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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)...

The Ukrainian service for monitoring the registration data of Ukrainian companies and the court registry has published statistics on the registration of sole proprietorships and new companies in Ukraine in 2023. Source:https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/foponomics-2023-12 As of December 29, 2023, 304,048 new FOP registrations were registered in Ukraine. The number of new businesses increased by 7% compared to 2021. New natural persons mostly indicated activities in the field of IT, retail and wholesale trade, provision of other individual services and services for providing meals and drinks. The largest number of FOPs were opened in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv regions. As for new companies, the indicators remained lower than the pre-war level. In 2023, 37,297 new companies were registered, and in 2021 - 56,267. New cases were also mostly registered in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv...

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...

Today we are looking at how different EU member countries are introducing language proficiency requirements into their rules for obtaining citizenship. In Hungary, it has long been necessary to know the language in order to restore citizenship by roots. Latvia has already begun to use the criterion of language proficiency even for a radical measure - deportation from the country. Bulgaria has developed a bill under which applicants will soon be able to face such a requirement. Cyprus has introduced changes to the law that requires a written language proficiency test to be passed for naturalization, extending the requirement even to previous applicants. Italy has also introduced a bill that will require those wishing to obtain citizenship to know the language at level B1 and above. Until last year, Portugal did not impose language requirements only for the repatriation of Sephardic Jews. The program is now completely closed. But in Romania, for now you only need to take an oath in the state...

The tax forces platforms such as eBay, Airbnb and Etsy to report their sellers' earnings directly to the IRS in an effort to curb tax evasion. Source:https://news.sky.com/story/new-side-hustle-tax-targets-britons-making-money-online-13040927 Those who earn more than £1,000 a year through online transactions, such as selling clothes, delivering takeaways or renting out homes, must submit information. Once the seller exceeds this threshold, he must register as a sole proprietor and file a tax return at the end of the year. HMRC could already request information from online firms based in the UK, but digital platforms will now be required to report sellers' financial details directly to the taxman. Bank account details and the number of transactions made by each user will be required to be reported, with large fines and other penalties for companies that do not...

In March 2023, a bill was published that provided for obtaining Serbian citizenship after one year of residence in the country on the basis of a residence permit. But the European Commission, in response to the bill, said that in this case there is a high probability of suspending the visa-free regime with Serbia. They did this “with the aim of preventing and mitigating possible risks to the security of the EU.” Thus, the European Commission was asked to refuse or refrain from adopting citizenship by investment schemes. And it was decided to abandon the bill. Thus, according to current legislation, in order to obtain a Serbian passport, you need to live in the country for three years and renounce your original...

In October 2023, the bank had more than 35 million customers in 37 countries. This rapid growth has attracted the attention of regulators. In December, the European Central Bank decided to add Revolut to its supervisory list. Now two Lithuanian companies are subject to monitoring – Revolut Holdings Europe UAB and Revolut Bank UAB. It is worth noting that the introduction of supervisory measures does not mean that Revolut has any financial or regulatory difficulties. This suggests that the bank is ripe for direct control by the ECB. In the same list you can see Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and other large...

On December 27, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted the National Revenue Strategy for 2024-2030. These are certain changes that should take place in the tax and customs sphere and ensure revenue to the state budget. If this document is adopted, the changes will be implemented gradually, starting in 2025. What changes does the strategy envisage? The status of an individual entrepreneur will be acquired by an individual automatically, after opening an account in a bank with the status "for conducting business activities", and it will be possible to close the FOP automatically when the bank account is closed. The list of types of activities will be revised for FOPs of the I group, and the tax will be paid from the received income, instead of a fixed one. FOPs of II and III groups will be combined into one (II group). In addition, rates will vary from 3% for trade to 17% for some services. And the use of PRO will be...