Search Results for: Russia

Brazil could once again impose restrictions on the country’s strong tobacco leaf industry under the new centre-left administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who plans to reinstate a committee to target production to reducing smoking. The 77-year-old leader, who also governed between 2003–2010, so far is not allowing tobacco business leaders to take part in policy debates.…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given the Cypriot government an additional incentive to remedy its past reputation as a haven for Russian money of questionable provenance. As the war launched by President Vladimir Putin has as of March 27 caused 8,401 civilian casualties, according to UN figures, the internationally recognised government of Cyprus, which still controls just the southern two-thirds of its island (the north being run by the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus), has launched some significant AML/CFT reforms.…

AML is expensive, and for obliged entities, the cost increases the more suspicious transactions they must assess and process. So, it is far better for them to prevent – where possible – a potential money launderer from opening an account with them in the first place.…

Southern Europe has always been a key region for creative textile and clothing development and so it is no surprise that local companies have been enthusiastic adopters of digital textile printing, given the flexibility, speed and sustainability that these systems offer.…

Despite high production costs and continued geopolitical instability, Italy’s domestic market for paints and coatings performed well in 2022 thanks to government tax credit schemes that boosted the building sector. Indeed, according to national paint trade and industry association Assovernici, Italy’s paints and coatings market posted overall satisfactory performance in 2022.…

The precious metals and stones sector is increasingly under the spotlight regarding ML and TF, particularly gold. Given the fungibility of precious metals, the complexity of their supply chains and the varying levels of oversight worldwide, they continue to be an attractive means to launder money – especially gold, which remains the precious metal of choice for launderers.…

AML is all about the deft use of IT and the marshalling of data culled from financial records, but comprehensive KYC and client monitoring, as well as proactive ML investigations following up a suspicion, are aided by effective online tools that can uncover essential information.…

South Asian clothing manufacturers are facing lean times, with international brands reducing or cancelling orders, but industry association leaders are looking towards a recovery by the end of this year. In major production hub Bangladesh, key purchasers from the USA and Europe have been cutting their order books as continuing high inflation depresses consumer demand and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sharpens nervousness among corporates and investors.…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine launched last February (2022) has severely damaged Ukraine’s digital textile printing segment, and while it has also harmed the Russian industry, this sector has performed better than expected, despite comprehensive western sanctions.

In Ukraine, where the invasion had killed 8,101 civilians by February 28 (UN data), the country’s light industry, including its digital textile printing sector, continues to suffer from bombardment, logistical bottlenecks and persistent power cuts.…

Money launderers continue to develop layering techniques to insert criminal proceeds into legitimate financial transactions, and these typologies are becoming increasingly varied.

‘Cuckoo smurfing’ is one new technique attracting attention, for instance, said a briefing note from Australian FIU Austrac (1).…