All articles by Neil Hodge
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News Brief
AMLA: What difference will the agency make in the EU’s fight against moneylaundering?
Europe’s massive financial sector has become a magnet for illicit money flowing through its banks and markets. A new EU agency will be taking the problem head-on to fight against money laundering.
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Shadow AI: Another element of TPRM
Companies may face significant financial and legal risks if they fail to vet suppliers and third parties over their use of unauthorized AI and how the technology may use and share their corporate data.
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Tough reporting rules makes compliance key issue for chemicals industries
Wide-ranging and overlapping regulations across multiple jurisdictions present potentially massive compliance headaches for companies working in the chemicals industry, especially as regulators increasingly focus on environmental reporting linked to the lifecycle of some products.
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Employee faith in whistleblowing programs wanes when companies act selectively
Whistleblowing hotlines are rightly championed as valuable tools for employees and even third parties to raise concerns about corporate conduct. But it seems some complaints may be acted upon more keenly than others, particularly if blame can be pinned to one individual and any potential fallout can be ring-fenced.
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U.K. enforcement appetite over off-channel comms grows as U.S. wanes
The U.K’.s financial regulator has given a strong indication that financial firms’ use of unauthorized devices and apps is under scrutiny and that policies around off-channel communications need to be tightened up.
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Geopolitical risks among compliance concerns for metals, mining companies
Companies working in the metals and mining sectors face increased compliance checks due to efforts to clamp down on abuses in the supply chain, while “volatile” geopolitical changes make sourcing and transporting raw materials more difficult and expensive.
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U.K. to introduce mandatory ransomware reporting, raising risk of ‘box-ticking’ compliance
The U.K. will require companies to report ransomware payments, but experts warn this could lead to “box-tick” compliance rather than real cyber-resiliency, since it’s cheaper.
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EU targets crypto, fintech firms in push to tackle money laundering
Europe’s banking regulator warns that weak compliance at fintech, regtech, and crypto firms may let money laundering and terrorist financing risks slip through. The EBA also found EU regulators’ approaches are often inconsistent and unclear.
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Employees may fail to report fraud unless U.K. whistleblower protection is beefed up
In September, the U.K. will enforce its third “failure to prevent” offense under sweeping anti-corporate crime laws, but experts question whether it will actually change corporate behavior or embolden whistleblowers.
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U.K. proposes streamlining regime meant to hold fin serve executives to account
When growth slows, governments often cut rules to attract investment, as the U.K. has in its financial services sector, which contributes 8.8% of GDP, but easing the “compliance burden” raises concerns about oversight, governance, and prioritizing profits over safety.
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U.K. regulator urges auditors to explain AI use in audits
Plans to push audit firms to disclose how they use AI in audits have been broadly welcomed, but concerns remain over how corporate data is used, secured, retained, and potentially exposed.
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10 tips to comply with the U.K.’s new data law
Changes to the U.K.’s privacy regime will immediately affect how companies handle AI-driven decisions, cookie usage, and responses to data subject requests. As a result, experts are warning compliance teams to ensure their organizations take the legislation seriously and make plans to review data governance.
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U.K. hopes to create ‘third way’ in AI regulation between EU and U.S.
The U.K.’s data regulator has unveiled a new enforcement approach to AI development and usage that experts say seeks to carve a middle way between the strict rules applied by the European Union (EU) and the pro-industry, light-touch regime favored by the U.S.
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U.S. tariffs and compliance: what U.K. and EU companies need to consider
Tariff risk has probably rarely featured on many companies’ risk registers in recent years, but it now likely sits high on the agenda because of President Donald Trump’s tariff focus.
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FCA drops ‘naming and shaming’ approach – except in ‘exceptional circumstances’
The UK’s financial regulator has had a rough ride over the past couple of years as its strategy to “name and shame” firms it opened investigations into was widely slammed by the industry and lawmakers over concerns that companies could be unfairly maligned.
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Crypto firms brace for tighter UK oversight as FCA plots integration with financial markets
Trying to put rules in place to oversee an industry that has grown largely outside of regulation is not without serious challenges. But the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) latest consultation aims to attract industry views about how some key aspects of crypto trading should be regulated ahead of planned ...
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Seven years in, GDPR faces growing challenges from AI and ‘consent or pay’ models
Europe’s pioneering data protection legislation turned seven years old in May, but the compliance and enforcement difficulties that have dogged the rules since they came into force look set to present both companies and data regulators with fresh headaches for some time to come.
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What is AI washing and why companies need to stop exaggerating their AI prowess
The buzz around generative AI has reached fever pitch over the past few years—to such an extent that it’s practically a death knell for any company to say it’s not investing massively in gen AI to transform their business. There’s only one problem: many companies are either being misleading or ...
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UK regulator’s efforts to coax self-reporting fraud could fall flat, experts warn
To both clean up corporate behaviour and rack up its own enforcement record, the UK’s anti-bribery agency has seemingly largely guaranteed companies a pass from prosecution if they spill the beans on their misconduct. There’s only one problem: experts believe businesses may still stand a better outcome if they front ...
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Delayed UK antitrust case underscores compliance, reputational risks
Antitrust infringement cases in the United Kingdom can run on for years, but there’s a question whether issuing fines that are dwarfed by the revenues of those organisations involved is a worthy deterrent—particularly if they are imposed over a decade after the misconduct ended. It’s also debatable whether the first ...