Financial Crime Weekly Episode 96

Hello, and welcome to episode 96 of the Financial Crime Weekly Podcast, I’m Chris Kirkbride. It is yet another busy week for financial crime, which is not unexpected in the week of the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. So, there is a range of new and amended sanctions news. On money laundering new, the EU has churned out a new Delegated Regulation, and a major UK bank announces that the Financial Conduct Authority has its AML framework under investigation. In bribery and corruption, there has been an outcome in the trial of the former Chief of Staff to the President of Madagascar. The EU is responsible for the majority of this week’s fraud news, having taken a good deal of action across of broad range of activity. On market abuse, the SEC in the US has charged a man with inside dealing who is alleged to have traded on inside information obtained from listening in on his wife’s meetings. I have also rounded up some of this week’s cyber-attack news. Lots to get through, so let’s crack on.

As usual, I have linked the main stories flagged in the podcast in the description. These are:

Council of the European Union, Information Note: 6713/24.

Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office announces priority to prosecute white-collar, financial crimes in Alaska.

Department of Justice, U.S. and U.K. Disrupt LockBit Ransomware Variant.

Department of Justice, Anchorage businesswoman charged with fraudulently obtaining and laundering roughly $1M in Covid-19 relief funds.

Department of Justice, Sanctioned Russian Oligarch And Others Indicted For Sanctions Violations And Money Laundering.

Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam Announces Fraud Alert For Covid-19 Cryptocurrency Scam.

European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF trains Ukrainian anti-fraud authorities.

European Public Prosecutor’s Office, Lithuania: EPPO conducts searches in investigation into misappropriation of funds from BaltCap Infrastructure Fund.

Europol, Law enforcement disrupt world’s biggest ransomware operation.

Europol, Crackdown on multimillion euro VAT fraud involving car sales.

Europol, Over 100 searches and 4 arrests in France, Germany, Italy, Latvia and Malta against financial institution involved in money laundering.

FBI, FBI Cyber Deputy Assistant Director Brett Leatherman’s Remarks at Press Conference Announcing the Disruption of the LockBit Ransomware Group.

Financial Conduct Authority, Guy Flintham pleads guilty to fraud.

Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, UK sanctions heads of Arctic penal colony where Alexei Navalny was killed.

Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, New UK sanctions mark two years since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, Policy Paper: Deter, disrupt and demonstrate – UK sanctions in a contested world: UK sanctions strategy.

Lewis Silkin, The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023: first changes set to be introduced.

Lloyds Banking Group plc, Annual Report 2023.

National Crime Agency, International investigation disrupts the world’s most harmful cyber crime group.

National Crime Agency, Former Chief of Staff to Madagascan President convicted of bribery.

National Cyber Security Centre, Protecting PBX from cyber attacks (blog post).

National Cyber Security Centre, Private Branch Exchange (PBX) best practice: Guidance.

Official Journal of the European Union, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/595 of 9 November 2023 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Russia Guidance: Guidance for the financial and investment restrictions in Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Financial Sanctions Notice: Global Human Rights.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Guidance: Who is subject to financial sanctions in the UK?

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Financial Sanctions Notice: Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Financial Sanctions Notice: Russia.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Financial Sanctions Notice: Belarus.

United Nations, Security Council 1533 Sanctions Committee Adds Six Entries to Its Sanctions List.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, General Licence: Payments to Companies House INT/2023/3626884.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, General Licence: Publication Notice General licence – INT/2023/3626884 (Amendment).

Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC Charges Husband of Energy Company Manager with Insider Trading.

UK legislation, The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Financial Penalty) Regulations 2024.

US Department of Health and Human Services, HHS’ Office for Civil Rights Settles Second Ever Ransomware Cyber-Attack.