Category: Opinion

Regulatory Watch News

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  Treasury Convenes Financial Institutions, Law Enforcement, in Washington, D.C. in Support of the U.S. Maximum Pressure Campaign Against Iran

  FinCEN

  April 2, 2025

  WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent led a public-private partnership event with 16 systemically important global financial institutions and federal law enforcement agencies, focused on denying Iran access to the global financial system. This event was the first in FinCEN’s “Iran Maximum Pressure and Counter Terrorism” (or IMPACT) Exchange series. The event focused on Iran’s sprawling global oil and “shadow banking” networks.

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  Treasury Sanctions Houthi Network Procuring Weapons and Commodities from Russia

  OFAC

  April 2, 2025

  WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against a network of Houthi financial facilitators and procurement operatives working in coordination with Sa’id al-Jamal, a senior Houthi financial official backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). This network has procured tens of millions of dollars’ worth of commodities from Russia, including weapons and sensitive goods, as well as stolen Ukrainian grain, for onward shipment to Houthi-controlled Yemen.  Additionally, OFAC has identified eight digital asset wallets used by the Houthis to transfer funds associated with their activities.

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  PRA takes action against a former Notified Non-Executive Director of Wyelands Bank Plc for breaches of the PRA’s Individual Conduct Rule 2

  Prudential Regulatory Authority

  April 2, 2025

  The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has fined Mr George Jay Hambro, a former notified non-executive director (Notified NED) of Wyelands Bank Plc (Wyelands), £72,000 for breaching PRA Individual Conduct Rule 2 in relation to three matters. This rule states that ‘You must act with due skill, care and diligence.’ Mr Hambro’s conduct between 3 July 2017 and 19 February 2020 fell below the standards expected of a person in his position in an authorised firm and demonstrated a serious lack of due skill, care and diligence in relation to: the recognition of capital, large exposures assessments, and Wyelands’ internal policy (its Engagement Policy) to manage potential risks of conflicts of interest between Wyelands and the wider GFG Alliance (GFG).