NEWS: Rise in romance scams help push UK fraud losses to over £1BN in 2023

Regulatory Watch News

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  Treasury Announces Enhanced Fraud Detection Processes, Including Machine Learning AI, Prevented and Recovered Over $4 Billion in Fiscal Year 2024

  US Department of the Treasury

  October 17, 2024

  Treasury’s Office of Payment Integrity Began Using Enhanced Processes, including Machine Learning AI, to Deal with Increased Fraud and Improper Payments Since the Pandemic

  WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that its latest efforts in taking a technology and data-driven approach to fraud and improper payment prevention enabled the prevention and recovery of over $4 billion in fraud and improper payments this fiscal year (FY) (October 2023 – September 2024), up from $652.7 million in FY23. This increase reflects dedicated efforts by Treasury’s Office of Payment Integrity (OPI), within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) to enhance its fraud prevention capabilities and expand offerings to new and existing customers.

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  Financial sanctions update: Russia

  OFSI

  October 17, 2024

  On 17 October 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 to the Russia financial sanctions regime and is still subject to an asset freeze and trust services sanctions:

  • RusGazDobycha JSC (Group ID: 16612)

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

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  Italy: EPPO freezes €9 million in fraud investigation involving local politicians in Sicily

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  October 17, 2024

  (Luxembourg, 17 October 2024) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Palermo (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Trapani executed a freezing order of €9 million today, in the context of an investigation into fraud involving EU funds, money laundering, and self-laundering. The investigation has uncovered a fraudulent scheme involving local politicians and individuals from Sicily linked to a private training centre. The suspects allegedly misused more than €8.7 million from the European Social Fund (ESF) intended for vocational training and social projects.