Category: MEA

Regulatory Watch News

• 

  Refund fraud could be costing UK retailers over £5 billion a year, new research finds

  Cifas

  May 22, 2026

  Refund fraud could be costing UK online retailers up to £5.76 billion a year, according to new research from the University of Portsmouth, funded by the UK’s leading fraud prevention service, Cifas. The Mapping the Online Economy of Refund Fraud report – conducted with colleagues from the University of Bristol, University of Surrey and Queensland University of Technology – launches today (21 May) and analyses nearly 500,000 posts across cybercrime forums, Telegram and Discord. The research found fraudsters have been using these channels to openly share techniques, target retailers and sell fraudulent refunds as a paid service. Some ‘refund‑as‑a‑service’ vendors were even taking up to 30% of the refund value for a guaranteed outcome

• 

  SFC steps up measures to address forged documents, money laundering risks and account opening standards

  Securities and Futures Commission

  May 22, 2026

  The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today issued a circular setting out the expected controls for account opening and maintenance of client relationships. The circular follows the SFC’s review of the account opening practices of 12 securities brokers. The review identified significant deficiencies, including inadequate due diligence on account opening documentation, the acceptance of questionable or forged documents during the account opening process, and weaknesses in managing cross‑border correspondent relationships with overseas intermediaries. The SFC is deeply concerned about the potential misuse of client accounts for suspicious or illicit transactions, and hence heightened money laundering / terrorist financing risks. The SFC requires all licensed corporations (LCs) to conduct an internal review as soon as practicable to detect if any questionable or forged documents have been accepted for account opening.

• 

  Nigerian national jailed over failed $4.4m heroin import plot

  Australia Federal Police

  May 22, 2026

  A Nigerian national has been sentenced to six years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three years and six months, after attempting to import almost 9kg of heroin concealed inside paint roller brushes. The man, 28, had previously pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to possess commercial quantities of unlawfully imported border-controlled drugs, namely heroin, contrary to section 307.5 by virtue of subsection 11.1 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).