Week Ending 29 October 2020
23 October 2020: The Treasury Committee launched an inquiry to review what progress has been made in combatting economic crime since its last inquiry, carried out under the previous parliament. The inquiry will focus on anti-money laundering systems and the sanctions regime, and on consumers, including trends which have resulted from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and authorised push payment fraud. Stakeholders may submit evidence until 27 November 2020.
28 October 2020: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that criminal proceedings against Stephen Allen in relation to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by disguising Renwick Haddow’s (Allen’s conspirator) interest in a property and, as such, its availability as an asset for satisfying an order that might be made in proceedings brought by the FCA against Haddow, have commenced. The case was sent to Southwark Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing due to take place on 25 November 2020.
23 October 2020: The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and its subsidiary, Goldman Sachs (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (GS Malaysia) have pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 (FCPA 1977). The guilty plea is in connection with a scheme involving over US$1m in bribery payments to Malaysian and Abu Dhabi officials in order to ‘obtain lucrative business’ relating to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) which earned the bank approximately US$606m in fees and revenue. Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay a criminal penalty of over US$2.9bn as part of its resolution with the US, UK, Singapore and elsewhere.
26 October 2020: The G20 members have called for the ‘effective implementation’ of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards during the first G20 Anti-Corruption Ministerial. The FATF recommendations have been elaborated to help address financial crime. The FATF President, Dr Marcus Pleyer, highlighted that efforts to stop money laundering must be maintained during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis as ‘money is flowing out of economies at precisely the time health services need it most’. In order to tackle corruption and lead the way, FATF has elaborated three actions that should be undertaken by G20 members: investing in law enforcement, making…
