Eurojust’s support, authorities in Germany, Georgia and Israel have dismantled a criminal network operating various online trading platforms, defrauding victims of at least tens of millions of euros. During a series of actions in Georgia and Israel last week, 11 suspects were arrested, and real estate, luxury vehicles, communication equipment and cash were seized, for a yet unknown amount. Investigations into the fraud scheme started in 2015, after complaints from citizens, including German victims, who had lost all their investments via at least 18 different online trading platforms. Continue reading…

Oil and gas group Shell wants to become fully British on paper. The group will present this change to its shareholders. The head office will also be moved to the United Kingdom, where the board- and management meetings will be held, among other things. Shell wants to end the current share structure with two types of shares, among other things. According to Shell, the simplification of the structure should ensure that the company can operate faster and more flexibly. Investors have been complaining for some time about the current format with different shares. No dividend is payable on British shares, while this is necessary for Dutch shares. Shell is known to be in favour of abolishing the dividend tax, like food group Unilever. Continue reading…

The European Central Bank (ECB) has recently published the consolidated banking data with reference to end-June 2021, a dataset of the EU banking system compiled on a group consolidated basis.The quarterly data cover information required for the analysis of the EU banking sector, comprising a subset of the information that is available in the year-end dataset. The end-June 2021 data refer to 327 banking groups and 2,537 stand-alone credit institutions operating in the EU (including foreign subsidiaries and branches), covering nearly 100% of the EU banking sector balance sheet. This dataset includes an extensive range of indicators on profitability and efficiency, balance sheets, liquidity and funding, asset quality, asset encumbrance, capital adequacy and solvency.  Continue reading…

Akin Gump has been named the winner in two categories of the WorldECR Awards 2021: Export Controls – USA and Export Controls/Sanctions – Rest of the World. In the United States, the firm is noted for its impressive innovation in client services, including the development of the Military End Use/Military End User (MEU) Tool, together with Palantir Technologies Inc.—a compliance platform built to support Akin Gump’s clients in MEU review and designation to comply with U.S. government trade restrictions. The MEU tool is also shortlisted for Legal Services Innovation for the 2021 The American Lawyer Industry Awards. Continue reading…

On November 2nd, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a €1 billion pledge at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow as the European Union contribution to the Global Forests Finance Pledge. This 5-year support package from the EU budget will help partner countries to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests worldwide and deliver on the Paris Agreement. President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Forests are the green lungs of the earth. We need to protect and restore them. I gladly announce that we are pledging €1 billion to protect world forests. This is a clear sign of the EU’s commitment to lead global change to protect our planet, in line with our EU Green Deal.” In relation to the Glasgow summit, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte recently made headlines for all the wrong reasons. At the summit, he called for ‘action, action, action’ on climate change, and then a few days later, he made a comment on how the Netherlands was going to continue to invest in fossil energy. He later retracted his comment after receiving backlash from the Dutch people, stating that his words at the summit had little meaning.  Continue reading…

Eurojust has supported the Slovak, Czech and Dutch authorities in halting a criminal network, which traded in illegally converted firearms. During several actions last month, six suspects were arrested in the three countries concerned and approximately 350 arms were seized. Eurojust assisted the authorities in setting up a joint investigation team (JIT) between Slovakia and the Netherlands and provided judicial support during the operations. Europol supported the actions with an Operational Task Force. Continue reading…

François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France and Chairman of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de resolution (ACPR), delivered a speech at the ACPR-AMF Forum FinTech, Paris on 11 October 2021. Note: the following is a written version of the official speech. I am very pleased to welcome you to the Banque de France this morning for this annual ACPR-AMF FinTech Forum – and I would also like to welcome Robert Ophèle, Chairman of the AMF. Mr. Minister, dear Cédric, you have once again given us the pleasure of being present for this second forum. The strong attendance of public officials testifies to our collective commitment to FinTechs, which I am convinced are indispensable to the financial sector, as a driver of creativity, vitality and efficiency. Continue reading…