Recent News

New taxation and reporting rules came into force on January 1, 2024. Therefore, UK residents with an income of more than £1,000 per annum from secondary activities must register as self-employed, keep accounts and submit information to HMRC. This tax is not new; previously it was also necessary to declare income when carrying out trading activities. But, nevertheless, the government is tightening the requirements. All transactions must be reported to HMRC. This applies primarily to trading platforms. They must transmit information about all transactions. The first reporting deadline is the end of January...

The agreement should lead to amendments to the AMLD, as well as determine the direction of the AMLA (the future regulator). There are several key points of the agreement reached. Source:https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/01/18/anti-money-laundering-council-and-parliament-strike-deal-on-stricter-rules/ Registers of beneficial owners will be reopened. In this way, members of the public with a legitimate interest, including the press and non-profit organizations, will be able to access the registers of beneficial owners of companies. Enhanced Due Diligence. The European Commission will conduct an EU-level assessment of the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing and will prepare recommendations for Member States on the measures they should use when conducting risk assessments at national level. Expanding the circle of accountable entities. Sellers of cars, high-end aircraft and yachts, as well as works of art will become obligated entities. Other sectors that will be subject to customer due diligence and reporting obligations will include sellers of luxury goods such as precious metals, gemstones and watches. All cryptoasset...

Quantum computing startup Quantinuum has raised $300 million in funding. The company is now valued at $5 billion, and JPMorgan Chase led the funding round. Source:https://www.quantinuum.com/news/honeywell-announces-the-closing-of-300-million-equity-investment-round-for-quantinuum-at-5b-pre-money-valuation Additional participants included Mitsui & Co., Amgen and Honeywell, which remains the company's majority shareholder. This investment brings the total amount of capital raised by Quantinuum since its inception to about $625 million. The funds will be used to accelerate the development of the world's first universal fault-tolerant quantum computers. JPMorgan Chase has one of the world's most respected teams of specialists working on quantum technologies in the financial services industry and has been working with Quantinuum and its predecessor companies since 2020. Today, Quantinuum technologies are used by leading companies, including Airbus, BMW Group, Honeywell, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Mitsui and...

To support the neobank's rapid growth trajectory and global expansion into merchant acquiring, Jabil Inc. and Revolut continue their fruitful cooperation. Jabil's dedicated, pre-certified point-of-sale (POS) hardware platform, as well as other retail automation technologies transforming digital commerce, will soon be introduced. Source:https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/paytech/jabil-teams-with-fintech-leader-revolut-to-scale-development-and-production-of-innovative-mobile-payment-mpos-solution/ “Jabil has been instrumental in accelerating the time to market for Revolut Reader by providing critical product design, development, testing and certification capabilities,” said Alex Codina, general manager of merchant acquiring at Revolut. Starting in 2021, Jabil is partnering with Revolut to diversify its product portfolio, including the launch of Revolut Reader, a compact, dedicated hardware platform that allows merchants to accept payments in stores or on the...

We are talking about a tax of 2% on each transaction. But the decision to introduce the tax causes a lot of controversy among business, government and the banking sector, which consider it unlawful. The initiators of the tax are of the opinion that it will be able to increase state revenues. They believe that this way foreigners will transfer less money abroad and will spend it inside Bahrain. Estimates show that annual transfers abroad amount to $3.2 billion. The document is already under consideration by the Advisory...

The London-based firm was unable to conduct high-quality due diligence of a client in the shipping industry for transactions in the period 2014-2018. In a statement, the company said it "sincerely regrets any breaches of the requirements" which it said were identified in 2018 and reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Source:https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/law-firm-clyde-co-fined-635k-breaching-uk-money-laundering-rules-2024-01-11/ A spokesperson for Clyde & Co says the firm has now “significantly enhanced its risk management and compliance capabilities.” But this did not save her from a fine. SRA chief executive Paul Philip said the fine "should be a wake-up call to any firms that fail to meet their responsibilities to implement robust (anti-money laundering)...

New regulatory measures are designed to improve the fight against money laundering. In December, the UAE authorities adopted regulations related to the mechanism for determining the true beneficiaries. Establishing the actual owner of the company is one of the main steps towards an effective AML system. What kind of improvements were adopted? Firstly, this is a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers on the creation of a procedure for identifying the true beneficiary, and secondly, a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers on sanctions for non-compliance with the first resolution. These regulations ensure the transfer and entry of information about the ultimate owners of the company into the corporate register. According to the new resolution, the real beneficiary owns 25% of the shares or more than 25% of the voting...

One of the most important changes is the establishment of the beginning of the five-year period required to apply for citizenship. Now this period will begin from the moment of filing an application for a residence permit, and not from the moment of approval. It is believed that this amendment will save several years of waiting for those wishing to obtain citizenship. If the changes are approved by the president, they will come into force one month after publication in the official...

Brazilian digital banking giant Nubank is expanding its presence in Colombia after receiving government approval to operate a financial services company in the country. Source:https://international.nubank.com.br/company/nu-colombia-has-received-formal-approval-to-operate-a-financing-company-in-the-country/ "The company aims to become a leader in digital financial services in Colombia. "Obtaining this license is the result of months of hard team work and represents a fundamental step in our journey in Colombia, as it provides the right regulatory framework for the launch of Cuenta Nu and the further expansion of our product portfolio ." says Marcela Torres, CEO of Nu Colombia. Nubank, which has tens of millions of customers in its home market of Brazil and more than 4 million in Mexico, is betting big on Colombia, recently committing $150 million to the country over the next two...