Overcompliance in Sanctions Compliance
The proliferation of unilateral and secondary sanctions has led to a concerning trend of overcompliance by businesses, particularly banks and financial institutions. Overcompliance refers to excessively restrictive practices that go beyond the requirements of sanctions regulations.
Detection of money laundering through shell companies
A shell company is a registered legal entity that exists only on paper and has no significant assets or business activities. The shell company pretends to provide real business services in order to conceal illegal funds and its beneficial owner, launder money or avoid tax payments.
ESG in the crisis
The term “ESG” (Environment, Social, Governance) is currently on everyone’s lips. Sustainability or sustainable action, which places companies in particular under an obligation as important drivers for a more sustainable future, is nothing new.
Step-by-Step Guide to ESG Leadership
ESG Leadership entails companies having a clear vision towards sustainability and actively implementing it in their corporate actions. It involves integrating environmental, social, and governance aspects firmly into the corporate culture rather than treating them as peripheral issues.
Fundamentals of Sustainability Communication
In today’s business world, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations have become integral to corporate success and sustainability.
Initiating a Sustainable Corporate Culture
The intricacy of sustainability is indisputable. Frequently, businesses become so immersed in the details that they lose sight of the bigger picture. In an era of staffing shortages and mounting tasks, it’s quite understandable that a list of tasks can only be handled by a committed ESG practitioner.
The Shadow of Sanctions on Contracts
A valid contract is binding upon the parties. This statement serves as the cornerstone of contract law worldwide. However, it does not imply that there are no situations in which parties can legally terminate, suspend, or refuse to fulfill their contractual obligations for legal reasons. Typically, these reasons can be anticipated ex-ante in applicable law or in the contract itself. How about newly introduced sanctions? Can they provide a green light for parties to refrain from undertaking their contractual obligations?
Has the EU entered the era of extraterritorial sanctions?
With the recent adoption of the EU’s 13th sanctions package against Russia, we sought insights from our senior legal officers at Wiacon, Negin Ajam and Nasim Zargarinezhad.
The EU’s decision to sanction Chinese firms, among others, aims to disrupt the supply chain of vital drone components to Russia, especially given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Grey listed UAE: fair or unfair play!
In recent years, the United Arab Emirates has found itself at the forefront of international scrutiny following being grey listed by Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The UAE is known as a trade hub in the Gulf region and the country has appeared to be determined to uphold its reputation as a business center. In the following paragraphs, we aimed to explore the UAE´s grey listing case from various perspectives.
Ransomware Financing
According to FATF Report in March 2023, ransomware incidents have grown significantly in recent years, both in number and scale. Additionally, the landscape of ransomware attacks has evolved, and attackers have adopted new techniques to increase the profitability of their endeavours and enhance the likelihood of successful attacks. These have led to a global concern on how to prevent and combat the threat.