Enforcement

China’s Largest Brokerage Under Scrutiny for IPO Sponsor Role

26/03/2024

Citic Securities did not “directly reply” to a query from the SZSE  on whether an IPO applicant it was sponsoring had overly concentrated shareholdings among a few individuals.

AML / KYC

Netherlands: Trial Against Tornado Cash Co-founder is Underway

26/03/2024

Alexey Pertsev is accused of participating in Tornado Cash’s money laundering activities. A verdict is expected six weeks after the trial concludes this week.

AML / KYC

Bring Environmental Crime Back into Policy Spotlight: World Bank

26/03/2024

World Bank blog post calls for increased coordination between money-laundering prevention and environmental protection agencies.

ESG / Sustainability

Hong Kong Reinforces Commitment to ISSB-aligned Sustainability Disclosures

26/03/2024

The HKICPA will lead the work to develop local sustainability reporting standards along with complementary application and implementation guidance.

Fintech / Regtech

Malaysia SC Enhances PLC Surveillance With AI Technology

26/03/2024

An internally developed AI-powered tool called ‘PLC360’ can predict the likelihood of misconduct and identify emerging trends and supervisory concerns.

Crypto / Digital Assets

OFAC Sanctions Crypto Targets Over Russia Sanctions Evasion

26/03/2024

The sanctioned entities either helped build or operate blockchain-based services or enabled virtual currency payments in the Russian financial sector, enabling potential sanctions evasion.

Market Infrastructure

China Relaxes Rules on Cross-border Data Transfers

26/03/2024

The new rules allow businesses to transfer certain types of data overseas without declaration or security reviews, addressing concerns from foreign businesses.

ESG / Sustainability

RBNZ Finalises New Guidance on Managing Climate Risk

26/03/2024

Accounting for consultative feedback, the guidance includes more examples, reduces overlaps with other guidance, and draws more links to existing parts of the prudential regime.

Enforcement

US, UK Announce Sanctions Against China-based Hackers

26/03/2024

A front company allegedly operating for China was sanctioned, along with 2 members of hacking group APT31. DOJ unsealed criminal charges against 7 individuals.