Welcome to the June 2018 edition of our corporate crime update - our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. For the full update on each jurisdiction, please click on the name of the jurisdiction below. Below we provide a brief overview of what is covered in each update. Please note, our next edition will be published in August.
Herbert Smith Freehills would like to congratulate Senior Associate, Elizabeth Head of our Corporate Crime & Investigations team in London, for being named by Global Investigations Review as one of 100 Women in Investigations for 2018.
- SFO speech at Herbert Smith Freehills' Corporate Crime Conference 2018
- Proposed amendments to the EU Blocking Statute
- GIR Due Process Guide 2018
- FATF-MENAFATF joint plenary outcomes
- New study finds £12 trillion in global investments are held in "off-shore corporate shells"
- Call for evidence and memorandum for inquiry into the Bribery Act 2010
- European Commission report on restricting cash payments to aid CTF and AML
- Council of the EU agrees to new rules on freezing and confiscation orders
- The Fifth Money Laundering Directive
- Joint general principles to compensate victims of economic crime
- Europol's 5th Virtual Currencies Conference
- Banking Protocol prevents fraud worth £24.7 million in its first year
- Germany implementing EU Directive to better protect business secrets
- OECD anti-bribery recommendations to Germany
- 28 men sentenced to a total of 283 years for $173 million bank fraud in Abu Dhabi
- Judge rules prominent Saudi family party to “one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history”
- Dubai authorities seek international arrest warrant from Interpol for bounced $58.2 million cheque
- SEC fines NY firm deVere $8 million over UK pension advice conflicts
- CFTC urges judge to rule virtual currency as a commodity
- SEC shuts down Ponzi scheme
- House Financial Services Committee: Illicit use of VCs
- Hong Kong Insurance Authority publishes key findings from AML/CFT inspections
- Herbert Smith Freehills publishes e-Bulletin on Modern Slavery compliance risks for corporates in Hong Kong and beyond
CHINA, SOUTH EAST ASIA & INDIA
China
- China releases information on overseas fugitives
- Former head of CIRC pleads guilty to taking US$3 million in bribes
South Korea
- Cryptocurrency turbulence opens the doorway for tougher regulation
- South Korea to strengthen anti-money laundering rules
- Korean high-level corruption scandal continues
Malaysia
- Authorities take action on 1MDB scandal
- Malaysia proposes special task force to investigate French submarines
Vietnam
- Vietnamese bank executives sentenced to jail for embezzlement
Singapore
- Singapore District Court jails two Japanese men for receiving bribes
Thailand
- AMLO freeze 88 million baht worth of assets concerning suspected embezzlement
- FSA rejects application for registration of Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange in further crackdown
- Further findings of data falsification at Japanese automaker Subaru Corp
- Draft code of practice for DPA scheme released
- "Modern Slavery" legislation passes in New South Wales
- Federal Modern Slavery Bill introduced into Parliament
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Herbert Smith Freehills LLP has a Formal Law Alliance (FLA) with Singapore law firm Prolegis LLC, which provides clients with access to Singapore law advice from Prolegis. The FLA in the name of Herbert Smith Freehills Prolegis allows the two firms to deliver a complementary and seamless legal service.