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Regulatory Watch News

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  Romania: EPPO conducts searches in investigation into suspected corruption and procurement fraud involving medical equipment

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  April 27, 2026

  (Luxembourg, 27 April 2026) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) is leading an investigation into suspected corruption and procurement fraud related to the acquisition of medical equipment, with searches carried out in Bucharest, Brașov and Mureș last week. The investigation concerns a public procurement procedure for medical equipment worth approximately €1.5 million, conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. Based on the evidence, the tender specifications were allegedly tailored to favour a specific company, which ultimately won the contract.

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  Scam alert related to banks

  HKMA

  April 27, 2026

  The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to the press releases issued by the banks listed below relating to fraudulent websites, internet banking login screens, phishing emails or other scams, which have been reported to the HKMA.  Hyperlinks to the press releases are available on the HKMA website.  

  Bank	Type of Scam
  The Bank of East Asia, Limited	Fraudulent website and internet banking login screen
  Shanghai Commercial Bank Limited	Fraudulent website and internet banking login screen
  Chong Hing Bank Limited	Fraudulent website and internet banking login screen
  OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) Limited	Fraudulent websites and internet banking login screens
  China CITIC Bank International Limited	Fraudulent website and internet banking login screen

   

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  Sejean Reid and Whitney Charles charged with fraud and money laundering

  FINTRAC

  April 24, 2026

  TORONTO – The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announces that Mr. Sejean Reid and Ms. Whitney Charles of Oakville, Ontario have each been charged under the Criminal Code with fraud over $5,000 pursuant to s. 380(a)(a) and laundering proceeds of crime pursuant to s. 462.31. The OSC alleges that between December 2021 and December 2023, Mr. Reid and Ms. Charles ran an investment scheme called ‘Golden Zone Corporation’. Investors were told, according to the OSC’s allegations, the funds were being professionally traded on well-known platforms, that their money was protected, and were promised weekly returns of 5–9%. The OSC believes these claims were false. About $4 million was collected from investors, but only a small amount was used for real investment trading. Most of the money was instead used to pay earlier investors, or for the personal use of Mr. Reid or Ms. Charles.