Our insights

Publication

UK Announces a Further Wave of Sanctions, Targeting Russia’s Two Largest Energy Companies and “Shadow Fleet”

October 2025 | Europe

Global Investigations & Compliance Review

UAE Enforcement Update: The FSRA and the DFSA Issue New AML-Related Fines

The UAE’s two financial free zones, established in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, possess their own civil and commercial legal frameworks, inclusive of court systems modeled closely on international standards and principles of common law and, importantly, autonomous financial services regulation.  In the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”), which was established by UAE...... Continue Reading

April 2025 | Blog

Global Investigations & Compliance Review

UK Sanctions Update: OFSI Releases Financial Services Threat Assessment – Part 2

Last month, the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s (“OFSI”) published a Threat Assessment analyzing sanctions compliance involving UK financial services firms since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. In the first of our two-part article (available here), we summarized the six key areas of risk that OFSI identified in its Threat Assessment. In this...… Continue Reading The post UK Sanctions Update: OFSI Releases Financial Services Threat Assessment – Part 2 appeared first on Global Investigations & Compliance Review.

March 2025 | Blog

Global Investigations & Compliance Review

UK Sanctions Update: OFSI Releases Financial Services Threat Assessment – Part 1

In February 2025, the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s (“OFSI”) issued a report outlining its assessment of the sanctions-related threats posed to the UK by firms operating in the UK’s financial services sector.  As to be expected, the report focuses on the risks associated with transactions since February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine...… Continue Reading The post UK Sanctions Update: OFSI Releases Financial Services Threat Assessment – Part 1 appeared first on Global Investigations & Compliance Review.

March 2025 | Blog

Publication

The EU Suspends Certain Sanctions on Syria to Support Economic Stabilisation, Political Transition and Reconstruction

February 2025 | Europe

Global Investigations & Compliance Review

The EU suspends certain Sanctions on Syria to support Economic Stabilization, Political Transition, and Reconstruction

To encourage democratic development and achieve a peaceful and inclusive political transition, and to aid the swift reconstruction and economic recovery of the country and facilitate its eventual reincorporation into the global financial system, the European Council decided yesterday to suspend with immediate effect a number of sanctions and restrictive measures that had targeted key...… Continue Reading The post The EU suspends certain Sanctions on Syria to support Economic Stabilization, Political Transition, and Reconstruction appeared first on Global Investigations & Compliance Review.

February 2025 | Blog

The Trade Practitioner

The EU Suspends Certain Sanctions on Syria to Support Economic Stabilisation, Political Transition and Reconstruction

To help the Syrian people achieve a peaceful and inclusive political transition, to aid the swift economic recovery and reconstruction of the country and to facilitate its eventual reincorporation into the global financial system, the EU has suspended with immediate effect a number of sanctions and restrictive measures that had targeted key sectors of the...… Continue Reading The post The EU Suspends Certain Sanctions on Syria to Support Economic Stabilisation, Political Transition and Reconstruction appeared first on The Trade Practitioner.

February 2025 | Blog

Global Investigations & Compliance Review

UK Sanctions Update: New OFSI Reporting Requirements for High Value Dealers and Art Market Participants

Late in 2024, the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”), the agency within His Majesty’s Treasury that is charged with the implementation of financial sanctions in the UK, introduced new sanction measures aimed generally at augmenting the operation and enforcement of UK financial sanctions and targeted specifically at High Value Dealers (“HVDs”) and Art...… Continue Reading The post UK Sanctions Update: New OFSI Reporting Requirements for High Value Dealers and Art Market Participants appeared first on Global Investigations & Compliance Review.

February 2025 | Blog

Global Investigations & Compliance Review

Time is of the Essence to Implement New ADGM Whistleblower Protection Regulations

In 2024, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) further enhanced transparency, accountability, and market integrity within the financial freezone by introducing the Whistleblower Protection Regulations 2024 (the “Regulations”).  In brief, those Regulations require certain entities registered or licensed to operate or conduct any activity within the ADGM to implement arrangements for handling whistleblowing, including having...… Continue Reading The post Time is of the Essence to Implement New ADGM Whistleblower Protection Regulations appeared first on Global Investigations & Compliance Review.

January 2025 | Blog

Global Investigations & Compliance Review

Promising Results from Groundbreaking FinCrime Data Sharing Project Between Seven UK Banks and the National Crime Agency

In 2024, the National Crime Agency (the “NCA”), which is the UK’s lead agency against organized crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime, announced its “groundbreaking” data sharing partnership with seven UK banks, namely Barclays, Lloyds, Metro Bank, NatWest, Santander, Starling Bank, and TSB.[1] This new public-private partnership (“PPP”) was the largest...… Continue Reading The post Promising Results from Groundbreaking FinCrime Data Sharing Project Between Seven UK Banks and the National Crime Agency appeared first on Global Investigations & Compliance Review.

January 2025 | Blog

Global Investigations & Compliance Review

Fast-Growing UK Challenger Bank Fined £29m for Insufficient Sanctions and Financial Crime Controls

On September 27, 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which is a financial regulatory body in the UK that regulates firms providing financial services to consumers, fined a UK Challenger Bank (the “Bank”) £29 million due to significant failings in its financial sanctions compliance and anti-money laundering systems and controls. The FCA’s Summary of Reasons...… Continue Reading The post Fast-Growing UK Challenger Bank Fined £29m for Insufficient Sanctions and Financial Crime Controls appeared first on Global Investigations & Compliance Review.

November 2024 | Blog

Publication

Fast-Growing UK Challenger Bank Fined £29 million for Insufficient Sanctions and Financial Crime Controls

October 2024 | Europe