Category: Compliance Regulation

France’s Sapin II Law was created in 2016 to address corporate corruption and implement antibribery measures. The legislation took effect in 2017, marking a significant shift in the country’s regulatory compliance landscape. The law, which tracks closely with similar laws in the US, UK, and other EU countries, requires large companies [1] to implement a robust compliance program, including anti-corruption policies, monitoring procedures, and accounting controls.  The law also significantly changes the government’s prosecution strategies for white collar crime, particularly…

  WASHINGTON – Temu, a popular low-cost online marketplace with ties to China, accused its rival Shein of using “mafia-style” methods to tamp down competition in a lawsuit filed on Dec 13, the latest volley in a heated turf war between two of the fastest-growing fashion retailers in the United States. In the filing, WhaleCo, which operates in the US as Temu, accused Shein of orchestrating a “multifaceted scheme” to slow its growth. It added that Shein had been trying…

Since the major data protection provisions of Quebec’s Law 25 went into effect in September, privacy professionals within the province and Canada at large now face the prospect of a more stringent enforcement regime under the provincial data protection authority, the Commission d’accès a l’information du Québec. To ease compliance burdens, Canada-based privacy tech vendors Data Sentinel and Denodo joined forces to develop a Law 25 compliance solution, now available to the market. Denodo Director, Partner and Channels Sales Robert…

Britain has issued more than 120 financial penalties to offshore companies that have failed to comply with transparency legislation designed to uncover illicit wealth hidden in the UK property market. The Register of Overseas Entities was created after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to help the UK government crack down on oligarchs and other kleptocrats. Individuals that own British property through offshore vehicles had until the end of January 2023 to register such entities and publicly reveal their ownership at Companies…

There are continued warnings that the US has been without a chemical security programme since late July, leaving more than 3000 high-risk chemical facilities in the country vulnerable to terrorist, cyber- and physical attacks. The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) programme, which was authorised 17 years ago and is managed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), is charged with regulating high-risk chemical facilities to ensure these sites are not weaponised by terrorists. It expired on 27 July and…

Mercer Financial Advice has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay a $12 million penalty for breaching fee disclosure obligations and for wrongly charging fees to customers, ASIC has reported. “This is a significant penalty for a financial advice provider,” said Sarah Court (pictured above), ASIC deputy chair. “Mercer failed in its obligation to provide fee disclosure statements to clients, provided misleading information in the disclosure statements it did provide, and charged its clients fees for services it was…

In a recent development, PayPal has been registered by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to offer crypto asset activities in Britain. This move comes as PayPal establishes a post-Brexit base in the UK, reflecting its commitment to serving the British market. According to a Reuters report, the crypto market in the UK awaits its first set of regulations; companies seeking to offer crypto assets must demonstrate to the FCA that they have robust safeguards to prevent money laundering and financing…

In just a few months, “AI Hub” became a massively popular Discord server with over half a million members. While copyright infringement was strictly forbidden, not all users stuck to the rules. This previously raised the attention of the RIAA, and now appears to have caused the server’s downfall after it was suddenly shut down. Artificial intelligence is booming. Dozens of companies are enthusiastic about its potential and many regular people are tinkering with it too. The ‘AI Hub’ Discord…

In letters sent to all insurance firms, the regulator reminded them of its expectations to make sure they’re checking their products are providing fair value to their customers. The FCA also identified further evidence that some Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) products may be failing to provide fair value to customers. This comes as the FCA publishes its latest insurance Value Measures Data (Jan-Dec 2022), which revealed potential concerns over the value of GAP products to customers. GAP insurance is an…

The information supplied by banks, building societies and payment companies suggests that no firm closed an account between July 2022 and June 2023 primarily because of a customer’s political views. The Payment Accounts Regulations ban banks or building societies discriminating on this basis. The FCA will be doing further work with firms to verify the data and to better understand the reasons behind, for example, the closure of accounts due to reputational risk. By far the most common reasons providers…

Following the creation of its Hadopi anti-piracy agency over 13 years ago, France monitored and stored data on millions of users suspected of infringing copyrights. The majority were BitTorrent users and the plan was to use evidence of their piracy activities as a basis for escalating actions including warnings, fines, and ultimately, internet disconnections. Operating the program for a decade cost French taxpayers 82 million euros ($86.5 million) but according to digital rights group La Quadrature du Net, Hadopi’s “mass…

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has introduced new recommendations to streamline the reporting of cyber incidents across the Department of Defense and 32 other federal agencies. The guide is expected to further protect the country’s vital infrastructure, reduce the burden on cybersecurity partners, and decrease the downtime of associated operations in each sector covered. The recommendations will also enhance the prevention, response, and recovery from cyber attacks and aid organizations in improving malicious cyber threat identification. ‘Clear, Consistent…

  The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has taken legal action against Paypal Australia Pty Limited, alleging that the company’s standard form of contracts with small business owners contains an unfair term. According to ASIC, business account holders are given 60 days to notify Paypal of any errors or discrepancies in fees that Paypal has charged them, or else accept those fees as accurate. ASIC alleges such a term is considered unfair. “ASIC has commenced this action to protect…

PARIS – French prosecutors announced on Friday that they had opened an investigation into Binance, adding to the legal woes of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The probe, led by the Paris prosecutor’s office, will look into allegations that the French arm of Binance traded illegally in digital assets as well as a separate charge of “aggravated money laundering”, a statement said. Le Monde newspaper, which first reported the probe, said the company is suspected of failing to respect obligations…

This follows our announcement of a data exercise to investigate account closures.  Firms have until 25 August 2023 to provide information on: the number of customers that have been terminated the number of customers suspended the number of customers denied services the reasons for all of the above  the number of complaints banks have received on this issue This will include asking if accounts have been closed because of expressions of political or other opinions. We’re asking about both personal…

ASIC has banned a Sydney mortgage and finance broker for six years from engaging in credit activities after allegedly making false disclosures and mishandling home loan applications among other offences. The broker, Qingshan Yu, was also banned from controlling a credit business and performing any function in relation to carrying on a credit business while the regulator cancelled the Australian credit licence of Yu’s company, Actif Pty Ltd (Actif). Actif held a credit licence from November 9, 2010, and provided…