Day: August 5, 2021

On 26 July, an article in Global Trade Magazine says that the customs value is used to calculate duty liability of imports.  To determine an accurate customs value, companies must factor in certain dutiable additions and non-dutiable deductions. It highlights 8 oft-overlooked non-dutiable elements, saying that historically, these savings opportunities have not been fully explored because the resources required to sustain some of these programs exceeded the savings. However, removing these non-dutiable costs can provide substantial savings – making it worth taking a second look at them for many importers.

https://www.globaltrademag.com/eliminating-non-dutiable-charges-from-customs-value/

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On 4 August, a news release from the US State Department advised that the US is launching a new visa restriction authority for Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador improve political, economic, and security conditions.  This policy is said to  complement other tools the US is using to support efforts by the people of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador to promote accountability for corruption, impunity, and attacks on democracy.  The new visa restriction policy is for the issuance of visas to current or former Guatemalan, Honduran, or Salvadoran government officials and other individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy or the rule of law.  This may include acts of corruption or obstruction of democratic processes or institutions, such as subverting the integrity and independence of the judicial sector and anti-corruption prosecutors. 

https://www.state.gov/u-s-visa-actions-supporting-democracy-and-combatting-corruption-in-guatemala-honduras-and-el-salvador/

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On 5 August, a Commentary from RUSI says that the study will point to necessary reforms that the watchdog will be unwilling to undertake.  The aim of the study is to examine and mitigate the unintended consequences stemming from the incorrect implementation (purposefully or otherwise) of its anti-financial crime standards.  This seems to be often where implementation of the standards deviates from the FATF’s insistence on a risk-based approach, leading to circumstances where overly restrictive regulations are enacted under the pretence of combatting illicit finance.  The Commentary concludes that, if the project is to be credible it is almost certain to create its own unintended consequences, confronting the FATF with remedial steps which, in its current incarnation, it will be unwilling or unable to take; and that failing to take the radical action this project is likely to demand will reinforce the arguments of those that already question the FATF’s legitimacy.

https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/good-intentions-fatf-faces-its-own-unintended-consequences

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/financialinclusionandnpoissues/documents/unintended-consequences-project.html

https://www.trtworld.com/business/how-fatf-has-been-misused-for-political-purposes-around-the-world-48951

Meanwhile –

SPECIAL REPORT: HOW A LITTLE-KNOWN G7 TASK FORCE UNWITTINGLY HELPS GOVERNMENTS TARGET CRITICS

On 5 August, Reuters produced this report illustrating the problem.

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/how-little-known-g7-task-force-unwittingly-helps-governments-target-critics-2021-08-05/?rpc=401&

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On 5 August, OCCRP published a feature, the second part of an investigation, examining the crime group’s drug pipeline through Latin America and Africa, showing how the son of a leading figure in the feared ’Ndrangheta’s Romeo-Staccu clan, Giuseppe Romeo (aka “Maluferru”), moved drugs through corruption-plagued ports to Antwerp, Rotterdam, and beyond.  It also involved in Ivory Coast allegedly relying on corrupt officials — and emissaries sent all the way from Italy — to facilitate their operations.

https://www.occrp.org/en/ndrangheta/armed-and-dangerous-inside-the-ndranghetas-intercontinental-cocaine-pipeline

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On 4 August, Bloomberg Quint reported that the Bank of NT Butterfield & Son, based in Bermuda, has agreed to pay $5.6 million to resolve a criminal probe by US authorities after admitting it helped hundreds of American clients evade taxes 2001-2013.

https://www.bloombergquint.com/onweb/bermuda-bank-butterfield-admits-helping-americans-evade-taxes

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On 7 June, the International Chamber of Commerce issued this guide saying that the terms transport and logistics are often used interchangeably, but in fact, have very different scopes of coverage.  The guide looks at the differences, the methods and terminology, and also looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the transport and logistics industries. 

https://icc.academy/transport-and-logistics

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HM Treasury has updated its list of financial penalties imposed for violations of UK sanctions with details of a £50,000 penalty for TransferGo Fintech Ltd relating to the sanctions affecting Ukraine on 25 June.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/enforcement-of-financial-sanctions

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