The U.K.’s sanctions office has imposed its largest penalty for circumventing Russian sanctions since the war in Ukraine began in 2022.
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Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Merrill Lynch to pay $7.5M for failure to file Suspicious Activity Reports
Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch brokerage unit has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle SEC charges that it failed to file numerous Suspicious Activity Reports between April 2020 and September 2024 due to gaps in its transaction monitoring threshold.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
U.K. regulator forces third FS firm to pay $42M for financial crime failures related to wealth management company collapse
The U.K. banking regulator has censured asset servicing bank CACEIS UK for failing to operate adequate financial crime controls. The bank agreed to pay $41.9 million in compensation to clients.
Posted inESG/Social Responsibility
EU extends proposals to apply carbon border pricing to downstream products
EU member states have agreed to extend measures to price the carbon emissions of goods imported into the Eurozone to include a wide range of end-products made from steel, aluminum and iron. The current CBAM came into force on Jan. 1 this year and currently applies mainly to high-emission raw materials.
Posted inCryptocurrency and Digital Assets
Experts weigh up challenges for firms, FCA under U.K. plan to regulate crypto
The U.K. has set itself a path to regulate crypto from the end of next year that is different to the rest of Europe. While the EU has created sector-specific rules for the industry under the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, the U.K. will instead make crypto firms subject to the same rules as every other financial services provider.
Posted inSurveys & Benchmarking
Does the compliance function influence business strategy in your organization? Two in every three compliance officers say yes.
Two of every three respondents to the Inside the Mind of the CCO survey reported that the compliance function influences business strategy within their organization.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Hedge fund founder faces five years in prison for extensive market spoofing scheme
A California day trader and founder of a hedge fund faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to manipulating stock prices through buy and sell “spoofing” schemes.
Posted inESG/Social Responsibility
EU Council targets greenwashing with new categories of sustainable investment
The Council of the EU has recommended updates to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation to combat greenwashing and make it easier for investors to compare products.
Posted inPharmaceuticals
Former biopharm director heads to prison for insider trading ahead of Novartis purchase
A former director of biopharmaceutical company, Chinook Therapeutics, has been sentenced to prison for insider trading related to the company’s $3.2 billion sale to Novartis in 2023, a fraud detected through data analysis by the SEC.
Posted inWhistleblowers
Why do whistleblower programs fail? Experts give their views
Compliance professionals recognize the importance of whistleblowing and the positive impact it can have on corporate governance and maintaining ethical business practices. But they are also aware that in many organizations, speak-up mechanisms do not work effectively, are sidelined, or are simply distrusted.
