Day: July 5, 2021

In its 6 July edition, the Devpolicy Blog referred to a recent report from Transparency International: “Through the looking glass: Corruption risk in mining licensing and permitting in the pandemic era”.  This outlines 7 themes of the changed landscape for corruption risk in the mining industry and it and the blog post focuses on one such theme – the first stage in the mining value chain, when decisions are made about whether, where and how mining can take place; allowing for the granting (and/or extension) of licences and permits required. It highlights how corruption risk in the mining industry has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://devpolicy.org/the-perfect-storm-mining-corruption-and-covid-19-20210706/

The report is available at –

https://transparency.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TIA_COVID_Report_web.pdf

It outlines 7 intersecting themes that characterise the changed landscape for corruption risk in the approval of mining licensing and permitting; and considers the broader implications for environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in the mining sector.

1. Reconfiguring mining capital and mineral supply chains: The ‘good guys’ or the ‘race to the bottom’?
2. Border closures and restricted travel: Mediating and dislocating global-local relations
3. Cutting ‘red and green’ tape: Fast-tracking the economic recovery
4. Opening up land and relaxing licensing conditions
5. Stretched oversight: Government funding and pandemic distraction
6. Giving and receiving: Corporate philanthropy and lobbying in pandemic times
7. Shrinking civic space, digital engagement contested

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On 5 July, the Bank for International Settlements published a Financial Stability Institute (FSI) Insight Paper on policy implementation, which explores how non-bank payment service providers (NBPSP) are regulated.  It says that improvements in technology, coupled with growing demand for digital payment methods, are increasingly reshaping the way payments are made. It says that while the payments space continues to be dominated by banks in many countries, the role of NBPSP operating a variety of business models is gaining prominence.  The paper provides a cross-country overview of the regulatory requirements for digital payment and e-money services offered by NBPSP.  It benefited from responses to a survey of 75 jurisdictions conducted in early 2021 and was supplemented by a desktop review of public documents issued by selected authorities.  Among the many findings are that the application of some regulatory requirements for payment services varies widely, novel technologies are creating the potential for new means of payments to emerge, and that regulatory approaches for stablecoins are starting to evolve.

https://www.bis.org/fsi/publ/insights33.pdf

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On 5 July, the Basel Institute on Governance reported that 25 practitioners from 12 countries gathered online on 29 June for the first virtual meeting of the new Knowledge Community on Asset Recovery in Latin America.  The Community provides a collaborative space for interaction between leading practitioners in the field of asset recovery and international judicial cooperation in criminal matters – to develop a critical mass of knowledge on asset recovery, with an emphasis on non-conviction based confiscation, and to disseminate this knowledge among both members and the wider asset recovery community.  Practitioners discussed a case study illustrating how Peru had applied its non-conviction based forfeiture legislation, extinción de dominio, to achieve a confiscation order for assets intended to fund the Shining Path terrorist organisation.

https://baselgovernance.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/Case%20Study%20The%20Nun_EN.pdf

https://baselgovernance.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/210610_La%20Monja-ES.pdf

https://baselgovernance.org/news/first-meeting-asset-recovery-knowledge-community-latin-america-explores-international

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On 5 July, FATF published this review.  This comes 2 years after FATF finalized amendments, which clearly placed AML/CFT requirements on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers (VASP).  It looks at how jurisdictions and the private sector have implemented the revised FATF Standards since the first review. It also looks at changes in the typologies, risks and the market structure of the virtual assets sector.  Many jurisdictions have continued to make progress in implementing the revised FATF Standards. 58 out of 128 reporting jurisdictions advised that they have now implemented the revised FATF Standards, with 52 of these regulating VASP and 6 of these prohibiting the operation of VASP. The other 70 jurisdictions have not yet implemented the revised Standards in their national law.  The report also includes market metrics on peer-to-peer transactions (i.e. virtual asset transfers that occur without a VASP), based on input from seven blockchain analytic companies. 

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/recommendations/Second-12-Month-Review-Revised-FATF-Standards-Virtual-Assets-VASPS.pdf

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On 5 July, EU launched a public consultation governing exports, imports and transit of civilian firearms, with the objective to close possible loopholes, which traffickers can use, and to simplify the legal framework for legal traders. It runs to 11 October.

https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12855-Firearms-review-of-export-rules-and-import-&-transit-measures/public-consultation_en

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2019-2024/johansson/blog/new-rules-counter-gun-smuggling-have-your-say_en

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On 5 July, European Gaming reported that the MGA had issued its Annual Report and audited Financial Statements for the financial year ending 31 December 2020.  It is reported that the MGA –

• issued 69 warnings, suspended 3 licences, and cancelled another 12;
• issued a total of 24 administrative penalties;
• conducted 30 compliance audits by the Compliance and AML function;
• carried out 324 desktop reviews, of which 98 identified deficiencies;
• found 8 individuals and companies not to be “fit and proper”;
• conducted a total of 27 AML/CFT supervisory examinations;
• conducted 65 interviews with prospective MLRO and key persons carrying out the AML/CFT – 8 were rejected;
• received 67 international cooperation requests from other regulators and sent 47 such requests; and
• received 168 requests for information specifically relating to the manipulation of sports competitions or breaches in sports rules.

https://europeangaming.eu/portal/latest-news/2021/07/05/95623/the-mga-publishes-its-2020-annual-report-financial-statements/

https://www.mga.org.mt/wp-content/uploads/MGA-AR-2020-web.pdf

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On 4 July, the law firm of Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore published an article on ILO (now part of the Lexology framework), explaining why great delays occur in cases involving alleged white-collar crime in Nigeria.  It uses as an example a bribery incident which occurred in February 2013 and which caught on video by the State Security Service (and which was released to the public almost immediately).  The charges were brought some 10 months later but, as is often the case in Nigeria, the defendant sought to terminate the charges on technical grounds and evoke appeals, an anticipated strategy employed as part of his defence so as to ensure that there was no quick resolution to the case. This is sometimes described as the “an adjournment is as good as an acquittal” strategy.

https://sooblaw.com/news/30

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