All articles by Aarti Maharaj – Page 5
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Blog
Google’s Antitrust Investigation Continues
Image: The European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager confirmed that the watchdog is continuing its investigation into Google for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive behavior. In an interview with BBC, Vestager said that more probes are ongoing into the tech giant’s role in mapping, travel, flight, and third-party data. Details inside.
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Blog
SFO Loses Corruption Trial Against Three
Three men charged with bribery offenses by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office were acquitted last week, after the jury was unable to reach a verdict on one count against the third defendant and was discharged. The SFO had charged the trio, former employees of Swift Technical Solutions, for paying bribes to ...
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Blog
Italian Lawmakers Toughen Anti-Corruption Law
Italy is taking a stance on fighting corruption after the Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved a “contested” regulation, stiffening penalties for balance sheet fraud and graft and other corruption behavior, says a recent report. According to Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index, Italy ranked 69th on the list, which scores ...
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Blog
FCA Fines Compliance Officer £200,000 in ‘Death Bonds’ Case
Image: Title: FordStewart Ford, CEO of now-defunct investment firm Keydata, has been hit with a record £75 million fine by the Financial Conduct Authority—one of the largest fines ever levied on an individual by the FCA. The British regulator also fined the firm’s sales director £4 million and its compliance ...
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Blog
MasterCard May Face Some Antitrust Issues in the European Union
European Union regulators are set to launch an investigation into credit card giant MasterCard after reports emerged about the company’s anti-competitive practices among the 28-nation bloc and its overall fees system. In a statement, MasterCard said it “is working with the European Commission on the issue as part of an ...
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Blog
Ireland’s Central Bank Hits Western Union with €1.75m in Fines
Image: The Central Bank of Ireland levied €1.75m in fines on Western Union in Ireland after the firm failed to implement “robust” anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls. “The Central Bank action must be viewed in light of the inherent risks in the sector in which this firm operates … ...
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Blog
Europe Moves Closer to Meeting Transparency Goals
Trying to reduce corruption risks around the globe, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has voted for more disclosure of financial information from companies based in specific countries. This new requirement would also work in tandem with the European Commission’s tax transparency package, which calls for the exchange ...
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Blog
European Watchdogs Calls for Banks to Revisit Business Models
European regulators are urging banks to revamp their business models to reduce risk and enhance a culture of compliance. A joint report issued by the European Union’s banking, insurance, and market regulators says, “Despite numerous actions already taken by regulators and supervisors, both from prudential and consumer protection perspectives, recent ...
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Blog
EU’s Apple, Amazon, Fiat and Starbucks Tax Inquiry Postponed
Image: The European Commission has placed Amazon, Starbucks, Fiat Finance and Trade, and Apple’s tax probe on hold amid concerns about obtaining information relating to these cases, said European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a testimony before the European Parliament. While Vestager did not give a new deadline for the ...
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Blog
FCA: Banks Should Rethink Derisking Strategies
The Financial Conduct Authority warns that banks should rethink their anti-money laundering strategies in light of reports that financial institutions have nixed services to customers that may pose potential money-laundering risks. The agency says, “These policies and procedures must be comprehensive and proportionate to the nature, scale, and complexity of ...
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Blog
Europe's Digital Regulator
Amid Google’s recent antitrust debacle and the intense competition among some U.S. tech giants in Europe, the call for an EU strategy to monitor the digital economy has never been louder. If implemented, according to reports, a pan-European digital regulator will supervise “systemic digital actors” and will have the ...
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Blog
Belgium's Robust AML Regime
While Belgium has made significant progress in tracking down anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financial (AML/CFT) activities, a lot more work needs to be done, says a recent report by the Financial Action Task Force. In April, the European Union approved new draft rules that reflect the need of its member ...
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Blog
Gazprom Faces Antitrust Trouble in Europe
The European Commission plans to file formal antitrust charges against Gazprom, as the Russian energy giant is suspected of abusing its power in the natural gas sector by preventing some countries—such as Lithuania and Poland—from re-exporting gas they purchased from the company. If the Commission succeeds, Gazprom will face a ...
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Blog
EU to Postpone Capital Rules on EU Banks
The European Union is again planning to postpone new capital rules on EU banks to hold more capital when trading derivatives with unapproved foreign exchanges. In response to the financial crisis, the United States formulated its own trading guidelines without giving European regulators sufficient opportunity to weigh in, experts say. ...
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Blog
U.K. Regulator Slaps Major Banks With Hefty Fines
The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Bank of New York Mellon £126 million for the lack of compliance monitoring during the financial crisis. In a separate case this week, the regulator also imposed a record fine on Clydesdale Bank for “serious failings in payment protection insurance complaint handling,” the FCA ...
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Blog
Google Faces Antitrust Charges in Europe
Image: The European Commission is expected to file a formal case against Google for abusing its dominance in the digital marketplace. Google now faces the possibility of being hit with $6 billion in fines, according to reports. Earlier this month, Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager made a pledge to “remove remaining ...
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Blog
ECB Says Financial Sector Regaining its Momentum
Eurozone banks are expecting to provide more loans to companies in the coming months—a move that puts the banking sector back in the spotlight amid a downturn in recent years. The European Central Bank (ECB) said in its quarterly Bank Lending Survey that “there have been substantial improvements in the ...
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Article
Shop Talk: Managing Vendor Risk
Pop quiz: Try to name a recent example of corporate misconduct that did not somehow include a company’s vendors or third parties. It’s not easy, and third parties are now a huge part of the compliance officer’s responsibility. In our latest Compliance Week executive forum, we gathered a dozen CCOs ...
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Blog
France Lags Behind in Global Corruption Fight
France has drawn international attention amid a string of scandals that engulfed some of the country’s largest companies. When compared to the United States, experts believe that French authorities are more lenient on wrongdoing. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development is “seriously concerned” by the country’s “lackluster response” toward ...
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Blog
New Disclosures for U.K. Companies on Owner Registry
The British Parliament recently signed off on new legislation that calls for more information about the true owners behind U.K. companies. According to Transparency International, the U.K.’s property market is a conduit for “corrupt capital stolen from around the world.” Current regulations allow U.K. properties to be owned by secret ...