Recent News

We are talking about the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. The so-called “golden visa” will be available from 2024, and the minimum investment threshold is set at $3.8 million. The updated version of the program has a number of conditions for applicants. Firstly, applicants must be over 18 years old. The program does not have a limited number of people who can apply. Cash investments must be invested for a minimum of 7 years and in sectors that are strategically important for Hong Kong. These can be securities, deposits, shares of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, etc. At the same time, you can invest in land and non-residential buildings, but not in residential real estate. Investors must be reliable, have no criminal record and prove the legal origin of the capital. By resuming the program for the first time since 2015, Hong Kong authorities are trying to provide new opportunities for economic growth and...

The rules will come into force on May 1, 2024 and will apply to all payment organizations that process payments for Chinese customers. Depending on the availability or inability to open accounts and accept deposits, all payment organizations will be divided into two types: deposit account operators and payment processors. The issuance of prepaid cards is exempt from the new rules and will be regulated separately. Detailed rules for the classification and supervision of different types of payment institutions will be separately determined by the People's Bank of China. The activities of payment organizations require a license from the People's Bank of China. The minimum registered capital of a payment organization is 100 million yuan and must be fully paid by participants at the time of obtaining a license from their own capital; Depending on the type, territory and scale of activity, the People's Bank of China has the right to establish an increased amount of authorized capital to obtain a license. If fraud in the payment of the authorized capital is detected when submitting an application for a license, the applicant will be deprived of the right to re-submit the...

On January 1, amendments to the Corporate Transparency Act will come into force in the United States. The law should strengthen the liability of lawyers, accountants and other corporate service providers who assist individuals in laundering funds. In 2014, an investigator posing as a representative of a corrupt foreign government met with 16 Manhattan lawyers to help move millions in suspicious money to the United States. All but one of them essentially provided a roadmap for money laundering through shell corporations. There were no regulations that explicitly required lawyers or other corporate service providers to comply with KYC. The new legislation changes this situation. Under the Corporate Transparency Act, consultants providing legal entity formation services in the United States must report themselves to the government as “corporate applicants.” This means that corporate service providers will be forever linked in the federal database with the founders of such organizations. Violation of the requirements of the law in some cases may result in liability in the form of imprisonment for up to two...

Revolut said it will no longer provide cryptocurrency services to UK corporate business clients in 2024. The statement said that this measure is being introduced in connection with new requirements established by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This break in serving Revolut Business UK customers will enable the company to more easily adapt to the updated FCA rules. “This measure aims to improve the customer experience and provide additional protection for new and existing Revolut Business investors. We will have to adjust our current business cryptocurrency offering to ensure compliance with any new FCA requirements in the future,” the company said. The restrictions do not apply to private investors, who will continue to be able to store or sell crypto...

5 departments (Department of Commerce, Department of the Treasury, Department of Justice, Department of State and the US Department of Homeland Security) have issued an interesting Alert on best security and compliance practices for the transportation of goods by sea and other means of transportation. You can read the full text here. The document provides various so-called red flags (for example, manipulation of locations, falsification of documents, pumping on the high seas (ship-to-ship transfer)) as well as examples of criminal and civil prosecution for illegal transportation of goods. Including one criminal case from September 2023 and many other examples. “To avoid potentially illegal behavior, individuals and entities directly involved in and facilitating the global movement of goods - organizations such as ship owners, charterers, exporters, managers, brokers, shipping companies, freight companies, freight forwarders, commodity traders and financial institutions — must be responsible for assessing their risk profile and implementing rigorous, risk-based internal compliance programs." - it is written in the...

The Turkish authorities have made significant changes to the rules for obtaining citizenship through the purchase of real estate. We are talking about tightening conditions for foreign investors. In accordance with the new rules, it is no longer possible to obtain a “golden passport” through the acquisition of land plots without development. The changes were approved by Resolution No. 7938, which was signed by the President. It is worth noting that the minimum cost of investment in real estate to obtain citizenship has not changed - 400 thousand US dollars. It is possible that it will become higher in 2024. But the most important change is, of course, investments in areas with already constructed...

Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com has received an electronic money creation (EMI) license from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). An EMI license allows companies to issue and manage electronic money and expands the range of financial services. Thanks to the license, the company plans to issue electronic money adapted for the UK market in accordance with the standards set by the FCA for consumer protection. The crypto exchange, founded in 2016, previously received a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license in Dubai. The company now serves more than 80 million customers, allowing them to buy and sell cryptocurrency through the exchange, as well as purchase cryptocurrency products and services using...

Dubai Unified License is a unique commercial identifier provided to all businesses in Dubai to achieve a streamlined approach to various business processes. The DUL initiative, issued to existing new businesses in Dubai operating with either a mainland license or a free zone license, introduces a single digital ledger. Created in collaboration with the Dubai Free Zones Council, the registry brings together all of Dubai's economic institutions and free zones into a single platform for managing, collating and sharing data, serving as a trusted single source of digital information. DUL is designed to simplify the process of setting up and operating businesses in Dubai, reducing the time it takes companies to set up and manage their operations, and improve efficiency. The founders of DUL believe that it will be able to attract more foreign investors and create a hassle-free business environment in...

Already in mid-December, at a meeting in Strasbourg, the fate of Montenegro regarding inclusion in the FATF “gray list” will be discussed. If the country makes the list, it will join Syria, Yemen, Mali, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. This entails increased supervision by the FATF. Montenegro may become the second EU country on the “grey list”. Recently, the Government of Montenegro approved innovations in the field of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe must make a decision and it may influence the FATF's conclusion. The inclusion of Montenegro in the "grey list" may lead to a decrease in the credit rating, a slowdown in the implementation of foreign investments and a decrease in confidence in the...