Category: EU/Europe

Regulatory Watch News

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  FMA warns against offerings by Guru4Invest

  FMA

  May 15, 2025

  This provider is not authorised to conduct securities transactions in Austria that require a licence, and is not allowed to execute orders on behalf of clients in accordance with Article 3 para. 2 no. 6 of the Securities Supervision Act 2018 (WAG 2018; Wertpapieraufsichtsgesetz 2018).

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  17 providers of criminal banking services arrested

  Europol

  May 15, 2025

  In a prime example of the interconnection between criminal networks, Europol supported the takedown of a criminal parallel banking organisation with multiple branches spread out across Europe. The action day conducted on 14 January 2025 across Austria, Belgium and Spain constitutes a direct follow-up to two successful operations against migrant smugglers (as reported on 4 July 2023 and as 13 August 2023). A total of 17 individuals were arrested (15 in Spain, 1 in Austria, 1 in Belgium). A large amount of criminal assets worth over EUR 4.5 million, 4 shotguns and several electronic devices were seized.

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  SFC forges regional consensus on regulatory collaboration to combat online scams at IOSCO Annual Meeting

  Securities and Futures Commission

  May 15, 2025

  The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) steered Asia-Pacific securities regulators to reach an agreement on closer collaboration to combat online investment scams at the 50th International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Annual Meeting in Doha, Qatar, this week (Note1). Chaired by the SFC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ms Julia Leung, the IOSCO Asia-Pacific Regional Committee (APRC) met to discuss the emerging trends and risks faced by capital markets in the region. Members exchanged views on the prevalence of deepfake-driven online investment scams and the growing phenomenon of finfluencers.