NEWS: AUSTRAC fines real estate, jewellery and accounting firms for failing to enrol

Regulatory Watch News

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  GRECO publishes summaries of reports on Denmark, Hungary, Türkiye and Ukraine

  GRECO

  September 30, 2026

  The Group of States against Corruption of the Council of Europe (GRECO) has published the summaries of four reports assessing the progress that Denmark, Hungary, Türkiye and Ukraine have made in implementing outstanding recommendations to prevent corruption among parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors. It has also published a summary of a report on Türkiye evaluating compliance with anti-corruption measures in respect of high officials in the central government and law enforcement agencies. GRECO has published these summaries following its March 2026 plenary decision that a summary of an evaluation or compliance report shall be published within six months of the report’s adoption, unless the member state concerned authorises publication of the full report before that date.

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  Investigation Troja: EPPO uncovers criminal organisation suspected of having sold over one million used mobile phones as if they were new

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  September 30, 2026

  The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cologne (Germany) has been conducting searches and arrests since last Saturday against a criminal organisation suspected of having sold over one million mobile phones as if they were new, while in reality they were used. The criminal scheme caused an estimated damage of at least €300 million to EU consumers and a VAT loss of over €30 million to several EU Member States. 1770 police, tax and customs officers carried out over 160 searches and seizures in 19 countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands), and a witness was heard in the UK. Seven suspects were arrested in Austria, Germany and Spain, including the two leaders of the organisation.

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  SEC Charges Multiple Entities in Fraud Schemes Totaling at Least $15 Million That Used WhatsApp and Other Platforms to Lure Investors

  SEC

  September 29, 2026

  Washington D.C., Sept. 29, 2026 —

  The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged multiple entities that are likely operated by individuals located overseas for defrauding hundreds of retail investors, including many in the U.S., through so-called investment confidence scams where the perpetrators sought to build online relationships with unsuspecting clients before stealing their money. In two separate complaints, both filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the SEC charged Cryptoaiml Ltd. and Cryptoaiml Capital Foundation as well as TSAI Pro Ltd. and TSAI Capital Foundation with fraud in connection with schemes that feigned SEC compliance while misappropriating more than $12.5 and $2.8 million, respectively, from investors through online platforms.