Search Results for: International law

Auto parts manufacturers worldwide are assessing the impact on their businesses of the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) from internal combustion engines (ICE), given EVs need fewer components, reducing demand. Most assessments say that there are about 20 moving parts in an electric engine, compared to 2,000 in an ICE (1).…

The New Zealand Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has called for comments on planned reductions to allowable lead levels in paints, and in art materials such as chalk, crayons, and felt-tip pens.

The country’s current lead level limit for paint is 0.1% (1,000 parts per million/ppm) and the proposed changes would reduce this to 0.009% (90ppm), in line with countries including Australia, Canada and the United States, the EPA said in a note.…

The global market for tallow, traditionally a common ingredient in the production of soaps, detergents, and lubricants, is undergoing considerable movement, driven by rising consumption of meat products coupled with the rising usage of tallow in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, biofuels and feeds industries.…

Implementing international sanctions is never easy, but the sanctions regime on Iran is highly complex, buffeted by shifting diplomatic stances. With its Security Council ally Russia relying on Iranian military and technology supplies for it to pursue its invasion of Ukraine, time-limited UN restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme officially lapsed on October 18.…

FATF has released detailed guidance on how crowd-funding networks can be abused by terrorist groups, as US FIU FinCEN has warned these have been abused by Gaza-based terror group Hamas, following its massacre and abduction of Israeli and foreign nationals on October 7 (1).…

FATF has reformed its recommendation 8 on the terrorist financing abuse of non-profit organisations (NPOs) to ensure that many charities, associations, trade unions, research units and advocacy groups are not targeted by CFT action. It has defined the kind of non-profits that governments should assess for potential TF abuse to better focus such law enforcement, limiting it to non-profits that raise or disburse funds, including spending it on good works.…

The European Commission has published an extensive list (1) of the European Union’s (EU) politically exposed persons (PEPs) who should be subject to greater due diligence in banking and other transactions. The list covers functions, not individuals, in the bloc’s 27 member states and the EU’s own institutions.…

Hong Kong-based shirtmaker Esquel has been developing natural dyes to boost its sustainability, seeking similar quality colours and fastness to dyes based on artificial finishing chemicals. These innovations were explained during the company’s annual Esquel Integral Conversation event, tis year held on October 26, as usual in Guilin, southern Chinaat Esquel’s Integral Sustainable Development Garden.…

The UK government’s British Business Bank (BBB) has cancelled some guarantees offered to banks to lend to crisis-hit businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. Figures obtained by Reuters under a freedom of information (FOI) request show that the state-owned financier had withdrawn guarantees to loans made by commercial banks, which it had originally underwritten at the height of the health crisis, worth GBP979 million pounds (USD1.2 billion) linked to 10,786 outstanding loans by October 11.…

The ability of computer algorithms to identify outlier behaviour and indicate potential fraud is becoming stronger as IT specialists, mathematicians and AI develop new applications and techniques, offering anti-fraud professionals better tools to unearth and prosecute financial crime.

A McKinsey report from November 2022 (1) noted how companies are using machine-learning algorithms to assess data to maximise fraud detection through reducing false positives and missed fraud.…