July 27 - The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on Canada's economy, health care system and society in general. Policies enacted to contain the spread of the virus have resulted in unprecedented disruptions in the social and economic lives of Canadians, changing how we interact, socialize, learn, work and consume. Stay-at-home orders and other restrictions meant more people were at home for longer periods of time, while fewer people were out publicly, reducing opportunities for many types of crime. At the same time, the pandemic has resulted in Canadians increasingly turning to the Internet to stay connected with others and to facilitate work, school, shopping and health care, increasing the risk for different types of criminal offences related to the Internet. Circumstances of the pandemic also exposed and exacerbated issues related to safety and discrimination in Canada, including hate crime and family violence.

July 26 - Three years after the world learnt of Danske Bank’s central role in one of Europe’s biggest money-laundering scandals, the cost of that stunning failure of governance is still palpable. Denmark’s biggest bank, once among the Nordic region’s most reputable companies, has yet to fully resurrect itself from a dirty money affair that’s made it the target of ongoing criminal investigations in the US and Europe. Corporate and business clients have moved past the scandal. But when it comes to the bank’s retail customers, Danske’s CEO says it is still suffering from “reputational issues”.

July 26 - The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has issued a new Guidance on anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) for its licensed financial institutions (LFIs) on the implementation of Targeted Financial Sanctions (TFS). The guidance is supplementary to the guidance on TFS for financial institutions and designated non-financial business and professions, issued in May 2021 by the Executive Office of the Committee for Goods and Materials Subject to Import and Export Control. The Executive Office acts as a central authority to ensure the implementation of TFS in the UAE.

July 23 - This month, the major economies of the world, led by the U.S. and European Union, backed the first ever global tax plan. If implemented, it would create a floor for how low countries can set their corporate tax rate (sorry Apple AAPL +1.2% in Ireland) in an effort to discourage tax avoidance. The G20’s approval came shortly after 130 of the member states that are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development agreed to the blueprint for the global tax plan.

July 23 - The European Commission put forth Tuesday a package of legislative proposals in an effort to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism in the EU. The package included a proposal to create a new anti-money laundering watchdog. Altogether, the package consists of four proposals. First, a regulation establishing a new EU anti-money laundering Agency. Secondly, a regulation on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. Also included are a sixth directive on the mechanisms to be put in place by the Member States for achieving the second proposal and a revision of the 2015 regulation on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets.

July 23 - Brazil’s civil police seized R$172 million ($33 million in U.S. dollars) amid an investigation into money laundering carried out through crypto exchanges. During an operation known as “Exchange” that took place in Sao Paulo and Diadema, Brazilian police carried out six search warrants, after which the Brazilian judiciary authorized freezing accounts and seizing assets from two individuals and 17 companies, according to an official statement that did not name them.

July 20 - Real estate is particularly attractive to criminals in the same way it is to any legitimate investor. It is a common component of a measured investment and/or business strategy and is highly likely to appreciate over time. In fact, according to a recent report by the European Parliament, the share of real estate in criminal assets confiscated, which can be used as an indicator as to how much money is laundered through real estate, was estimated at 30 percent between 2011 and 2013. It was also noted in the latest Europol report looking at organized crime trends in the European Union that most criminal groups and networks (68 percent) use money laundering methods, such as investing in property, to try to legitimize or hide their illicit proceeds.