Search Results for: France

Gaps in the international regulation of cryptocurrency and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) could aid money laundering, even in countries where these financial instruments are highly regulated, according to United States President Joe Biden. He warned in a March 9 Executive Order (1) on ensuring the responsible development of crypto assets that there was a need for international cooperation on crypto regulation if the US were to control its virtual currency-linked ML risks.…

Growing environmental concerns and rising awareness of sustainable energy resources is driving considerable growth in the global used cooking oil (UCO) market. Production is also being boosted by recent technological advancements in UCO processing, expanding supplies from the rapidly evolving foodservice industry and initiatives by various governments to promote UCO for industrial use.…

The United Nations Environment Assembly’s (UNEA) planned global pact on plastic may act as a further disruptor and consolidator of efforts to address plastic packaging in the dairy industry. The legally binding agreement, which UN member states agreed would be concluded by 2024, according to a March 2022 announcement, aims to facilitate an end to plastic pollution by addressing the lifecycle of plastic, from design and production to disposal.…

Tunisian students who fled Ukrainian universities following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia have found themselves in academic limbo, struggling to receive recognition for their completed studies, at home or in other countries.

When Russian tanks and missiles violated Ukraine sovereignty, Tunisian news media was filled with patriotic images of Tunisia’s President Kais Saied ordering an airbridge rescue mission, followed by sentimental images of students arriving back in Tunis, cradling beloved pet cats as parents rushed to hug their children.…

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has released its strategy to create a “global baseline” of guidance on how companies and public organisations should make disclosures on their impact on the environment and society. It will try to release this core advice by the end of the year.…

The Ethiopian government is planning to create a system of up to 50 elite boarding schools in its country that will initially supply existing universities with well-educated students aged 18 and above but may later stage higher education courses. It has developed a programme to build these schools in the next five years across the country.…

While the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a shadow of its former self in the Middle East, it has spawned global affiliates and is still very much in business, posing ongoing terrorist financing threats.

At the peak of its power as a self-declared Islamic Caliphate in 2015, ISIS controlled around a third of Syria’s territory and 40%of Iraq, with some 7.7 million people under its rule.…

Bulk cash smuggling remains a favoured way for criminals to move dirty money, despite the increase in electronic means to transfer the proceeds of crime, such as new cryptocurrency services.

In its most recent 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) said in 2019, there were more than 3,000 bulk currency seizures in the United States, with more than USD368 million taken, 62% up from the USD227 million seized in 2018 (although that followed eight years when the value of bulk cash seizures fell).…

France needs to improve its AML/CFT performance regarding designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs), a latest FATF review report has concluded – although the country is generally effective in fighting dirty money flows.

There are particular weaknesses in AML supervision of real estate agents and notaries, however, said FATF, noting the property sector is “exposed to significant ML risks”.…

The costs of investigating fraud have increased over the past three years, according to 79% of respondents to a global survey, with 26% overall and 49% of companies with a turnover of more than USD15 billion seeing this increase as significant, said risk assessment specialists Kroll.…