Day: July 7, 2021

On 7 July, the Jersey FSC launched a public consultation after a recent review into the process the FSC follows for deciding whether a regulatory sanction should be imposed at the conclusion of an enforcement case.  It is proposing to make some changes to streamline how we reach these decisions for imposing regulatory sanctions, which can include a civil financial penalty (or fine). The changes, it says, are designed to make the process quicker and less complex, as well as reduce costs for the FSC, businesses and individuals.  The closing date is 1 September.

https://www.jerseyfsc.org/industry/consultations/dmp-consultation/

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On 2 July, a Paper from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime says that the waters off Somalia are some of the richest fishing grounds in the world and are still largely untapped.  It says that since the decline in attacks by Somali pirates since 2012, foreign fishing fleets have gradually returned to Somali waters. However, many of these vessels, particularly those originating in Iran, Yemen and SE Asia, routinely engage in IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing practices.  It says that state institutions are extremely weak and corruption is widespread.  Fishing licences and other permissions issued by one local Somali authority are often not recognized by another.  The paper presents 3 case studies of IUU fishing practices in Somalia, each illustrating a different facet of corruption within Somali state institutions.

https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GITOC-ESAObs-Fishy-Business-Illegal-fishing-in-Somalia-and-the-capture-of-state-institutions.pdf

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A guide from the UAE government in June explains that an imaginary video and audio files is called “deepfake”.  A deepfake signifies content that is fake and created using deep learning.  It has no basis in reality, even though it appears very realistic and convincing.  Deepfakes are a new form of an old problem related to the distribution of fake media content. The guide aims to define the problem of deepfakes. It also presents protection measures and how to report identified deepfakes to the appropriate authority.

https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/document/C4D1FAQGrXsR4LqOKNg/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/0/1625655310537?e=1625752800&v=beta&t=kvEoCFAp4sqm6aDhazlfUS6CKvWRXeY4Pe-Bp0oCwjg

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On 6 July, an article from Yahoo News reported on a month-long investigation by the South China Morning Post which has revealed the increasing pervasiveness of “grey channels” being used to smuggle Australian lobsters from Hong Kong to mainland China.  It was formerly a problem, but when the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAfta) was signed in 2015, tariffs were wiped out, making smuggling unprofitable – also turned China into Australia’s main market for fresh and live rock lobsters. However, the falling out between China and Australia led to the Chinese authorities warning traders that they faced the risk of delays to their imports of certain Australian goods including live lobsters.  An official ban never came about, but many of the banned goods – as well as unrestricted Australian exports such as fruit – were met with various levels of increased customs inspections or delays or were detained altogether.  Seemingly overnight, the lucrative rock lobster trade into China vanished.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/china-australia-relations-smuggled-lobsters-092219286.html

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3140019/china-australia-relations-how-smuggled-lobsters-take-grey

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On 6 July, Middle East Monitor reported that a new report says that the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad has used German-made chemical materials imported by the Syrian Mediterranean Pharmaceutical Industries (MPI) from Switzerland to manufacture chemical weapons in 2014.  It is said that 5 tonnes of isopropanol and 280 kg of Diethylamine “without question went into the production of chemical weapons”.  Isopropanol and Diethylamine are dual-use, meaning they can be found in daily and military products.  For instance, isopropanol is found in disinfectants, cleaning agents, paints, and varnishes, but is also a major component of the type of gas used in suspected chemical attacks. 

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210706-assad-used-swiss-medical-exports-to-make-chemical-weapons-report-claims/

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On 6 July, TRM Labs published an article about, and analysing, the Second 12-Month Review of the Revised FATF Standards on Virtual Assets/VASP.  It concludes that while FATF does not necessarily cover new ground in is latest report, it makes one thing abundantly clear: it’s time to implement – and that VASP and their regulators around the globe “need to implement the revised FATF Standards, including travel rule requirements, as quickly as possible”, and public private partnerships should be formed in order to facilitate implementation.

https://www.trmlabs.com/post/fatfs-crypto-sequel-its-time-to-implement-standards

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

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