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Regulatory Watch News

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  European Parliament resolution on Commission Delegated Regulation of 14 April 2024 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 as regards adding Kenya and Namibia to the table in point I of the Annex and deleting Barbados, Gibraltar, Panama, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates from that table

  European Parliament

  April 18, 2024

  Whereas Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675, its annex and the amending Commission delegated regulation of 14 March 2024 identify high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies as regards anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing (AML/CTF) which represent a threat for the Union financial system and for which enhanced customer due diligence measures shall be applied by Union obliged entities under Directive (EU) 2015/849;

  Whereas, according to the 2020 methodology for identifying high-risk third countries under Directive (EU) 2015/849, set out in Commission Staff Working Document of 7 May 2020 (the 2020 methodology), the Commission can largely rely on the assessments of third countries carried out by international bodies, such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), since the assessment by the FATF follows due process based on objective criteria and the specific thresholds for being listed permit identification of countries presenting very material and profound strategic deficiencies; whereas, in principle, any third country representing a risk to the international financial system, as identified by FATF, is presumed to represent a risk to the internal market;

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  FinCEN Renews Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders

  FinCEN

  April 17, 2024

  WASHINGTON—The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today announced the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in non-financed purchases of residential real estate. The terms of the GTOs are effective beginning April 19, 2024, and ending on October 15, 2024. The GTOs continue to provide valuable data on the purchase of residential real estate by persons possibly involved in various illicit enterprises. Renewing the GTOs will further assist in tracking illicit funds and other criminal or illicit activity, as well as continuing to inform FinCEN’s regulatory efforts in this sector. FinCEN renewed the GTOs that cover certain counties and major U.S. metropolitan areas in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Texas, Washington, Virgina, and the District of Columbia.

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  Virginia-based defense contractor pleads guilty to bribery conspiracy involving government contracts worth more than $100 million

  IRS Criminal Investigation

  April 17, 2024

  SAN DIEGO — Cambridge International Systems, Inc., a defense contractor headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that it participated in a bribery scheme with the company’s former Executive Vice President Russell Thurston, and former Naval Information Warfare Center employee James Soriano, among others. According to Cambridge’s plea agreement, the company — acting through Thurston and an unnamed employee — gave various things of value to Soriano, including jobs for Soriano’s family and friends, meals, and a ticket to the 2018 MLB All Star Game held at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. One of the friends hired by Cambridge, Liberty Gutierrez, was giving Soriano $2,000 a month from her Cambridge salary, according to Gutierrez’s plea agreement.