Criminal gang reportedly behind fake financial services scheme apprehended in joint Europol investigation

Regulatory Watch News

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  FinCEN Warns of Fraud Schemes That Abuse Its Name, Insignia, and Authorities for Financial Gain

  FinCEN

  December 18, 2024

  WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert today to raise awareness of fraud schemes abusing FinCEN’s name, insignia, and authorities for financial gain. These FinCEN-specific fraud schemes include scams that exploit beneficial ownership information reporting; misuse FinCEN’s Money Services Business Registration tool; or involve the impersonation of, or misrepresent affiliation with, FinCEN and its employees. “We are very concerned about reports of scammers using FinCEN’s name to perpetrate fraud schemes against the public for financial gain,” said FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki. “We urge the public to be vigilant in identifying and avoiding these schemes and to be extremely cautious when dealing with unsolicited correspondence. FinCEN and its employees will never threaten a member of the public by email, call, or text, or demand immediate payment for any reason.”

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  Financial sanctions update: Russia

  OFSI

  December 18, 2024

  On 18 December 2024 the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated the UK Sanctions List on GOV.UK. This list provides details of those designated under regulations made under the Sanctions Act. The following entry has been amended under the Russia financial sanctions regime and is still subject to an asset freeze and trust services sanctions:

  • AUTEL ROBOTICS CO., LTD. (Group ID: 16643)

  OFSI’s consolidated list of asset freeze targets has been updated to reflect these changes.

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  International conflicts, hacker attacks and significant operational disruptions fill the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority’s risk picture.

  The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority

  December 18, 2024

  The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority's semi-annual risk picture shows that international conflicts and hacker attacks, which can cause significant operational disruptions and threats to critical digital infrastructure, continue to pose a significant risk to financial companies and financial stability.

  The risk picture describes the primary risks that the financial system faces, and which are the starting point for the priorities in the Danish FSA's supervision of financial institutions in 2025.