Day: November 13, 2020

On 12 November, the Basel Institute on Governance has published an article providing a quick guide on how criminals obtain a veneer of respectability and exploit secrecy by manipulating and misusing corporate vehicles in offshore jurisdictions. It focuses on the meaning of “corporate vehicle” and “offshore” and other related concepts such as beneficial ownership. It also gives an example of how a trust, which is one common type of corporate vehicle in the vast “offshore ecosystem”, can be used for illicit purposes. 

https://baselgovernance.org/blog/phyllis-atkinsons-quick-guide-offshore-structures-and-beneficial-ownership

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A thorough Client Alert from Baker McKenzie on 13 November says that on 11 November, the UK Government introduced the long-anticipated National Security & Investment Bill before Parliament. The new law will significantly expand the Government’s existing powers to review the national security implications of transactions and has been timed to coincide with the end of the Brexit Transition Period. The Alert provides some detail of the proposals.

The Government will have the ability to “call in” both mandatory transactions (that should have been notified) and transactions meeting the voluntary criteria (but where the purchaser decided not to notify). Although the Government cannot use the call-in power before the new regime has commenced.

https://bakerxchange.com/rv/ff006d7f53672bd58afb0aea9b46b193c8200660

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On 13 November, Field Fisher published an article in which it discusses whether the court’s consideration of the application of “Section 2 powers” will lead to an update of the Criminal Justice Act 1987.  A Section 2 Notice compels parties to turn over information or attend an interview during an investigation into the company, and the hearing involves US engineering and procurement company KBR Inc and a 2017 notice issued under section 2.  The article says that it will be interesting to see whether the Supreme Court upholds the extension of the extraterritorial scope of the SFO’s power and, if it does, this will have a significant impact on foreign companies with a presence in the UK, should their UK-based entity become the subject of an SFO investigation.

https://www.fieldfisher.com/en/insights/supreme-court-to-confirm-extraterritorial-scope-of

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On 13 November, an EU news release advised that such modernised clauses will assist companies with their efforts to comply with the GDPR requirements.  For its work on modernising the SCC, the Commission has also taken into account the guidance from the Schrems II judgment of July 2020.  The draft clauses have been sent to the European Data Protection Board and the European Data Protection Supervisor for their opinion.  After taking these opinions into account, as well as the outcome of the 4-week public consultation, the final clauses will be adopted by the Commission, after having obtained the green light from Member States’ representatives in the so-called comitology procedure.  The updated clauses will be complemented by the guidance prepared by the European Data Protection Board and which was published on 11 November.

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12740-Commission-Implementing-Decision-on-standard-contractual-clauses-between-controllers-and-processors-located-in-the-EU

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12741-Commission-Implementing-Decision-on-standard-contractual-clauses-for-the-transfer-of-personal-data-to-third-countries

https://edpb.europa.eu/news/news/2020/european-data-protection-board-41st-plenary-session-edpb-adopts-recommendations_en

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EU Regulation 2020/1696/EU contains an updated list of individuals subject to sanctions under EU Regulation 2017/2063/EU with the statement of reasons for 14 persons updated.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/935330/Notice_Venezuela_2020_1696.pdf

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2020.381.01.0008.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2020%3A381%3ATOC

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EU Regulation 2020/1695/EU has removed the Neda Industrial Group from the sanctions list under EU Regulation 267/2012. 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2020.381.01.0006.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2020%3A381%3ATOC

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On 12 November, the Cayman Compass reported that the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority has fined Cainvest Bank and Trust Limited $100,000 for failings in the bank’s AML practices.  CIMA said it found instances where the bank had not applied customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence measures; it had not identified beneficial owners; and it had failed to scrutinise certain transactions. In some cases, the bank had not remediated similar findings from an onsite inspection carried out in 2018.

https://www.caymancompass.com/2020/11/12/cima-fines-bank-cainvest-100000/

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On 12 November, Forbes reported that an executive order effectively bans Americans from investing in Chinese companies that support China’s military.  From 11 January, it explicitly prohibits anyone in the US from making investments in 31 Chinese entities deemed by the Trump administration as owned or controlled by the Chinese military.  That list includes popular smartphone-maker Huawei, as well as China Telecom Corp and China Mobil.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2020/11/12/trump-bans-americans-from-investing-in-companies-that-support-chinas-military

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A blog post from OFSI on 13 November from the Charity Commission listed the 4 things – that financial sanctions exist; it is the responsibility of a charity to check; you may need a licence to allow certain activity; and charities must report any breaches.  The Charity Commission he CCEW supported OFSI in developing a dedicated factsheet which includes top tips and practical examples.  A Compliance Toolkit also has detailed guidance and useful tools to help charities working internationally covering everything from risk assessment and due diligence to moving money and monitoring funds.

https://ofsi.blog.gov.uk/2020/11/13/4-things-charities-need-to-know-about-financial-sanctions/

Factsheet –

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/653168/OFSI_Charity_FAQ_web.pdf

Protecting charities from harm: compliance toolkit – how to safeguard your charity from terrorism, fraud and other abuse

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/protecting-charities-from-harm-compliance-toolkit

I had omitted the following link (as it did not seem to generate much interest!), but it seemed time to add it again and say that, if you would like to make a (polite) gesture and help me with my removal and computer costs, I have a page at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/KoIvM842y