From 26 October 2024, employers will be required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers must ensure they understand the parameters of this new duty and have implemented the measures needed to comply with it. What the Act says The Act requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers in the course of their employment ...
Bermuda Monetary Authority initiates consultation on proposed changes to Bermuda’s digital asset business regime The Bermuda Monetary Authority (the “BMA”) has issued a consultation paper outlining proposed amendments to the Digital Asset Business Act 2018 (the “Act”) and the Digital Asset Business (Prudential Standards) (Annual Return) Rules 2018 (the “Rules”) inviting the digital asset business sector and other stakeholders to share their views on t
Carey Olsen confirmed as the leading offshore law firm by Chambers UK 52 lawyers from across the firm's Guernsey, Jersey and London offices have also been recognised for their outstanding work. Notably, 10 individuals have seen their rankings improve, including new Band 1 rankings for partners Natasha Kapp (Trusts, Guernsey) and Andreas Kistler (Trusts, Jersey). Five Carey Olsen lawyers have also been newly ranked in this year's guide ...
This article is part of our EU AI Act series which explores the effect of the AI Act across various industries and sectors. Introduction The first article (see link below) in this EU AI Act series provided, inter alia, a breakdown of the scope, applicability, timeline and risk levels of the AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 [1] (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) ...
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. each periodically publish a report that describes their views on the current risk areas threatening the banking industry. The OCC calls its report the “Semiannual Risk Perspective,” while the FDIC’s report is called the “Risk Review.” These reports telegraph the risks regulators will be particularly interested in during the next examination cycle ...
The National Financial Regulatory Administration ("NFRA") issued theAdministrative Measures for Syndicated Loan Business("Administrative Measures") on 12 October 2024, which will take effect from 1 November 2024 and shall amend and replace theGuidelines on Syndicated Loan Businessissued by the China Banking Regulatory Commission on 1 August 2011 (the “Business Guidelines”). NFRA released a draft of the Administrative Measures for public consultation on 22 March 2024 ...
We are pleased to present the very first edition of our Trade and Taxation Newsletter. Each month, we will share important updates, key developments, and practical insights on trade and taxation, all tailored to help you stay ahead in an ever-changing regulatory environment ...
Carey Olsen advises Gate.io on launch of cryptocurrency venture capital fund The Fund is a venture capital fund which initially closed with investments in the digital assets and web 3.0 space across 28 portfolio companies and projects, encompassing opportunities from seed to pre-IPO rounds. The aim of the Fund is to invest in the equity and tokens of unlisted start-up companies and protocols operating within the digital assets web 3 ...
Guidance published this month by the UK Government is designed to support firms in the UK financial sector to share customer information more easily in the pursuit of the prevention and detection of economic crime. Key facts: The UK Government has issued guidance for anti-money laundering regulated firms on the voluntary information sharing measures contained in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the “Act”) ...
The UK’s Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is set to deliver her first Budget on 30 October and it is anticipated to bring significant changes to the tax landscape. With the Government having identified a funding shortfall of £22 billion, it seems almost inevitable that tax rises are on the way, with capital gains tax (CGT) squarely in the Chancellor’s sights. We’ve outlined some potential changes and key considerations that may be relevant before, and after, Budget Day ...
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is seeking feedback from stakeholders on new best practice guidance for food businesses that provide non-prepacked food. What is non-prepacked food? Non-prepacked food includes all foods that are not prepacked, e.g., loose foods, food packaged at the request of the consumer, food supplied by caterers, meals served in a restaurant, takeaway food, food made to order at cafes, etc ...
Carey Olsen and IQ-EQ support Deep Blue on the launch of Jersey's first stablecoin DBUSD is a U.S. dollar denominated stablecoin, collateralised by low-risk assets and supported by an extensive ecosystem of key partners across tokeniser, blockchain foundations, distribution channels, oracle and technology providers, including Archax, the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s regulated digital assets firm. DBUSD's use cases include cross-border payments, remittances, trading and collateral ...
The European Commission published its draft regulation, the “NIS2 Implementing Regulation” (“N2IR”), for consultation on 27 June 2024. N2IR builds on the Network and Information Systems Directive 2022/2555 (“NIS2”), which was adopted on 16 January 2023 and will begin to apply from 18 October 2024 and beyond ...
Law firm Shoosmiths has advised Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK (TMUK) on two major agreements relating to the construction of a state-of-the-art anaerobic digester (AD) plant at the TMUK engine manufacturing facility in Deeside, North Wales (UK). The new waste to energy plant will be situated next to the Toyota Engine Plant and construction at the £282m privately funded venture will start next month ...
Jersey private trust companies This briefing note considers key issues relating to the establishment and use of a Jersey PTC in the context of private wealth management. References to “PTCs” are to companies which operate as corporate trustees, although it is also possible for a foundation to act as a private trust foundation (a "PTF") ...
On 30 September 2024, China's State Council announced the finalizedRegulation for theAdministration of Network Data Security(《网络数据安全管理条例》, "Network Data Regulation"), which will take effect on 1 January 2025. This regulation provides a framework for personal information (PI) protection, cross-border data transfers, network data security management and the responsibilities of internet platform providers ...
Working time’ for National Minimum Wage (NMW) purposes can cause a real headache for employers and the case law in this area continues to develop as (travel) time moves on. The National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/621) (NMW Regulations 2015) define various types of ‘work’ which includes ‘time work’ ...
On the 7 October 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) published a ‘Dear CEO letter’ to Payment Service Providers (‘PSPs’) impacted by the mandatory reimbursement requirements for victims of authorised push payment fraud (‘APP’) ...
Jersey investment funds – autumn 2024 update Jersey Financial Services Commission - Recent changes to the Jersey Private Fund Guide On 2 July 2024, following a collaboration with the Jersey funds industry, the Jersey Financial Services Commission (“JFSC”) published an updated version of the Jersey Private Fund Guide (“JPF Guide”) with the goal of improving the Jersey Private Fund (“JPF”) regime (see here) ...
Bermuda investment funds – autumn 2024 update Bermuda Monetary Authority Investment Fund statistics (Q2 2024) Bermuda continues to consolidate its status as a leading international financial centre with growth in the investment funds sector during Q2 2024. The Bermuda Monetary Authority (the “BMA”) has published its Q2 2024 Investment Fund Statistics (see here), which indicate an increase in both the total number of funds and the net asset value (NAV) of those funds ...
British Virgin Islands investment funds - autumn 2024 update British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission statistics Q2 2024 The British Virgin Islands (the “BVI”) Financial Services Commission (“FSC”) has published its Statistical Bulletin for Q2 2024 (see here, with ‘Investment Business’ statistics at page 17 and ‘Funds’ statistics at page 18) identifying progress made in different sectors of the Financial Services industry, including
Guernsey investment funds – autumn 2024 update Guernsey funds statistics The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (“GFSC”) has published its Investment Statistics Summary for Q2 2024 (see here). The full statistics can be viewed here, but the key statistics are as follows: Guernsey funds The total net asset value of Guernsey funds at the end of the quarter was £295.7 billion, an increase over the quarter of £3.2 billion (+1.1%) ...
Cayman Islands investment funds – autumn 2024 update Beneficial ownership for Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (“CIMA”) registered funds – updated requirements On 31 July 2024, the Cayman Islands Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act, 2023 (“BO Act”) and the accompanying Beneficial Ownership Transparency Regulations, 2024 (“BO Regulations”) were brought into force (see here for the BO Act, and here for the BO Regulations) ...
In our eighth article in the series focusing on the risk of discrimination in the workplace, we consider the protected characteristic of disability, the common issues that arise and what employers can do to avoid discrimination claims. What is disability discrimination? Disability discrimination occurs where a job applicant or employee is treated less favourably because of their disability ...