NEWS: VAT fraud among EU crime-fighting priorities for next 4 years

Regulatory Watch News

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  Retail cyber attacks: NCA arrest four for attacks on M&S, Co-op and Harrods

  National Crime Agency

  July 11, 2025

  Four people have been arrested in the UK as part of a National Crime Agency investigation into cyber attacks targeting M&S, Co-op and Harrods. Two males aged 19, another aged 17, and a 20-year-old female were apprehended in the West Midlands and London this morning (10 July) on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences, blackmail, money laundering and participating in the activities of an organised crime group. All four were arrested at their home addresses and had their electronic devices seized for digital forensic analysis.

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  Croatia: Two individuals and nursery school indicted for subsidy fraud and document forgery

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  July 11, 2025

  (Luxembourg, 11 July 2025) The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Zagreb (Croatia) has filed an indictment against the owner of a nursery school, the school pedagogue and the nursery school itself for subsidy fraud and document forgery, involving EU social funds. As previously reported, the owner of the school did not use the funds that were allocated to the school within the project “Further improvement of services for children in the system of early preschool upbringing and education” for the approved purpose. Instead of using the funds to, for example, extend the nursery’s opening hours, train teachers or hire additional personnel, the defendants allegedly used them to cover regular running costs, while the owner allegedly also spent it for personal purposes.

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  Improvements to Commission approach to fining gambling operators

  Gambling Commission

  July 11, 2025

  The Gambling Commission is to strengthen its approach to calculating and imposing financial penalties on gambling companies that breach its rules.

  Following consultation the Commission’s Statement of principles for determining financial penalties will be changed to bring greater clarity and transparency. These changes include:

  • providing a clear and distinct seven step process the Commission will follow when assessing and imposing a financial penalty
  • providing transparency on how the Commission will determine the level of seriousness of the breach, and the introduction of five levels of seriousness
  • determining the starting point for the penal element of the penalty by reference to the seriousness of the breach and a percentage of Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) or equivalent income generated during the period of the breach
  • making adjustments to the penalty for aggravating and mitigating factors, deterrence and early resolution.