Day: September 29, 2022

On 29 September, the Guardian reported that Oleg Deripaska, 54, one of Russia’s most powerful oligarchs, who previously had deep links to British establishment figures, has been indicted by the US DoJ for criminal sanctions violations.  The allegations include an elaborate and failed attempt by Deripaska and his associates to shuttle his pregnant girlfriend to the US so that she could give birth there and secure American citizenship for their second child.  It is alleged that Deripaska evaded sanctions in a variety of ways, using corporate shell companies to hide his activities. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/29/us-charges-russian-billionaire-oleg-deripaska-sanctions

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On 29 September, EurActiv reported that the European Commission has formally taken Malta to the EU’s highest court for its cash-for-passports scheme that endows Maltese citizenship on wealthy third-country citizens in return for money and investments.The Commission said it considers the scheme a violation of EU law and has long called on Malta to withdraw the scheme over fears of money laundering and citizenship being granted to high-risk individuals.  It notes that, in March, the Commission issued a recommendation saying that EU Member States “still operating investor citizenship schemes need to terminate them immediately”.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/eu-takes-malta-to-court-over-golden-passports/

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On 29 September, OFAC announced that it has sanctioned an international network of companies involved in the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products to end-users in South and East Asia.  This action targets Iranian brokers and several front companies in the UAE, Hong Kong, and India that have facilitated financial transfers and shipping of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.  The listing includes one vessel, the Gas Allure.

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20220929

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0980

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On 29 September, the EU Sanctions blog reported on the announced details of a further sanctions package following the “sham referenda” organised in occupied territories of Ukraine and movement toward annexation of occupied regions.  It includes additional import and export bans; a ban on EU nationals sitting on governing bodies of Russian state-owned enterprises; a “legal basis” for the price cap on Russian oil; provision to list people who have circumvented EU sanctions; the extension of current restrictions on Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk to all non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine; and further targeted sanctions on persons and entities.

https://www.europeansanctions.com/2022/09/eu-to-adopt-8th-package-of-russia-sanctions/

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_22_5856

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On 29 September, HM Treasury issued an updated version of its sanctions guidance.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1108117/Libya_guidance_September_2022.pdf

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On 29 September, FinCEN has published a Final Rule establishing a beneficial ownership information reporting requirement, pursuant to the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).  The Rule will require most corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities created in or registered to do business in the US to report information about their beneficial owners to FinCEN.  Designed to protect US national security and strengthen the integrity and transparency of the US financial system, the Rule is designed to help to stop criminal actors, including oligarchs, kleptocrats, drug traffickers, human traffickers, and those who would use anonymous shell companies to hide their illicit proceeds.  The Rule is effective from 1 January 2024.  Reporting companies created or registered before that date, will have 1 year (until 1 January 2025) to file their initial reports, while reporting companies created or registered after 1 January 2024, will have 30 days after creation or registration to file their initial reports.  Once the initial report has been filed, both existing and new reporting companies will have to file updates within 30 days of a change in their beneficial ownership information.  FinCEN says that it is committed to implementing these statutory obligations in a robust manner while minimising burdens on reporting companies.

https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-issues-final-rule-beneficial-ownership-reporting-support-law-enforcement

https://www.fincen.gov/beneficial-ownership-information-reporting-rule-fact-sheet

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On 27 September, the European Banking Federation advised that the European Banking Federation (EBF), the European Savings and Retail Banking Group, the European Association of Co-operative Banks, the European Association of Public Banks, and the European Fund and Asset Management Association sign a joint letter on the EU Parliament’s proposal to lower the threshold for determining beneficial ownership to 5%.  They welcome the European Commission’s proposal to introduce a new harmonised Anti-Money Laundering Regulation – but do not agree that reducing the percentage threshold that serves as an indication of ownership of a legal entity from 25% to 5% would reduce opportunities for transparency rules to be circumvented.

https://www.ebf.eu/ebf-media-centre/joint-letter-lowering-beneficial-ownership-thresholds/

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On 28 September, Jersey advised that 2 key documents have been published which set out Jersey’s approach to combatting financial crime – the National Strategy for Combatting Money Laundering, the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the National Statement on Financial Services and Financial Crime: Activities, Risk Appetite and Mitigation.

https://www.gov.je/News/2022/Pages/JerseyStrategyOnMoneyLaundering.aspx

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On 29 September, HMRC updated the webpages containing information with the latest additions to the ‘Current list of named tax avoidance schemes, promoters, enablers and suppliers’ section.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/named-tax-avoidance-schemes-promoters-enablers-and-suppliers#full-publication-update-history

The current list is at the following address, though HMRC cautions that it is not a complete list of all tax avoidance schemes currently being marketed.  Neither is it a complete list of all promoters, enablers and suppliers.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/named-tax-avoidance-schemes-promoters-enablers-and-suppliers/current-list-of-named-tax-avoidance-schemes-promoters-enablers-and-suppliers

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