Following a wave of recent prosecutions in relation to cash fraudulently obtained through the various Covid-19 support schemes, we consider the criminal and civil ramifications on a legitimate business which has received cash from someone who has been prosecuted and offer some helpful tips to reduce the risk of your business inadvertently laundering the proceeds of crime ...
The immediate crisis caused by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (‘SVB’) in the US has been averted with US regulators stepping in to help customers there, and HSBC buying SVB’s UK subsidiary (‘SVB UK’). But the collapse of Silvergate Capital, SVB and Signature Bank in quick succession has somewhat sharpened focus on the potential risks in the finance industry (notwithstanding the increase in regulation, particularly over recent years) ...
Grey-listing by the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) has major implications for countries and companies alike. These implications include reputational damage, economic consequences, and increased compliance costs, which can lead to restricted foreign investment and reduced capital inflows ...
The Royal Government of Cambodia has issued the Sub-Decree on Requirements and Procedures for Business Combinations dated 6 March 2023 (“Merger Sub-Decree”). The Merger Sub-Decree elaborates on the prohibition on anti-competitive business combinations set out in Article 11 of the Law on Competition. The Merger Sub-Decree was officially implemented on its signature date (of 6 March 2023) and will be enforced within 6 months of that date ...
On February 1, 2023, the China Securities Regulatory Commission ("CSRC") solicited public opinions on the Measures for Administration of the Registration-based Initial Public Offerings of Stocks (Draft for Comment) (《首次公开发行股票注册管理办法（征求意见稿）》) ...
March 13, 2023 By: Manuel Fishman While unexpected, the closure by California regulators of, and the appointment of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as receiver for, Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) is an event that is contemplated by most leases. If you are holding a letter of credit issued by SVB, you are an unsecured creditor of the bank ...
For a long time, overseas listing of domestic enterprises has been one of the major ways for investment institutions to exit. The filing-based system for overseas offering and listing adopts a unified regulation pattern over direct overseas listing and indirect overseas listing, optimizes the original examination and approval procedures for direct overseas listing and full circulation, and meanwhile increases the filing requirements for indirect overseas listing ...
On January 19, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its proposed rule barring most non-compete agreements that would apply to employees. We previously summarized the proposed rule here and here. The original deadline for comments on the proposed rule was March 20. On March 6, the FTC announced it is extending the deadline to submit comments to April 19. As of March 9, a total of 16,965 comments (8,848 electronically) have been received on the proposed rule ...
In January 2023, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) hosted several public hearings to gather feedback from the public on the proposed draft regulations for digital assets business operation in Thailand, including, among others, Public Hearing No. AorNorDor ...
In an underground burial temple located within the EU’s southernmost State, one can find a primitive drawing of a spiralling never-ending red tree. Archaeologists opine that the millennia-old Saflieni Hypogeum’s ‘Tree of Life’ was painted to give meaning to death. There is no evidence that the Maltese prehistoric biosphere sustained red spiralling trees ...
The Federal Housing Administration recently issued Mortgagee Letter 2022-23, establishing a new COVID-19 Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Property Charge Repayment Plan.[1] The COVID-19 HECM Property Charge Repayment Plan would aid HECM borrowers in covering costs associated with standard property charges. As a condition of their loan, HECM borrowers are required to pay property charges such as property taxes, insurance and homeowner association fees related to their mortgaged property ...
China Business Law Journal Published March 9, 2023 With the growing importance of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and the high level of globalisation in capital and supply chains, the scope of ESG regulation is no longer confined to listed companies, the traditional targets ...
In this new podcast series "The Brexit Bonfire", colleagues discuss key elements of the legislation ranging from what it is, how it could impact businesses and key things that businesses should be aware of. In our second episode of this series of podcasts, Michelle Craven-Faulkner and Lucie Green continue their discussion concerning the Brexit Freedoms Bill but this time they consider how the current proposals could impact on commercial contracts across the board ...
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, Decree Nº318/2022 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was published in the Official Gazette, enacting the "Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership" (CPTPP), which has entered into force as of that date. The treaty seeks to promote the economic integration of the parties, generating a common framework for trade policy, government procurement, intellectual property, electronic commerce, investment, among others ...
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, Decree Nº318/2022 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was published in the Official Gazette, enacting the "Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership" (CPTPP), which has entered into force as of that date. The treaty seeks to promote the economic integration of the parties, generating a common framework for trade policy, government procurement, intellectual property, electronic commerce, investment, among others ...
18.71 Duty to establish procedures for the enforcement of IP rights The treaty establishes a duty to improve, streamline and simplify procedures aimed at preventing and prosecuting intellectual property infringements. 18.72 Presumptions regarding IP rights A duty is incorporated in order to extend to related rights the presumption of ownership already contemplated in our legislation for intellectual works ...
In this article we follow up on some current issues in the defined contribution (DC) sphere. In its corporate plan for 2022 to 2024, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) reasserted its commitment to defined contribution savers getting the pensions that they are entitled ...
Introduction The UN Convention on International Bills of Exchange and International Promissory Notes (1988) and the Convention Providing a Uniform Law for Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes (1930), on which legislation throughout the world is modelled, assert the same principle. The assignment of funds is thus rejected as the legal principle underlying the transfer of funds ...
Continuing on from our first advisory on the P2SK Law, we delve deeper into its provisions with a specific focus on Chapter X, which covers finance services businesses. This chapter applies to a variety of entities involved in finance services, including those providing peer-to-peer lending services, and aligns with the P2SK Law's aim of promoting technological innovation in finance services while protecting consumers ...
Published in Corporate Counsel Business Journal March 1, 2023 CCBJ: To start out, please share your background with our readers, including your involvement with the WSG–Legal 500 Survey of In-House Legal Technology. Herman Raspé: I am a partner at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler in the capital markets group with a focus principally on equity, but also cross-border debt transactions ...
On the 1st March, the FCA issued the remaining portfolio letters in respect of the implementation of consumer duty. For this summary, I have focussed on the motor finance portfolio letter. I had a look at what words were being used in the letter and their frequency (see the word cloud graphic). Whilst this is not a detailed analysis, it’s interesting to note the prominence of “products”, and “information” in the context of the motor finance letter ...
Cisco has recently released its 2023 Privacy Benchmark Study which explores the impact of data privacy on organisations around the world and why data protection compliance remains mission critical for businesses. The study finds that 95% of companies understand privacy to be a ‘business imperative’, but Harvey Jang, Cisco’s privacy chief, highlights that ‘when it comes to earning and building trust, compliance is not enough’ ...
Financial services companies, such as banks, credit unions, lenders, finance companies, loan servicers, broker-dealers, and securities firms, often receive subpoenas from parties in litigation involving their customers, employees, and business partners. They may also receive subpoenas from regulatory organizations, government agencies, and grand juries ...
