NEWS: Oligarchs and criminals ‘too easily move their dirty money into our financial system,’ warns EU’s finance chief McGuinness; need for ‘genuinely European AML regime,’ she says.

Regulatory Watch News

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  SEC Crypto 2.0: Acting Chairman Uyeda Announces Formation of New Crypto Task Force

  SEC

  January 21, 2025

  Washington D.C., Jan. 21, 2025 —

  Today SEC Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda launched a crypto task force dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets. Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead the task force. Richard Gabbert, Senior Advisor to the Acting Chairman, and Taylor Asher, Senior Policy Advisor to the Acting Chairman, will serve as the task force’s Chief of Staff and Chief Policy Advisor, respectively.

  Drawing from talented staff across the agency, the Task Force will collaborate with Commission staff and the public to set the SEC on a sensible regulatory path that respects the bounds of the law. To date, the SEC has relied primarily on enforcement actions to regulate crypto retroactively and reactively, often adopting novel and untested legal interpretations along the way. Clarity regarding who must register, and practical solutions for those seeking to register, have been elusive. The result has been confusion about what is legal, which creates an environment hostile to innovation and conducive to fraud. The SEC can do better.

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  Cifas research reveals nearly half of UK adults feel first party fraud is acceptable

  CIFAS

  January 21, 2025

  The latest research from the UK’s leading not-for-profit fraud prevention service, Cifas,  shows that nearly half (48%) of adults believe it is ‘reasonable’ to commit first party fraud. First-party fraud, when someone knowingly misrepresents their identity or provides false information for financial or material gain, is on the rise. Examples include exaggerating salaries on mortgage applications, ordering goods online and falsely claiming they have not been delivered to obtain a refund, or agreeing to use their bank account to transfer illicit funds (known as money muling).

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  Arrest in investigation into 1.9 million euro tax fraud

  Fiscal Information and Investigation Service - FIOD

  January 21, 2025

  The FIOD arrested a man from the municipality of Kaag en Braassem on Monday 20 January. He is suspected of actually directing tax fraud committed by his company and forgery. His home was searched and physical administration and data carriers were seized.

  The criminal investigation started after a signal from the Tax Authorities. The man probably filed incorrect VAT returns for his company between 2020 and 2023. After several letters of inquiry from the Tax Authorities, the claimed input tax was no longer awarded because the tax authorities suspected that the invoices submitted by the suspect were false. Investigation by the FIOD shows that probably no business activities took place at the suspect's company. According to the investigation team, the company's income consisted only of VAT refunds. The criminal loss is estimated at almost two million euros.