July 13, 2020 – raytodd.blog

LIABILITY OF LEGAL PERSONS FOR CORRUPTION OFFENCES

In May, the Council of Europe published this publication which is said to have 2 purposes –

to provide policy-makers and practitioners with an overview of the concept of corporate liability and enforcement approaches taken by different jurisdictions; and
to inform future efforts on codification and revision of rules on liability of legal entities in member and non-member states by providing model legal provisions and accompanying explanatory notes.

The publication refers to relevant international standards inviting states to introduce similar mechanisms into their respective systems. It is also said that this publication can also be used as a training manual, as well as a resource on standards and comparative practices. The suggested model legal provisions could be used as a baseline by jurisdictions which are yet to introduce rules in this area. It says that the liability of legal entities is steadily gaining equal footing to that of individual liability, and this does not come as a surprise, bearing in mind the roles played by many multinational companies in bribing foreign officials or laundering the proceeds of crime.

The document examines the concepts of (potential) liability of corporate bodies – and how both common law and civil law jurisdictions have approached this. It also considers the various penalties and sanctions that can be applied. It includes use of illustrative case studies and examines the various international treaties and agreement which are relevant.

https://rm.coe.int/liability-of-legal-persons/16809ef7a0

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THE RISE OF INTERNET OF THINGS SECURITY LAWS

An article in the June edition of Pratt’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Report is the first of 2 examining the enactment of California’s Internet of Things (IoT) security law, and the wave of similar IoT laws expected to follow close behind in 2020. Part 1 discusses the current legal landscape as it relates to the security of connected devices and takes a closer look at California’s new IoT security law — which went into effect at the start of the year. Part 2 provides tips and strategies for IoT device manufacturers to comply with the IoT security regulations expected to begin to blanket the US.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-rise-of-internet-of-things-security-50035/

https://www.blankrome.com/publications/rise-internet-things-security-laws-part-ii

THE CUMEX TRADING SCANDAL: WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UK?

The May edition of the Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law carried a comprehensive article on the fallout from CumEx trading, a dividend arbitrage trading practice that focussed on multiple tax rebate claims worth an estimated €55 billion.

http://5sah.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/i/E3A6C303793093B52540EF23F30FEDED

HOW THE UK BORDER WITH THE EU WILL WORK AFTER THE BREXIT TRANSITION PERIOD

A news release from the Cabinet Office on 13 July announced a guide for the so-called Border operating Model, saying that to afford industry extra time to make necessary arrangements, the UK Government has taken the decision to introduce the new border controls in three stages up until 1 July 2021.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-border-operating-model

PODCAST: MONEY MULES AND MONEY LAUNDERING

In the latest Suspicious Transaction Report podcast from RUSI, host Anton Moiseienko is joined by journalist and cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs to dive into the workings of money mule networks. Are they innocent enablers or knowing accomplices? And how do you recognise a mule when you see one?

https://www.rusi.org/multimedia/season-two-unwitting-accomplice

UK GOVERNMENT TO PROSCRIBE RIGHT-WING FEUERKRIEG DIVISION

A news release from the Home Office on 13 July advised that the Home Secretary has asked Parliament for permission to proscribe the white supremacist group, which was founded in late 2018 and operates across North America and Europe. It advocates the use of violence and mass murder in pursuit of an apocalyptic race war and promote their ideology online, often using social media platforms to target teens and people in their early 20s. Proscription will make it a criminal offence to be a member of or invite support for the group, with those found guilty facing up to 10 years behind bars.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/priti-patel-proscribes-right-wing-terrorist-group

HOW THE MAFIA PLUNDERED ITALY’S PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM AND PLACED THE MONEY IN THE WESTERN FINANCIAL SYSTEM

On 13 July, an article in the Irish Times claims that profits gained from misery of patients in Calabrian hospitals washed into financial centres of London and Milan. It is said that an investigation by the Financial Times has established how the trail of money from these crimes washed into the financial centres of London and Milan. Over the past 5 years, profits gained from the misery of patients in Calabrian hospitals were packaged up into debt instruments using the kind of financial engineering typically favoured by hedge funds and investment banks.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/dirty-money-how-the-mafia-plundered-italy-s-public-health-system-1.4303162

ROGUE TANKERS HELP MADURO EVADE SANCTIONS

On 13 July, The Record website carried an AP story that claims that new players are willing to brave the heightened risks and help keep Nicolás Maduro’s regime in power, according to a new report from C4ADS and IBI Consultants. The NGO C4ADS identified 214 vessels that visited Venezuela in the year after sanctions were imposed, but not in the previous 12 months. While China, India and Cuba replaced the US as the top destinations for Venezuela’s heavy crude, traffic to these was down by around 20% in the year following sanctions. In total, 9 countries including Bahrain, South Africa and Portugal emerged as new destinations that had not appeared in the previous year.

https://www.therecord.com/ts/news/world/us/2020/07/13/report-rogue-tankers-help-maduro-evade-sanctions.html

The report can be found at –

https://c4ads.org/s/Staying-Afloat.pdf

RUSSIAN FRONT COMPANIES, TAX HAVENS TIED TO ASSAD’S ‘CHEMICAL ARSENAL’

On 13 July, KYC 360 carried a report from The Times on a Global Witness investigation which is said to have revealed that a Russian-Syrian business network has been accused of using front companies, tax havens in British overseas territories and European countries to transfer millions of dollars around the world for the Assad regime. The network, run by a Russian-Syrian businessman called Mudalal Khouri and his brothers, is said to have helped the secretive organisation developing the regime’s chemical weapons to acquire raw materials and equipment, according to the investigative report.

https://www.riskscreen.com/kyc360/news/moscow-front-companies-tax-havens-tied-to-assads-chemical-arsenal/

https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corruption-and-money-laundering/khouri-networks-global-connections/

https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/laundering-misery-the-khouri-networks-global-reach

KLEPTOCRACY, THE CONGOLESE PRESIDENTIAL FAMILY, ILL-GOTTEN GAINS AND A MIAMI PENTHOUSE

On 9 July, Global Witness published Part 3 of its series on alleged kleptocracy in the Republic of Congo as US federal prosecutors move to seize a Miami penthouse of Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso, the son of Republic of Congo’s president, a sitting MP and former powerful figure in the national oil company, SNPC. The complaint filed in the US is said to detail how he allegedly embezzled millions of dollars of public funds from SNPC, laundered it through a network of shell companies and used it to buy expensive real estate and luxury goods in the US, France and elsewhere. From 2007 to 2017, he spent more than $29 million acquiring assets and paying for his and his family’s lavish lifestyle, according to the US prosecutors – a sum equivalent to around 10% of Congo’s 2020 health budget. He allegedly accepted bribes worth over $1.5 million from oil companies.

https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/congolese-kleptocracy/

congo