Financial

The (EU) Council and Parliament negotiators reached an agreement on the directive on combating fraud and counterfeiting of non-cash means of payment.

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/12/11/agreement-on-new-rules-to-fight-non-cash-payment-fraud/

A former financial advisor from Southport has been jailed for his involvement in a multi-million pound investment fraud

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) dished out £60,467,212 in fines last year, falling from £229.5m in 2017.

https://www.insuranceage.co.uk/broker/3774346/fca-fines-down-to-ps605m-in-2018

In this issue, the FCA details its findings on a review of the implementation of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).

https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/newsletters/market-watch-58.pdf

Over a dozen firms in the cryptocurrency sector are under investigation by UK ’s financial regulator as the Financial Times reports 18 companies were being investigated over their involvement in selling cryptocurrencies.

https://gooruf.com/uk/news/2018/12/31/uk-regulators-probe-18-crypto-firms-for-fraud-and-illegal-operations/

Recent research by the Wall Street Journal revealed that hundreds of cryptocurrency offerings showed signs of fraudulent activity, improbable returns and plagiarism.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/wsj-hundreds-of-crypto-projects-show-signs-of-plagiarism-fraud-and-improbable-returns

A man has pleaded guilty to four charges brought against him by the Financial Conduct Authority for defrauding investors out of approximately £600,000.

https://portfolio-adviser.com/man-pleads-guilty-to-600k-investment-fraud/

Cryptocurrency articles proliferate the headlines these days, but more often than not, the subject matter deals with victims and the losses they have sustained at the hands of clever conmen.

https://www.leaprate.com/experts/tom-cleveland/the-anatomy-of-an-initial-coin-offering-ico-fraud/

Working together with Europol, Eurojust and the European Banking Federation (EBF), police forces from over 20 States arrested 168 people (so far) as part of a coordinated money laundering crackdown, the European Money Mule Action (EMMA).

http://news.cityoflondon.police.uk/r/1158/over_1500_money_mules_identified_in_worldwide_mon

A self-styled British trader who conned financial experts and some of his closest friends out of millions of pounds in a nine-year investment scam was sentenced to five years in jail

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/self-styled-trader-jailed-over-british-investment-scam-150326522--sector.html