Category: UK

Regulatory Watch News

• 

  OLAF and Polish authorities uncover major VAT import fraud scheme

  OLAF

  May 1, 2025

  Close cooperation between the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and Polish national authorities has led to the uncovering of a sophisticated VAT fraud scheme involving goods imported from China into the European Union. Acting on intelligence and information provided by OLAF, Polish authorities carried out a criminal investigation, resulting in the arrest of four individuals and searches at 50 locations across the country. Working closely with customs and fiscal authorities in Poland, Germany, Czechia, Lithuania, and Latvia, OLAF identified a complex network exploiting the so-called "customs procedure 42"—a mechanism that allows for deferred VAT payments on goods imported into one Member State and transported to another.

• 

  The DFSA launches Innovation Testing Licence explainer guide to boost innovation in the DIFC

  DFSA

  May 1, 2025

  The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent regulator of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), has launched a new explainer guide on its Innovation Testing Licence to support the growth of innovative financial services in or from the DIFC. The Innovation Testing Licence – the DFSA’s regulatory sandbox – is a restricted financial services licence that allows eligible firms to test innovative financial products, services, and business models within a controlled environment with temporary modifications to existing regulatory requirements whilst being subject to close supervisory oversight. Launched in 2017, the Innovation Testing Licence remains a cornerstone of the DFSA’s approach to support the responsible development of financial technology solutions in the DIFC

• 

  School Official Pleads Guilty to 2.9M Scheme to Defraud Veterans’ Education Programs

  US Department of Justice

  April 30, 2025

  A Virginia career services manager for a school offering job training programs to veterans pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of nearly $3 million. According to court documents, Jeffrey Williams, 37, of Alexandria, used false records to defraud the VA of millions of dollars from approximately July 2022 to May 2024. During that time, the defendant was a career services manager at an educational institution offering veterans educational programs in cyber that could be paid for by the VA. As part of the scheme, Williams created fraudulent employment offer letters, falsified certifications, and forged veterans’ signatures to make it appear as if veterans had attained the meaningful employment needed for the educational institution to receive tuition payments from the government. Williams caused the submission of hundreds of false documents to the VA, claiming approximately $2.9 million in fraudulent tuition payments for at least 189 veterans.