OPINION: In fight against financial crime, compliance is our superpower – the foundation for resilience and sustainability

Regulatory Watch News

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  Treasury Targets Vessels Delivering Oil Derivatives to the Houthis

  April 28, 2025

  WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is targeting three vessels and their owners for providing support to Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis, which is part of the Iranian regime’s network of terrorist proxies and partners.  The group has deployed missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and naval mines to attack commercial shipping interests in the Red Sea, threatening global freedom of navigation and the integrity of international commerce.  The Houthis also profit significantly from the shipment of goods through ports they control, profiting, in particular, from the discharge of refined petroleum products.

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  Detectorist who tried to sell Anglo-Saxon coins ordered to pay back over £100k

  The Crown Prosecution Service

  April 28, 2025

  A metal detectorist who tried to sell rare Anglo-Saxon coins for a Saxon hoard has been ordered to pay back the £103,000 from the proceeds of his crimes. Roger Pilling, who was convicted of trying to sell the coins to an American buyer in 2023, was today given a Confiscation Order at Durham Crown Court. Pilling had held 46 Anglo-Saxon coins, which date back to 879AD under the rule of King Alfred the Great of Wessex and include two extremely rare ‘Two Emperor’ coins which were issued by King Alfred and Ceolwulf II of Mercia. Of the 46 coins, which hold particular historical and cultural significance and were valued at over £750,000, 41 were recovered during the original sting operation.

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  EPPO appeals to the Court of Justice of the EU against the European Court of Auditors’ refusal to cooperate in a criminal investigation

  April 28, 2025

  (Luxembourg, 28 April 2025) - On 10 February 2025, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) filed an appeal (case number T-99/25) to the Court of Justice of the European Union, under Article 263, paragraph 4, TFEU, against the decision of the European Court of Auditors denying the request of the EPPO to allow a number of staff members of the Court of Auditors to testify in an ongoing criminal investigation. The summary of the appeal has been published today in the Official Journal.