Europe

Market Infrastructure

EU, China Hold Inaugural Meeting of New Working Group

By Mark Johnston | 22/03/2024

Regulators from both sides discussed AML, supervisory cooperation, sustainable finance, capital markets, cross-border data transfers, payments, and CCP equivalence.

Enforcement

London Court Convicts Chinese Woman in Bitcoin Laundering Case

By Mark Johnston | 22/03/2024

A London court has found a 42-year-old woman guilty of laundering bitcoin linked to an alleged $6.3bn investment fraud.

Sanctions

US Pressure Forces Austria’s Raiffeisen to Back Out of Russia Deal

By Editors | 22/03/2024

The deal would have helped to reduce Raiffeisen Bank’s exposure to Russia, but it would have involved a transaction with a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

AML / KYC

UK Gov, Banks Disagree on Suspended Accounts Scheme

By Editors | 21/03/2024

The scheme would allow banks to transfer funds that have been suspended due to criminal suspicions to the government to finance its efforts to crack down on financial crime.

Crypto / Digital Assets

ECB Establishes Seven New Digital Euro Rulebook Workstreams

By Editors | 20/03/2024

The workstreams are aimed at developing rulebook proposals covering UX standards, a certification and approval framework, risk management, and implementation specifications.

ESG / Sustainability

EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive Passes Key Committee

By Editors | 20/03/2024

Compared to the initial proposal, the number of companies in scope has been scaled back, and the financial industry is excluded, among other changes.

Big Picture

US Move to T+1 Settlement Poses Systemic Risk to Europe

By Mark Johnston | 20/03/2024

EFAMA says in a policy paper that the US move to a T+1 settlement cycle could dmea European fund managers would be unable to meet CLS cut-off times.

ECB, EBA Form Joint Committee to Streamline Bank Reporting

By Mark Johnston | 19/03/2024

The committee will create a common data dictionary, which will standardise concepts and definitions across new and existing reports.

AML / KYC

EU Commission Revises List of High Risk Third Countries

By Nithya Subramanian | 19/03/2024

Barbados, Gibraltar, Panama, Uganda and UAE have been removed from the list, while Kenya and Namibia were added.