Financial Crime

18th June 2019

Albania, eyeing EU, approves laws against money-laundering

Albania’s parliament approved a series of laws on Monday aimed at plugging holes in legislation against money laundering as part of efforts to persuade the European Union to launch accession talks. The EU is expected to decide by September whether to open membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia. Diplomats… Read More

17th June 2019

Hong Kong tycoons start moving assets offshore as fears rise over new extradition law

Some Hong Kong tycoons have started moving personal wealth offshore as concern deepens over a local government plan to allow extraditions of suspects to face trial in China for the first time, according to financial advisers, bankers and lawyers familiar with such transactions. One tycoon, who considers himself potentially politically… Read More

14th June 2019

Trump administration reviewing foreign money to US colleges

AP — The U.S. Education Department has opened investigations into foreign funding at Georgetown University and Texas A&M University as part of a broader push to monitor international money flowing to American colleges. Both universities are being ordered to disclose years of financial records amid concerns they have not fully… Read More

10th June 2019

Hong Kong plunged into political crisis after huge protest against extradition law

Riot police surrounded Hong Kong’s parliament early on Monday after what had been a peaceful million-strong protest against an extradition bill descended into running clashes between police and protesters. Several hundred riot police armed with batons, shields, tear gas guns and pepper spray sealed off the Legislative Council as a… Read More

7th June 2019

Why Hong Kong’s extradition law changes are fuelling fears

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday in a bid to block changes to the Chinese-ruled city’s extradition laws, which could pave the way for fugitives wanted by mainland China to be sent across the border for trial for the… Read More

7th June 2019

EU Recommends AML Measures for Six Countries

The European Commission on Wednesday called on six EU member-states to bolster their anti-money laundering (AML) supervisory and enforcement efforts in light of recent bank scandals and the risks of crypto-assets. The requests highlight recent efforts by Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Sweden and Malta… Read More

6th June 2019

Hundreds of thousands sign petition demanding Hungary join new EU prosecution body

An opposition politician has collected 680,000 signatures to push for Hungarian membership of a planned European Union prosecutor’s office (EPPO), a step rejected by Budapest’s eurosceptic nationalist government. Due to be launched in 2020, the EPPO will be geared to investigating and pressing criminal charges in cases crossing borders of… Read More

4th June 2019

Kenya’s central banker warns about impact of illicit flows

Kenya needs to urgently stamp out an upsurge of suspicious transactions in its financial sector that imperil future commercial activities and economic growth, Patrick Njoroge, the central bank governor, said on Monday. The East African nation is favoured by foreign investors mainly due to its diverse, fast-growing economy, but its… Read More

30th May 2019

Hong Kong judges see risks in proposed extradition changes

Some Hong Kong judges fear they are being put on a collision course with Beijing as the special administrative region’s government pushes for sweeping legal changes that would for the first time allow fugitives captured in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China for trial. Three senior judges and… Read More

29th May 2019

Malta failing on rule of law after journalist’s murder: draft report

The failure of Maltese authorities to identify the masterminds behind the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia raises questions about the rule of law in Malta, according to Europe’s chief human rights watchdog. Caruana Galizia, whose reporting uncovered widespread corruption, was killed by a car bomb in October 2017. Read More