On 14 December, the FATF-style regional body for Latin America, GAFILAT, published this report dated April 2020.  Its purpose is to introduce the practices, challenges and barriers that exist in the GAFILAT member countries regarding the availability and access to basic and beneficial ownership (BO) information.  Likewise, based on the challenges identified, the work presents proposals, best practices and lessons learned from both Latin American countries and the rest of the world.  The last section of the paper presents a possible road map, depending on each country’s context, as well as a list of resources adopted by different countries to overcome obstacles to increased transparency.

https://www.gafilat.org/index.php/es/biblioteca-virtual/gafilat/documentos-de-interes-17/traducciones/3990-report-on-practices-and-challenges-of-latin-american-countries-on-mechanisms-for-collecting-basic-and-beneficial-ownership-information/file

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On 14 December, a Notice from HM Treasury advised that, following EU Regulation 2020/2021/EU, Delphin KAIMBI had been removed from the list of those subject to sanctions in connection with the DRC, and that 11 other entries had been amended.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/943949/Notice_DRC_2020_2021.pdf

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On 14 December, the Compliance & Enforcement Blog of the Corporate Compliance & Enforcement Program and the New York University School of Law published a post explaining the content and effect of the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019, included within the National Defense Authorization Act 2021, and which provides for a significant expansion of beneficial ownership disclosure requirements for companies in the US.

https://wp.nyu.edu/compliance_enforcement/2020/12/14/congress-to-include-significant-expansion-of-beneficial-ownership-disclosure-requirements-for-u-s-companies-and-non-u-s-companies-registered-to-do-business-in-the-united-states-as-a-part-of-the-2021/

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On 14 December, OFAC advised that 4 Turkish nationals had been added to its SDN List.  It also announced the creation of the Non-SDN Menu-Based Sanctions (NS-MBS) List, and added 1 new Turkish entity to that List – the PRESIDENCY OF DEFENSE INDUSTRIES.  The new NS-MBS List is said to identify persons subject to certain non-blocking menu-based sanctions that have been imposed under statutory or other authorities, including certain sanctions described in Section 235 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), as implemented by Executive Order 13849, and the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, as amended by CAATSA. 

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20201214_33

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On 14 December, OFAC announced the addition of 2 individuals to its SDN List and said to be linked to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security.  They are said to have been involved in the abduction of Robert A “Bob” Levinson on Iran’s Kish Island in 2007, and his detention and probable death.

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20201214

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1210

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On 11 December, AUSTRAC issued an assessment of the money laundering and terrorism financing risks associated with the junket tour operations sector to assist casinos to identify, mitigate and manage risks.  AUSTRAC assesses the overall money laundering and terrorism financing risk associated with the junket tour operations sector to be HIGH.  This rating is based on assessments of the criminal threat environment, the vulnerabilities present in the sector and the consequences associated with the criminal threats.

https://www.austrac.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-12/JTO_2020_FINAL.pdf

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On 14 December, OCCRP published an article about Amanda Turgunova, whose husband was Raimbek Matraimov, a Kyrgyz government official.  Matraimov had been a public servant since the late 1990s, when he reportedly joined the customs service as an inspector.  He rose through the ranks and was promoted to deputy head of the entire service in 2015.  But his highest official salary barely exceeded $1,000 per month, if his own asset declarations are to be believed. While the full extent of his wealth was never clear, although many people in Kyrgyzstan have long believed the Matraimov family to be extremely rich — earning him the popular nickname “Raim Million”.  An investigation is said to have shown show Turgunova (whose legal name is not Amanda, but Uulkan), her nanny, and her daughter cruising on a private jet, enjoying yacht outings, and staying in some of the world’s most luxurious hotels.  They also show Turgunova flashing the latest additions to her growing collection of clothes from iconic brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel.  The cost of the items Turgunova posted while Matraimov was working as a public official, and which reporters were able to identify, adds up to over $400,000. She posted many more that could not be identified.  In October, Matraimov was arrested and, while his fate is unclear, before being released under house arrest, he had promised to compensate the state budget for “criminal acts” (it is unclear whether he has admitted any guilt) and has since been making payments.  It is said that observers are sceptical, raising the question of whether Matraimov is simply buying his way free.

https://www.occrp.org/en/the-matraimov-kingdom/the-beautiful-life-of-a-kyrgyz-customs-official

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On 14 December, The Citizen reported that the minerals minister has ordered the immediate suspension of 3 officers of Chunya Mineral Centre over their alleged involvement in smuggling.  It is alleged that traders smuggled 15.4 kg of gold said to involve 5 people (including 2 police officers) of 6 counts over their alleged involvement in mineral smuggling.

https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/tanzania-mineral-minister-suspends-officers-over-smuggling-of-sh2-billion-gold-3228448

 

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On 14 December, the South China Morning Post reported that donations to activist organisations, opposition parties and those supporting anti-government protesters have come under investigation, following recent cases in which police have alleged money laundering in targeting individuals and groups.  The cases have raised questions about whether crowdfunding is still allowed for opposition parties and groups that support anti-government activities.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3113766/donations-hong-kong-activist-groups-opposition-scrutinised

 

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On 9 December, a Tax Alert from Baker McKenzie reported that, on 21 November, EU Member States reached consensus on a proposal for the 7^th Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC7).  The updated Directive is a part of a package which was published by the European Commission earlier this year to promote fair and simple taxation.  It is expected that DAC7 will be officially adopted on short notice.  DAC7 aims to strengthen the existing framework for exchange of information and administrative cooperation, by providing a better flow of information with respect to taxpayers that generate income through digital platforms. It introduces an obligation for certain digital platforms to collect and report information to their local tax authority on income generated by certain sellers on those digital platforms; and this reporting obligation imposes an additional compliance burden for the digital platform companies in scope, as such companies will be confronted with an additional due diligence and reporting obligation.  The Tax Alert also notes that preparations are already in motion for an eight Directive (“DAC8”) which will cover crypto assets.

https://insightplus.bakermckenzie.com/bm/tax/the-netherlands-european-member-states-reach-consensus-on-reporting-obligation-for-digital-platform-dac7

 

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