Canada
Canadian Armed Forces members among four charged in Quebec extremist plot, RCMP say
Canada’s national police force said in a statement the four individuals will appear in court in Quebec City later today.
The RCMP “announces the arrest of and laying of charges against four individuals, including active members of the Canadian Armed Forces, who were allegedly involved in activities intending to forcibly take possession of land in the Québec City area,” the police force said in a statement.
The statement said the investigation was led by Quebec’s RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) squad.
The RCMP’s allegation is that Marc-Aurèle Chabot, 24, of Québec City, Simon Angers-Audet, 24, of Neuville, and Raphaël Lagacé, 25, of Québec City, took concrete actions to facilitate terrorist activity.
“The three accused were planning to create anti-government militia. To achieve this, they took part in military-style training, as well as shooting, ambush, survival and navigation exercises. They also conducted a scouting operation,” the RCMP statement said.
“A variety of firearms, some prohibited, as well as high-capacity magazines and tactical equipment were allegedly used in these activities.”
A fourth individual, Matthew Forbes, 33, of Pont-Rouge, faces charges including possession of firearms, prohibited devices and explosives.
The Mounties said that the probe traces back to searches conducted in January, 2024, in the Québec City area, which led to the seizure of 16 explosive devices, 83 firearms, 11,000 rounds of ammunition and other military equipment.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
The Mounties allege that the accused were motivated by an extremist anti-authority, anti-government ideology that was out to carve an independent land.
“This morning we did the arrests,” said Corporal Erique Gasse of the RCMP in an interview.
He would not say how many of the suspects were serving military members.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadian-armed-forces-members-among-four-charged-in-quebec-extremist/
Canada Antitrust Watchdog Obtains Court Order in Amazon.com Probe
OTTAWA–Canada’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday its yearslong probe into Amazon.com’s commercial conduct is now looking into the retailer’s pricing policy, and whether that blocks sellers on its online marketplace from offering better deals.
The Competition Bureau said it obtained a court order from the Federal Court of Canada to require Amazon to produce further records and data relevant to this part of its probe, which started back in 2020. The original investigation focused on Amazon’s market practices, and whether they potentially violate sections of Canada’s Competition Act as they pertain to deceptive advertising.
The bureau said the court order will help its probe into Amazon’s Fair Pricing Policy, and whether the company’s behavior is in violation of Canada’s antitrust laws. Under the pricing policy, Amazon can remove offers or terminate selling privileges if it believes pricing practices could damage customer trust. Harmful behavior includes, among other things, setting prices that either mislead consumers or are significantly higher than what’s on offer on the online marketplace, according to the company’s web site.
The antitrust watchdog said its probe is looking into whether the purpose of the policy is to allow Amazon to charge higher fees to sellers than it otherwise would, and dampen price competition among retail channels.
A representative for the Seattle-based retailer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Competition Bureau said there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time.
WSJ
Investigations
ARSONISTS GUILTY OF ATTACK ON UKRAINE-LINKED WAREHOUSE FOR WAGNER GROUP
Three men have been found guilty of an arson attack on a warehouse linked to Ukraine on behalf of the terrorist Wagner Group following a groundbreaking trial.
About £1 million of damage was caused by the blaze at an industrial unit in Leyton, east London, last March 20, the Old Bailey was told.
Nii Mensah, 23, had livestreamed on his phone as he and Jakeem Rose, 23, set fire to the building while fixer Ugnius Asmena, 20, waited in a car, jurors heard.
The attack was orchestrated by Dylan Earl, 20, with Gatwick airport cleaner Jake Reeves, 23, who had targeted the warehouse because it was being used to supply humanitarian aid and StarLink satellite equipment to Ukraine.
They went on to plot more arson attacks in a restaurant and wine shop in Mayfair and the kidnap of the owner, the wealth Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin.
Earl and Reeves had admitted aggravated arson on behalf of the Wagner Group and were the first to be convicted of offences under the National Security Act 2023, jurors heard.
Earl had also admitted possessing cocaine and thousands of pounds in criminal cash.
Following an Old Bailey trial, Mensah, Rose, and Asmena were found guilty of aggravated arson with intent to endanger life.
The case is the first to result in convictions of British criminals acting as proxies for the proscribed Wagner Group.
Driver Paul English, 61, was cleared of wrongdoing.
Ashton Evans, 20, was found guilty of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts relating to the Mayfair plot but cleared of failing to tell authorities about the warehouse arson.
Dmirjus Paulauskas, 23, was cleared of two similar offences relating to both terrorist plots after the jury deliberated for nearly 22 hours.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “This case is clear example of an organisation linked to the Russian state using ‘proxies’, in this case British men, to carry out very serious criminal activity in this country on their behalf.
“The ringleaders, Earl and Reeves, willingly acted as hostile agents on behalf of the Russian state.
“I am pleased that, working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, we were able to use the new National Security Act legislation, which meant the severity of Earl and Reeves’s offending was reflected in the charges they faced.
“The warehouse arson put members of the public at great risk, and it was only by good fortune nobody was seriously injured or worse.
“Those involved showed little or no regard for the potential impact of their actions on the UK’s wider security.
“Seemingly motivated by the promise of money, they were prepared to commit criminal acts on behalf of Russia.
“I hope these convictions send a strong warning of the very serious consequences of committing offences on behalf of a foreign country.”
David Cawthorne, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The National Security Act 2023 enhances the powers of the Crown Prosecution Service and law enforcement agencies to tackle the evolving threat of hostile states operating in the UK.
“It is clear that this was a targeted attack given the connection the warehouse had to Ukraine in shipping aid and other goods.
“These convictions send a very clear message that this type of offending will not be tolerated on UK soil.”
Jurors had heard “overwhelming” evidence linking the arsonists to the warehouse attack.
They were tracked by phone data and traffic cameras as Mr English drove them in his Kia Picanto through south London and the scene of the fire, which was covered by CCTV.
More footage captured Rose and Mensah getting out of the vehicle, climbing over a wall and approaching the warehouses, jurors heard.
As they fled the scene, Rose dropped a very large knife with his DNA on it, with Mensah later messaging Reeves to say “L9 (Rose’s nickname) left his Rambo at the scene”.
It took eight fire crews, composed of 60 firefighters, to get the blaze under control.
Afterwards, Mensah messaged Earl: “Bro there was bare smoke … You saw it on Face Time.” Later, he added: “Bro lol it’s on the news … we dun damagees (sic).”
Prosecutor Duncan Penny KC said that while the arsonists were motivated by the promise of money, Earl and Reeves had orchestrated it for Russia.
Earl had told a Wagner Group operative he met on Telegram he was keen to carry out a series of “missions”, of which the Leyton fire was to be just the first.
Reeves was also prepared to accept money from a foreign intelligence service to target the Russian dissident and his London-based businesses next, the jury was told.
Earl admitted preparing to set fire to the Hide Restaurant and Hedonism Wines in Mayfair, west London, and kidnapping owner Mr Chichvarkin on behalf of the Wagner Group.
The court was told the two Mayfair businesses targeted by the Wagner Group collectively employed 200 people and were valued at more than £30 million.
Mr Chichvarkin was described as a “high-profile Russian dissident and refugee” who has been vocal in his criticism of President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.
On April 5 2024, Reeves, from Croydon, south London, sent an unknown contact Mr Chichvarkin’s name and said he would make an “amazing target”.
In chat, Earl’s Wagner Group contact, Privet Bot, instructed him to watch the period drama The Americans and use it as a “manual” for his covert mission.
The television series is set during the Cold War and is about two KGB agents posing as Americans in Washington DC to spy on the American government.
In further chat with Privet Bot, wholesale drug dealer Earl appeared to brag that he had criminal connections, saying he could “sort” an introduction to the IRA and Kinahan Irish organised crime group.
He was arrested in a B&Q car park in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and videos of the warehouse fire being started were found on his iPhone.
In a search of his home in Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, police recovered a Russian flag, more than £20,000 in cash and cocaine hydrochloride with a street value of some £34,000.
Evidence on his phone revealed details of a cryptocurrency account holding more than £58,000 and images of bundles of cash estimated to total £175,000.
Following Reeves’s arrest at Croydon East railway station, police uncovered videos on his phone which were taken by Mensah on the night of the arson attack.
Giving evidence, Asmena, of no fixed address, denied being aware of the arson attack or hiring Mr English as the driver, telling jurors he was “just there”.
Mensah, of Thornton Heath, and Rose, from Croydon, had admitted arson and Rose also pleading guilty to possessing of a blade. However, both claimed the prosecution had failed to prove the fire had endangered life.
Mr English, of Roehampton, told police on his arrest that he had been paid £500 by Asmena to drive but knew nothing about the fire.
Evans, from Newport, Gwent, told jurors that he had got in touch with Earl to buy cocaine, which he admitted having.
He claimed not to take what Earl told him seriously and went along with it to get his money back after buying drugs that were not the genuine article.
Aviation engineering student Mr Paulauskus, from Croydon, told jurors he had been doing work experience at an aircraft maintenance hangar, was interested in gaming and was a “gun nerd”.
Born in Lithuania, he holds a joint British and Russian passport, and believed that the war with Russia was Ukraine’s fault.
He told jurors that he had been friends with Reeves since secondary school but did not believe anything he told him about the plots was real.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the convicted defendants would be sentenced on a date to be fixed in the autumn.
PA Media
EU prosecutor’s office investigates alleged misuse of funds by far-right lawmakers
PARIS (Reuters) -EU financial prosecutors said on Tuesday they had opened an investigation into alleged misuse of 4.3 million euros ($5.04 million) of funds by Identity and Democracy, a now-defunct far-right group that included Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party.
Media outlets in several countries across the EU reported last week that a draft audit by the European Parliament had found that parties linked to the group had performed improper procurement procedures and had given donations to non-parliamentary activities.
The Identity and Democracy grouping in the European Parliament was unveiled by French politician Le Pen in 2019, uniting eurosceptics from across the continent who aimed to devolve power from Brussels back to capitals.
A European Public Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson confirmed the probe, first reported by Euractiv, but said it was not possible to provide any details. Le Pen’s party did not respond to a request for comment.
Euractiv, a media outlet that covers the EU, said the probe related to spending between 2019 and 2024.
EPPO investigates financial crimes against the European Union and works with EU member states’ authorities, as well as other entities.
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2025/07/08/eu-prosecutor039s-office-investigates-alleged-misuse-of-funds-by-far-right-lawmakers
Banks, Economy
Monzo Bafined $28 million by UK regulator for inadequate financial crime controls
Monzo Bank Limited, trading as Monzo, is a British online bank based in London, England. Monzo launched as part of a wave of app-based challenger banks entering the UK market.
LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) – Britain’s financial regulator has fined digital bank Monzo 21 million pounds ($28.57 million) for inadequate protection against financial crime, which included taking on customers who had listed landmarks such as Buckingham Palace as their address.
As Monzo grew rapidly, it failed to maintain good enough controls to prevent the risk of financial crime, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a statement on Tuesday. The regulator issued a fine of 21.1 million pounds for “inadequate anti-financial crime systems and controls” between October 2018 and August 2020.
Monzo CEO TS Anil said in a statement that the problems “have been resolved and are firmly in the past” and that it has since made “substantial improvements” in its controls. Monzo is committed to stopping financial crime, Anil said.
Launched in 2015, Monzo is one of a handful of apps offering financial services, known as “fintechs”, to have emerged in Britain in the last decade.
After a 2020 review, the FCA imposed a requirement on Monzo to prevent it from opening new accounts for high-risk customers. But “between August 2020 and June 2022, it repeatedly failed to comply with the terms of the requirement, including signing up over 34,000 high-risk customers,” the FCA said.
Customers had applied for Monzo accounts with addresses including Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street and Monzo’s own business address, according to FCA documents.
“Monzo onboarded customers on the basis of limited, and in some cases, obviously implausible information – such as customers using well-known London landmarks as an address,” said Therese Chambers, FCA joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight.
“This illustrates how lacking Monzo’s financial crime controls were.”
Other fintechs in Britain have triggered regulatory concerns about their controls to stop financial crime. Starling Bank was fined 29 million pounds in 2024 after the FCA found its anti-money laundering controls and sanctions screening systems left the financial system “wide open to criminals”.
Monzo reported a sharp rise in annual profit in its latest results, with pretax profit hitting 60.5 million pounds for the year ending March 31, 2025, compared with 13.9 million pounds a year earlier. Anil said it was too early to talk about an IPO.
Business live: UK public finances vulnerable with risks mounting, says OBR
The country’s fiscal watchdog said efforts to make finances more sustainable have met with limited and temporary success
The former prime minister Rishi Sunak is returning to Goldman Sachs as a senior adviser.
David Solomon, Goldman chief executive, said: “In his role, he will . . . advise our clients globally on a range of important topics, sharing his unique perspectives and insights on the macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape.”
Sunak, who previously worked at the investment bank as an analyst between 2001 and 2004, was prime minister from October 2022 to July 2024.
Julian Jessop, economics fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank, says it is “hard not to feel sympathy” for the Office for Budget Responsibility as its warnings go unheeded.
He said the independent fiscal watchdog warns at least once a year that the UK public finances are on an unsustainable path, but successive governments have been “unable or unwilling” to change course.
The answer is to shrink the state and improve productivity, he said, adding: “Public debt is already heading for an eye-watering 270 per cent of national income within 50 years, even if productivity growth recovers to average 1.5 per cent per year.
“But if productivity growth remains weak at around 0.5 per cent, this figure could explode to 647 per cent. That should really set the alarm bells ringing.”
The future of the Office for National Statistics should be reviewed, according to Simon Hoare, chairman of the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs select committee.
Hoare, the Conservative MP for North Dorset, questioned whether the agency could survive after a series of “catastrophic” failures. He said it was an “utter befuddlement” that the organisation could have “slid so low” and he did not know whether there were “enough grappling hooks to get out”.
Earlier today he severely criticised Sir Ian Diamond, the former ONS boss, for the way he ran the organisation.
“My takeaway is that the ONS is in the junk bond market of a Gerald Ratner jewellery store,” Hoare said.
Sir Robert Chote, the ONS chairman, told MPs the board had been unaware of a 2023 internal report that revealed “serious issues” at the organisation related to management and governance.
Ed Humpherson, head of the Office for Statistics Regulation, an independent body separate from the ONS, said it was a “tragedy” that the ONS had failed to recognise problems emerging from its desire to change its approach.
German exports fell for a second month in May as demand from the United States dropped due to tariffs, official data showed today.
Exports to the US fell 7.7 per cent month-on-month in May following a 10.5 per cent decline in April when the new 10 per cent baseline US tariff came into effect.
Overall, exports from Europe’s biggest economy fell by 1.4 per cent in May to €129.4 billion compared with the previous month. Economics had forecast a 0.2 per cent decrease.
Ralph Solveen, senior economist at Commerzbank, said: “The higher US tariffs certainly contributed significantly to this sharp decline.”
The chief executive of Weightwatchers says the company is entering a new era as it emerges from chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with less debt and focuses on competing alongside “quick fix” skinny jabs.
In an interview with The Times, Tara Comonte said: “This is a business and brand that was built on community and the importance of sharing and human interaction and coaching … So does weight-loss medication mean the abandonment of community? Far from it.”
The company now has a new board and has launched a partnership with Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical company behind the weight-loss jab Wegovy. Read Alex Ralph’s interview here.
BP and Shell have signed agreements with Libya’s National Oil Corp to conduct studies for hydrocarbon exploration and development at three oilfields in the country.
The deal comes after other oil majors, including Eni, OMV and Repsol, returned to the troubled country last year after an absence of over a decade.
Foreign investors have been wary of putting money into Libya after the overthrow of the dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 saw continued violence spread across the country.
BP will reopen its office in the Libyan capital Tripoli later this year and said today that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with NOC to evaluate the potential to redevelop the Sarir and Messla oilfields in the Sirte basin. Shell’s plans are believed to be at an earlier stage.
BP shares rose 1.08 per cent to 375¾p while Shell was up 0.7 per cent to £25.71.
At midday the FTSE 100 was up slightly by 14.29 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 8,820.50, while the FTSE 250 was up, just, by 2.97 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 21,540.18.
The pound was down against the dollar by 0.16 per cent at $1.36 while the price of a barrel of oil fell slightly, with Brent crude down 0.04 per cent to $69.56.
The gambling group Entain was at the top of the FTSE leaderboard, up 3.27 per cent, followed by the commodities group Glencore, up 2.52 per cent.
At the other end of the index Rentokil was down 2.07 per cent followed by ConvaTec, the medical products company, down 2.05 per cent.
Porsche has reported its sales were down in the first half of the year, led by a 28 per cent fall in the Chinese market.
Globally, sales of the luxury sports car fell 6 per cent but grew 10 per cent in North America, its largest region.
“The increase is mainly due to higher product availability in the market and the price protection offered in the first half of the year due to increased import tariffs,” Porsche said in a statement.
Of the vehicles delivered this year to June, 36 per cent were electrified, a 14.5 per cent increase from last year, Porsche added.
The M&S chairman Archie Norman said the government should make it mandatory for UK companies to report cyberattacks.
He told MPs four major companies had suffered cyberattacks that not been reported on in the past year.
“I don’t think it would be regulatory overkill if companies are required to report to the National Cyber Security Centre,” he added.
Norman also suggested the National Crime Agency was “under-resourced for the task it is trying to do”.
He said: “In 2023, there was a Security Committee report which highlighted that this was critical to national resilience and advocated proper resourcing expenditure. I’m not aware that we’ve seen a substantial increase in government investment since that time.”
But he also warned: “I don’t think you can regulate your way to security in this space. I think there are regulatory things that government can do, but I don’t think we should see that as a solution.”
The chairman of Marks & Spencer has declined to confirm whether the retailer paid a ransom to the hackers behind a recent cyberattack that caused major disruption to its operations.
Archie Norman is being questioned by the business and trade sub-committee on economic security, arms and export controls in the House of Commons.
The cyberattack disrupted the company’s online and in-store operations for several months.
Asked for a second time by the committee if M&S had paid a ransom, Norman said: “We’re not discussing any of the details. We don’t think it is in the public interest as it is a matter of law enforcement.”
He believes the hack was carried out by a group called Scattered Spider who used DragonForce, a platform that gives criminals the tools to carry out ransomware attacks. The DragonForce team is thought to be based in Asia, Norman said.
But “they never send you a letter signed Scattered Spider,” he added. “We didn’t hear from the threat actor for weeks after.”
The bosses of UK statistics bodies are back in front of MPs for another grilling on the crisis at the Office for National Statistics this morning.
At a bruising encounter last week Simon Hoare, the Conservative chairman of the public administration and constitutional affairs select committee, said that Sir Ian Diamond, the former ONS boss, appeared to have run it as “a sort of a hybrid of a Medici prince and Blofeld”, referring to the James Bond villain.
The ONS has been beset by problems with its core economic statistics, particularly in its influential labour market survey.
At the start of this morning’s session, Hoare said he had received a significant amount of correspondence from ONS staff suggesting that last week’s criticism was on the money and that the parliamentary session had gone viral at the agency.
ONS staff had told him that “there were problems, still are problems … the organisation is not being run professionally”, Hoare said.
Prax Group’s logistics arm has been placed in administration after struggling to access fuel supplies from one of the UK’s five oil refineries, prompting more than 100 redundancies at the division.
Axis Logistics has gone into insolvency alongside the Lindsey oil refinery in North Lincolnshire and its parent company State Oil.
The logistics division was responsible for shifting fuel supplies from Lindsey to the petrol forecourts operated by Prax Group.
A City source told The Times that drivers working for Axis had been unable to access supplies from Lindsey after it was placed in the hands of the Official Receiver last week. Axis revenue has therefore been under strain as workers face difficulties carrying out deliveries.
The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Monzo Bank £21 million for inadequate anti-financial crime controls between October 2018 and August 2020.
The regulator said Monzo also repeatedly breached a requirement preventing it from opening accounts for high-risk customers between August 2020 and June 2022.
Such was the inadequacy of its controls — including a lack of independent address verification — that it repeatedly allowed customers to provide what the FCA calls “obviously implausible” UK addresses when applying for an account, such as “Buckingham Palace” or “10 Downing Street” and even Monzo’s own business address.
“Monzo failed to design, implement and maintain adequate customer onboarding, customer risk assessment and transaction monitoring systems to mitigate the risk of financial crime,” the FCA said.
Today’s OBR report highlights the sheer scale of potential damage to the British economy from cyberattacks, noting that such incidents have continued to intensify with recent attacks on Marks & Spencer, HM Revenue & Customs and the Legal Aid Agency.
“We estimate that a cyberattack on critical national infrastructure has the potential to temporarily increase borrowing by 1.1 per cent of GDP,” the OBR said.
It added that the phishing attack on HMRC, which cost £47 million, demonstrates the potential for direct attacks on government finances.
Separately, the M&S chairman Archie Norman told MPs that the instigator of the cyberattack on the company was believed to be the criminal hackers known as DragonForce, the same group thought to have attacked the Co-op and Harrods in ransomware incidents.
The triple lock on state pensions has cost around three times more than expected, the Office for Budget Responsibility said as it cautioned that the structure of the pensions system and its likely development over time gives rise to a set of longer-term fiscal pressures and risks.
The OBR said there was “a potentially significant increase in the direct fiscal cost of state pension spending over the coming decades due to the triple lock and an ageing population”.
The triple lock means the state pension increases each year by the highest of the following three measures: CPI inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5 per cent. There have been call for it to be scrapped.
The watchdog said the triple lock is expected to have cost £15.5 billion annually by 2029-30.
The UK faces a “daunting” task of managing its spiralling public finances over the coming decades after a series of governments have failed to rein in rising debt, the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned.
In its latest fiscal risks report, the government’s fiscal watchdog said the public finances remained in a “relatively vulnerable position” after dealing with shocks like the pandemic, an energy crisis and a bond market panic caused by Liz Truss.
“Efforts to put the UK’s public finances on a more sustainable footing have met with only limited and temporary success in recent years,” the OBR said. It noted that the UK deficit, at 5.7 per cent of GDP is the third-highest among the 28 advanced economies, and the debt burden – at 94 per cent of GDP – is the sixth-highest in the developed world.
Consumer confidence declined in June with perceptions of business activity deteriorating, the latest data from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) showed.While some measures, such as those focused on household finances, improved, worsening perceptions of business activity among workers dragged down scores for the overall index. Both business activity measures declined.
Sam Miley, head of forecasting at Cebr, said: “Consumer confidence remains on a rocky ride, falling for a fourth month so far this year . . . Recent declines have been driven by weaker perceptions of business activity, which come as little surprise given the economy has faced a barrage of headwinds.”
WeightWatchers has emerged from bankruptcy after cutting its debts and has pledged to combine weight-loss jabs with lifestyle changes to cope with the challenge of “quick fixes” for managing weight.
The company has appointed a new chief medical officer, Dr Kim Boyd, to lead the integration of emerging science into its wider lifestyle-based offering for members.
Dr Boyd said she planned to expand the company’s legacy by “combining the best tools of modern medicine, like GLP-1s, with science-backed lifestyle change and the power of community to deliver better outcomes”.
GLP-1s, the scientific term for weight-loss jabs, work by reducing food cravings.
The group filed for bankruptcy in the US in May to tackle debts of $1.15 billion. The court process enabled it to restructure its finances and write off debt.
The FTSE 100 was trading flat this morning as investors mull the impact of President Trump’s not-so-firm tariff deadline, with the index up just 5.9 points at 8,812.45.
The gambling group Entain is the biggest riser after Bank of America upgraded its rating on the stock due to the performance of its US business.
Base metal miners strengthened on hopes of trade deals and goldminers were lifted by a rise in the price of the precious metal. Hopes of an interest rate cut boosted housebuilders, while Marks & Spencer slipped after it dropped in the customer satisfaction rankings. Diageo, the spirits and Guinness maker, was lower on concerns about tariffs.
The competition regulator is investigating the supermarket sandwich maker Greencore’s £1.2 billion takeover deal for its rival Bakkavor. The companies are both major suppliers to Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it was looking at possible competition concerns about the takeover, which will create a food-to-go giant with about 30,000 staff.
John Lewis has overtaken Marks & Spencer to become the UK’s top-rated retailer for customer satisfaction, but its sister brand, Waitrose, has dramatically fallen down the rankings.
The department store chain scored 86.7 out of 100 in the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), securing third place overall across all sectors and the highest spot for any retailer.
Isabella Fish, Retail Editor, has a full story here.
The insulation and roofing supplier has named Pim Vervaat as its new chief executive and chairman designate.
Vervaat takes over the SIG chief executive role in October from Gavin Slark, who announced in May that he was leaving to join the building materials group Travis Perkins.
As part of the company’s succession planning, Vervaat is expected to become non-executive chairman around 18 months later, when Andrew Allner steps down. The company expects to identify Vervaat’s successor as chief in advance of this handover.
SIG shares have fallen more than 40 per cent over the past year.
The corporate restructuring specialist at Begbies Traynor says it “has started the new year confident of a further year of profit growth” as it reported full-year results.
Headline profit rose 7 per cent to £23.5 million in the 12 months to the end of April with revenue 12 per cent higher at £153.7 million. This should not come as a surprise following a comprehensive pre-close trading update in May.
The student property group Unite has reported that 85 per cent of rooms are now reserved for the 2025/26 academic year, down sharply from the 94 per cent reported this time last year.
Joe Lister, Unite chief executive, said: “Sales momentum has picked up in recent weeks, in line with our expectations for a later sales cycle, and we continue to target occupancy of at least 97 per cent.”
The former stock market darling has been hit by waning domestic and overseas demand for university accommodation and rising interest rates.
The shares have fallen 11 per cent over the past year and still trade at a 38 per cent discount to the £13 a share they topped before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Equity futures point to a down day for Europe, with the FTSE 100 expected to open 25 points lower after slipping 16 points on Monday as uncertainty around tariff negotiations continues to weigh on sentiment.
The dollar, one of the biggest casualties from the tariff turmoil, was weaker this morning after rising yesterday. The pound is up 0.2 per cent against the dollar at $1.3627.
For all the noise about tariffs, Trump so far has just two trade agreements, with Britain and Vietnam, and a trade truce with China. The EU is hopeful of reaching a trade deal by Wednesday after European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Trump had a “good exchange”.
Asian markets rose this morning after President Trump left time for negotiations on tariffs, saying his new August 1 deadline was “firm, but not 100 per cent firm”.
Despite Trump announcing 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.27 per cent and Seoul’s Kospi gained 1.7 per cent.
The countries are America’s second and third-largest trade partners in Asia. Japan said it would seek a deal as soon as possible, calling the higher tariff “extremely regrettable”. South Korea said it would press ahead with talks.
Stock markets in China, which has reached a trade framework with the US, rose. The SSE Composite gained 0.6 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7 per cent.
Russia
Russia’s ex-min found dead hours after being fired
Moscow: Russian’s transport minister was found dead Monday, hours after being dismissed by President Vladimir Putin, in what officials said was an apparent suicide. The dismissal came after a weekend of travel chaos when airports grounded hundreds of flights due to the threat of drone attacks from Kyiv. Transport Minister Roman Starovoy, 53, served as Russia’s transport minister since May 2024 and was fired in a presidential decree earlier in the day that gave no reason for his dismissal. On Monday in Ukraine, meanwhile, at least 11 civilians were killed and more than 80 were injured, including seven children, in Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said. Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said.
‘We were shocked’: Kremlin declines to comment on minister’s apparent suicide
https://www.millenniumpost.in/world/irans-president-claims-israel-attempted-to-assassinate-him-617953
Banks, Compliance
UAE Central Bank fines exchange houses
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has imposed financial sanctions totaling 4.1 million dirhams on three exchange houses after uncovering significant lapses in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing compliance. This move comes as part of a broader effort to maintain the integrity and security of the UAE’s financial system in a global environment marked by increasing regulatory scrutiny and sophisticated financial crime risks.
Money Laundering Controls in UAE Exchange Houses
Money laundering controls in the UAE are subject to one of the most robust regulatory environments in the Gulf region, especially since the passage of Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018. This law, which directly governs anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), and anti-proliferation financing (CPF), assigns the Central Bank comprehensive powers to supervise, examine, and enforce compliance across the financial sector.
Exchange houses in the UAE play a critical role in cross-border remittances and domestic financial transactions. Due to their position as intermediaries between formal banking channels and a diverse customer base—including expatriate workers, small businesses, and tourists—these entities face heightened money laundering risks. Over the last five years, the CBUAE has enhanced its supervisory regime, requiring exchange houses to implement risk-based customer due diligence (CDD), transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reporting (STR), and ongoing staff training.
The latest enforcement action involved a detailed examination of the three penalized exchange houses. According to official CBUAE findings, the exchange houses failed to meet one or more of the following obligations:
- Maintaining effective and documented AML/CFT policies and procedures,
- Implementing enhanced due diligence on higher-risk customers,
- Timely reporting of suspicious activities to the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU),
- Regular internal and external independent audits of AML controls,
- Keeping accurate records of customer transactions as required under UAE law.
Under Article 14 of Federal Decree Law No. (20) of 2018 and its amendments, administrative and financial sanctions can be levied against institutions that do not comply with regulatory requirements. The 4.1 million dirham penalty is among the more significant recent enforcement actions, reflecting the seriousness with which the CBUAE approaches regulatory breaches.
The Evolving AML/CFT Regulatory Landscape in the UAE
Alongside the imposition of financial penalties, the UAE’s regulatory landscape has evolved rapidly in recent years. The government has committed to strengthening its AML/CFT framework in line with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Following the UAE’s placement on the FATF grey list in March 2022, authorities have taken significant steps to address identified weaknesses, including increased inspection activity, enforcement, and expanded guidance for reporting entities.
For exchange houses, compliance obligations are now more detailed and granular. Regulatory guidance issued by the CBUAE (including CBUAE Guidance for Licensed Financial Institutions on AML/CFT, June 2021) outlines practical steps for risk identification, customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring, and escalation of suspicious activity. Exchange houses must conduct regular enterprise-wide risk assessments, ensure that beneficial ownership data is up to date, and implement advanced transaction monitoring solutions.
Key compliance requirements include:
Adoption of a risk-based approach for onboarding and ongoing monitoring,
Mandatory screening against national and international sanctions lists,
Immediate reporting of suspicious activities to the FIU via the goAML platform,
Appointment of qualified compliance officers and adequate resources for AML/CFT functions,
Regular training for staff, tailored to their roles and risk exposure,
Use of technology for real-time transaction monitoring and flagging unusual patterns.
Regulators are increasingly leveraging technology to analyze suspicious activity reports and identify cross-border criminal networks. Financial institutions, including exchange houses, are encouraged to adopt similar technology to enhance their ability to identify, manage, and report risks.
Compliance Failures and Their Consequences
The recent CBUAE enforcement action highlights recurring compliance failures that expose exchange houses to regulatory penalties and, more broadly, the UAE’s financial sector to reputational risks. Some of the most common compliance issues observed in past inspections and investigations include:
- Failure to identify and verify the beneficial owners of corporate customers,
- Inadequate documentation and record-keeping of transactions,
- Deficient transaction monitoring that fails to flag high-risk transactions,
- Lack of timely and accurate reporting of suspicious activities to authorities,
- Insufficient board and senior management oversight of the AML framework,
- Overreliance on manual processes, resulting in gaps or errors in compliance.
The penalties imposed by the CBUAE serve several critical purposes. They act as a deterrent to other financial institutions, signal the regulator’s commitment to maintaining global standards, and encourage the implementation of sustainable compliance practices. For the three sanctioned exchange houses, the financial penalty is only one aspect of the enforcement outcome. They are now subject to ongoing monitoring, additional reporting obligations, and—potentially—requirements to remediate identified gaps through changes in policy, procedures, staffing, and technology.
Non-compliance carries wider consequences beyond monetary fines. Institutions found to be in persistent breach risk being barred from certain activities, facing restrictions on their license, or, in extreme cases, having their licenses revoked. The Central Bank may also publish the names of non-compliant institutions, further exposing them to reputational damage.
Safeguarding the UAE Financial System: CBUAE’s Supervisory Approach
The Central Bank’s approach to safeguarding the UAE’s financial system relies on proactive supervision, targeted inspections, and robust enforcement. The CBUAE has a dedicated AML/CFT supervision department responsible for:
- Risk assessments and prioritization of inspections,
- Periodic and ad hoc reviews of exchange houses and other financial institutions,
- Issuance of guidance notes and best practice documents,
- Industry outreach and education programs.
The CBUAE maintains active collaboration with the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit and other law enforcement bodies. Regular joint operations target high-risk corridors, typologies, and networks, reflecting the evolving nature of financial crime threats. Exchange houses are expected to align not only with local UAE requirements but also with the expectations of correspondent banks and international partners.
Recent years have seen a shift in regulatory expectations. The CBUAE now expects a documented, risk-based approach across all levels of the business. From the board of directors to front-line staff, there is an emphasis on ownership of AML/CFT controls. Regulatory guidance also encourages use of artificial intelligence and data analytics to strengthen risk identification and monitoring. This is particularly relevant for exchange houses, given the high volumes of low-value cross-border remittance transactions they process.
CBUAE’s approach extends to remedial action plans, follow-up inspections, and, where appropriate, further sanctions. In some cases, exchange houses are required to engage independent third-party consultants to conduct detailed reviews and provide assurance on the effectiveness of remediation.
Conclusion: A Wake-Up Call for Exchange Houses in the UAE
The imposition of 4.1 million dirhams in financial penalties by the Central Bank of the UAE serves as a stark reminder to exchange houses about the critical importance of robust anti-money laundering controls. With the international spotlight on the UAE’s financial sector, regulatory expectations are only set to rise. For exchange houses, this means investing in technology, people, and processes that can keep pace with evolving risks and regulatory requirements.
The consequences of non-compliance now extend well beyond monetary fines, touching on reputational, operational, and strategic dimensions. Exchange houses that fail to treat AML/CFT as a core business priority risk severe penalties, regulatory intervention, and loss of trust with customers and counterparties. The CBUAE’s recent action reinforces its commitment to transparency, integrity, and the ongoing protection of the UAE’s financial system from money laundering and terrorist financing threats.
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