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With low labour costs and stable local demand, Ukraine has long been one of the favoured bases for major tobacco companies. However, even without taking into account before the disruption caused by the Covid-19 crisis, the market has been in flux in recent months as the new Ukrainian government has made efforts to change tobacco taxation while ramping up its fight against tobacco smuggling.…

CYBER-security specialists are warning that AML/CFT officers, law enforcers and IT security managers must prepare now for emerging threats posed by quantum computers, which are already available on the cloud and whose power will grow exponentially in the coming decade. Quantum computing could deliver water-tight solutions for financial institutions seeking dirty and terror money flows, but it could also create hacking tools that could break the toughest IT and cyber-security systems.…

FATF has called on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to work harder in tightening controls against the abuse of its complex jurisdictional set-up by money launderers and terror financiers, pointing to a weak implementation of its largely solid AML/CFT regulations by law enforcement and regulators.…

Derisking through the dismantling of correspondent banking relationships continues to be a problem, according to the latest data, prompting concerns that informal transaction networks may grow, whose AML checks may be less robust than those applied by traditional banks.

The European Union (EU) is concerned, with the European Banking Authority (EBA) in October 2019 issued a report on risks affecting the financial sector, with derisking one of its biggest concerns regarding money laundering.…

The leader of Spain’s food manufacturing industry has called on the country’s government to offer more help in supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) to companies who have stayed open during the Covid-19 pandemic to feed consumers staying at home. Mauricio García de Quevedo, director general de la Federación Española de Industrias de Alimentación y Bebidas (FIAB), told just-food that companies and workers in the food and beverage industry (nearly half a million people), “have reacted in an exemplary manner; they have never stopped supplying the public with the products they need, and maintain the variety, quality and safety that characterise our products.”…

The president of Italian food industry association Federalimentare has told of his concern about the medium- to long-term effects of the drop in demand for Made in Italy foods caused by Covid-19 epidemic affecting the country.

Ivano Vacondio said that the current spike in domestic food demand is “atypical and fleeting”, noting that hoarding by Italian consumers has, until now, camouflaged problems that will soon emerge, he said in statements sent to just-food.…

The president of the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers’ Association (TGSD) has complained about the treatment his members have experienced at the hand of international brands during the Covid-19 crisis. By cancelling current and future orders, extending payment terms and demanding discounts, brands have devastated the Turkish garment manufacturing sector, with 80% of factories stopping production, and leaving them with an estimated USD3 billion in inventory on hold, said the TGSD boss.…

The world’s fast-growing digital banking and payments sector requires regulatory compliance software that is as scalable as the fast-growing number of users. Some digital banks are developing systems inhouse, which has certain risks, while others have outsourced regulatory solutions.

These financial institutions – which had 2.4 billion users in 2020 according to UK-based Juniper Research – are also known as neo- or challenger banks, and are characterised by being totally digital, operating through a website and smartphone app and having no physical branches, such as the UK-based Monzo and Revolut.…

India’s packaged food industry has been hit hard by the 21-day national lockdown announced by the government on March 25 (last Wednesday) to control the spread of Covid-19 infections. Despite being formally exempted from the lockdown, most Indian food factories remain closed, with their supply chains having been disrupted and distribution effectively suspended nationwide.…

The Indian packaged food industry is hoping to restart a significant number of operations this week, saying state and municipal governments are increasingly willing to approve exemptions for the sector and support services from a general nationwide Covid-19 lockdown on manufacturing and trade, currently in place until May 3.…