On 14 October 2022, the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, in terms of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (“FICA”) made amendments to the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Control Regulations, 2002, which will come into force on 14 November 2022. In terms of these amendments, the prescribed amount for reporting cash transactions under section 28 of FICA to the Financial Intelligence Centre has increased from ZAR24 999 to ZAR49 999.99 ...
This week, BNY Mellon (“Mellon”), the nation’s oldest bank, announced it was making good on its February 2021 plan to develop the infrastructure necessary to serve as custodian for digital assets. Mellon announced the launch of a proprietary crypto custody software developed in partnership with Fireblocks, a digital asset custody, transfer, and settlement platform. With its announcement, Mellon became the first large U.S ...
With the end of the year just around the corner, it’s a good time to reassess plans and action-items. When reviewing your year-end estate planning or business transition concerns, there are several things to contemplate and review, such as year-end gift giving and tax considerations. Below is a list of items we’ve identified that you might want to consider as you plan for the end of the year and future transitions ...
On the 12th of July 2022, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a Consultation Document on the reporting of major ICT-related incidents with a consultation period expiring on the 5th of August 2022. The MFSA worked on introducing an updated major ICT-related incident reporting process that replaces the previous process that was communicated on the 25th of September 2019 entitled ‘Cybersecurity – Threat Mitigation’ ...
On 21 September 2022, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) issued Prakas 247/22 on the Determination of Minimum Wage for Workers in the Garment, Textile, Footwear (“GTF”), Travel Product and Bag Sectors (“Prakas 247”), to set a new minimum wage for 2023, which will be effective from 1 January 2023. Under Prakas 247, workers in the above sectors will be entitled to the following new minimum wage: for regular workers, USD 200 per month ...
On September 14, 2022, the Parliament approved the draft of the Act Amending the Thai Civil and Commercial Code (the “Amendment Act”) covering Title XXII on Partnerships and Limited Companies. Under this Amendment Act, a new M&A scheme and amended corporate governance requirements have been introduced for limited companies ...
According to a 2017 report, more than half of the companies that have Black owners are turned down for loans—a rate twice as high as white business owners.[1] Even when Black business owners get approved for bank loans, their rate of failure to receive full financing is the highest among all categories by more than 10% ...
The recent decision of an Inspector not to confirm a compulsory purchase order (CPO) sought by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is a key reminder of the need to fully justify the use of CPO powers and provide appropriate supporting evidence. The decision On 4 October 2022 an Inspector decided not to confirm a compulsory purchase order (CPO) sought by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (Borough) ...
President Biden’s Executive Order on US data transfers came at the end of last week, signalling a “dramatic step” for EU-US data relations, with knock on consequences for the UK expected. The superlatives can’t get strong enough for US data lawyers commenting on its impact. The problem Under the EU and UK GDPR an international transfer requires “adequate safeguards” to be in place ...
On 30 September 2022, the Foreign Exchange Supervisory Committee (“FESC”) of the Central Bank of Myanmar (“CBM”) issued Letter No. FE-73 (23/2022) as a result of discussions held during meeting No. (53/2022). The letter has allowed fuel import entities to make repayments of financing agreements in Chinese yuan (“RMB”) in a bid to prevent delays in oil distribution to consumers in Myanmar ...
The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (“GFSC”) has published its Guidance for CIS on measures to counter the risk of greenwashing (“Guidance”) which applies to all collective investment schemes which are authorised or registered under the Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020 and to those responsible for preparing the prospectuses and other marketing materials of such schemes ...
On July 15, 2022, Justice François Lebel of the Court of Québec rendered a decision confirming that, in the case of the sale of immovable property, a clear and unambiguous exclusion clause, whereby the warranty is waived at the buyer?s risk, results in a break in the chain of title preventing the buyer from taking any legal action under such warranty against the seller and previous sellers ...
It’s hard to explain to someone who has never been accused of a crime that they cannot use their own money, and this situation could last for months. Nonetheless, an institution exerting this effect functions under Polish law and can impact both individuals and companies This institution is the freezing of accounts. In general it is used where there is a suspicion that funds in an account have a criminal origin or are related to an offence ...
In June 2022, at one of the annual meetings of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (“EPSCO”) Council, health ministers expressed their concerns regarding the legislative transition to Regulation (EU) No 2017/745 of the European Parliament and of the European Council of 5 April 2017 on medical devices (“MDR”) and to Regulation 2017/746 of the European Parliament and of the European Council of 5 April 2017 on in vitro diagnostic medical devi
It has been a little over a year since the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”), an international initiative established to combat money laundering published its Mutual Evaluation Report (“MER”) on South Africa in which it identified major “weak spots” in our compliance processes. The FATF gave the country a deadline of February 2023 to remedy all the deficiencies or face possible grey listing ...
The past two years have seen significant growth in the number of mergers and acquisitions nationwide with many business owners choosing to liquefy their assets and move on. At the same time, employers have had to cope with numerous challenges that have made the otherwise routine task of employee onboarding and I-9 preparation more difficult. Some employers (unlawfully) stopped preparing I-9s for new hires altogether ...
Mamo TCV Advocates will be at the Start Up Festival Malta organised by StartinMalta this week! The 2nd edition of the Start Up Festival will be taking place on the 13 & 14 October 2022 at Villa Bighi, Kalkara. Reach out to us to have a chat about our newly launched Start-Up Toolkit or get in touch with us on [email protected] to set up a meeting to discuss how we can help you navigate your legal & regulatory obligations ...
We are pleased to launch the Mamo TCV Start-Up Toolkit. Our start-up toolkit is a bundle of legal, corporate and regulatory services designed as a starter pack for entrepreneurs wishing to set up a business in Malta. Through the Toolkit, we aim to lower the barriers to entry for start-ups by providing key documentation required at company formation stage and guidance on how to fulfil their obligations to be in a position to launch their commercial proposition ...
S African countries grapple with the measures necessary to meet their nationally determined commitments (“NDCs”) under the Paris Agreement, it is critical to be primed to attract sustainable finance, and for central banks and regulators in each country to create a fertile environment for this redirection of capital ...
Dr Nicholas Valenzia, head of the Aviation Practice Area at the firm, has moderated a panel focusing on the Finance and Legal aspects of Aviation, featuring Alexandra Asche, Sales Director, from Global Jet Capital and Khader Mattar, CEO, from IC Group. The firm has once again participated in the Malta Aviation Conference & Expo (MACE) held at the Hilton, Portomaso between the 5th and 6th October, 2022 ...
On 25 March 2020, the Myanmar Competition Commission issued Directive No. 2/2020 under Section 56, Subsection (b) of the Competition Law. The directive aims to prohibit unfair advertising practices, ensure fair competition among businesses, and protect the public and consumers from potential harm ...
Kudun and Partners have successfully represented Radiant Power Co., Ltd. and Jetion Solar (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a large solar panel manufacturer backed by a Chinese-state-owned company, China National Building Materials Group Corporation, for the acquisition of 100% shares including the transfer of debts related to Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) work from Pattanathurakit Co., Ltd. for an accumulated sum of THB 960 million ...
Kudun and Partners was invited by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Thailand branch to host and provide the opening remarks for CIArb’s first in-person event in several years featuring guest speakers, Kevin Nash, SIAC Registrar and Dr. Vanina Sucharitkul, Chair of the CIArb Thailand Branch ...
On 13 September 2022, the Microfinance Supervision Committee (“Committee“) under the Ministry of Planning and Finance issued Directive No.4/2022 (“Directive“), which outlines risk-based management strategies required of microfinance institutions (“MFIs“) to combat money laundering and terrorism. The Directive also pertains to Section 69 (c) of the Anti-Money Laundering Law (Union Parliament Law No ...
