Regulatory Blog

On 28 June 2024, the Financial Action Task Force published an update on the jurisdictions under increased monitoring that are collaborating with FATF addressing deficiencies in their anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation financing regimes. Being on this "grey list" signifies a country's commitment to resolving these issues swiftly under agreed timelines.

On 28 June 2024, the Financial Action Task Force highlighted significant deficiencies in high-risk jurisdictions' efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. On that basis, FATF released a call for action on its members and other jurisdictions to apply countermeasures to safeguard the global financial system. Iran remains the sole country listed since February 2020, with no substantial changes reported as of January 2024.

On 17 July 2024, draft legislation No. 8414 was proposed to the Luxembourg Parliament, introducing new tax measures aimed to improve Luxembourg's competitiveness and appeal to businesses, investors, and foreign talent.

Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the UK Government, alongside the member states of the European Union, the United States of America and other global stakeholders issued significant new sanctions. View a table of all the sanctions here

On 11 April 2024, the Advocate General Priit Pikamäe rendered an opinion in case C-768/21 Land Hessen, shedding light on the obligations of data protection authorities when addressing breaches of personal data.

On 22 April 2024, the European Commission initiated a second formal proceedings against TikTok pursuant to the Digital Services Act. Under the DSA, very large online platforms are required to submit a risk assessment report before launching new features with significant potential systemic risks. The Commission is investigating whether TikTok breached these obligations by launching TikTok Lite in France and Spain without prior diligent assessment of its potential risks, particularly its potentially addictive nature, especially for children due to the lack of effective age verification mechanisms.

On 2 July 2024, the European Investment Fund and the NATO Innovation Fund signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Brussels to enhance support for the defence, security, and resilience sectors in Europe. This partnership aims to unlock private capital for start-ups, medium-sized enterprises, and mid-sized companies in the defence, security, and resilience sectors.

On 18 June 2024, the European Commission initiated a targeted consultation and a series of workshops to gather input from stakeholders on the application of artificial intelligence in finance, as the financial sector is increasingly adopting AI technology. These initiatives aim to explore use cases, benefits, barriers, risks, and the needs of stakeholders.

On 8 July 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority initiated a consultation on draft guidelines and technical standards under the revised Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Directive. These directives aim to enhance financial stability and standardise liquidity risk management across the investment funds sector.