Financial

A new white paper advising regulated businesses, including estate agents, to stop using manual methods for onboarding clients has been published by anti-money-laundering specialist SmartSearch

https://propertyindustryeye.com/new-white-paper-calls-for-effective-aml-due-diligence/

Visas aimed at enticing foreign investors with fast-track residency in the UK are being scrapped with immediate effect, the UK home secretary confirmed yesterday (17 February).

https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/investor-visa-route-for-wealthy-individuals-scrapped-in-fraud-crackdown/#.YhFZegFqrE0.twitter

The UK’s tax authority has opened 20 criminal investigations involving digital assets as it seeks to crack down on crypto fraud.

https://www.cityam.com/taxman-opens-20-investigations-into-crypto-assets/

The FCA had a busy year in 2021 as it sought to fight wars on several fronts against fraud, scams and anti-money laundering. Here’s what those actions can teach us…

https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/21741/what-can-we-learn-from-the-fcas-fines-in-2021

Data released by the Office of National Statistics this week show that Fraud offences reported in England & Wales grew substantially in the year to September 2021.

https://ifamagazine.com/article/investment-fraud-jumps-42/

A construction firm has been wound up by the High Court after tricking investors into parting with more than £1m of their cash.

https://www.ftadviser.com/property/2022/01/26/fraud-firm-wound-up-after-taking-1m-from-investors/

Britain’s gambling industry is being warned that the Commission ‘will use all tools at its disposal to ensure consumer safety’ following enforcement action involving suspending an online casino from operating and then fining it £3.8m.

https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news/article/licence-suspension-and-gbp3-8m-fine-for-genesis-global-limited

FCA actions in 2021 resulted in financial organisations in the UK being fined £568 million in 2021. This total is made up by fines against major banks and action against individuals for insider dealing, non-financial misconduct and carrying out regulated activities without authorisation.

https://ifamagazine.com/article/fca-fines-uk-finance-firms-568m-in-2021-in-response-to-surge-in-pandemic-charged-financial-crime/

Your article on the drop in value of Ethereum and its likely alignment to recent changes in crypto-regulation in China, highlights to me the need for multilateral regulation around cryptocurrency. This feels like a necessity if we are to protect consumers globally from rising crypto-fraud and to avoid market reactions such as this.

https://www.cityam.com/letters-regulations-are-needed-to-stop-crypto-fraud/

Push payments, cryptocurrency fraud and a jump in interest rates could lead to more litigation in the financial services sector in 2022, an industry expert discussed with City A.M. this afternoon.

https://www.cityam.com/financial-services-litigation-in-2022-push-payments-crypto-fraud-esg-and-a-jump-in-interest-rates/