Tag: Chief Prosecutor

Regulatory Watch News

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  SFO opens European data centre bribery investigation

  Serious Fraud Office

  May 1, 2025

  The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today searched five properties and made three arrests as it announced a new multi-million pound international bribery investigation. The target of the investigation is UK company Blu-3 and former associates of the global construction firm Mace Group. The operation included a search of a suspect’s premises today by Monaco authorities with assistance from the SFO. Individuals at Blu-3 are suspected of paying over £3 million of bribes to former associates of Mace Group in relation to the construction of a data centre in the Netherlands for the technology giant Microsoft.

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  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.

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  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