Category: Asia-Pacific

Regulatory Watch News

• 

  Germany: EPPO carries out searches at bank in €200 million VAT fraud investigation

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  December 6, 2024

  (Luxembourg, 6 December 2024) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Berlin (Germany) has conducted searches at a bank in Munich in a probe into a possible €200 million VAT fraud. Under investigation is the managing director of a company, who is suspected to have founded the company with the sole purpose of creating a fictitious business identity to process transactions via his company’s bank accounts.

• 

  Monetary Authority takes disciplinary action against China CITIC Bank International Limited for contraventions of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance

  HKMA

  December 6, 2024

  The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (6 December) that it had completed an investigation and disciplinary proceedings for China CITIC Bank International Limited (CITIC) under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Chapter 615 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (AMLO) (Note 1).  The Monetary Authority (MA) has imposed a pecuniary penalty of HK$4,000,000 against CITIC for contraventions of the AMLO.

• 

  AUSTRAC takes action to stamp out financial crime through cryptocurrency ATMs

  Austrac

  December 6, 2024

  AUSTRAC is cracking down on cryptocurrency ATM providers in Australia who don’t comply with the country’s anti-money laundering regime. AUSTRAC intelligence shows cryptocurrency poses a heightened money laundering risk, and is increasingly being exploited for money laundering, scams and money mule activities. An internal AUSTRAC cryptocurrency taskforce has been established to ensure digital currency exchanges (DCEs) that provide crypto ATM services meet minimum standards and have robust practices in place to identify and minimise the risk that their machines will be used to move money associated with scams, fraud or other proceeds of crime.