The Home Office published their long-awaited guidance on the new failure to prevent fraud offence on 6 November 2024. The FTPF Offence, introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, allows for large organizations to be held criminally liable where their employees, agents, subsidiaries, or other “associated persons” commit a base fraud offence intending to benefit the organization or its clients, and it is determined the organization failed to implement “reasonable fraud prevention procedures”. All large, incorporated bodies and partnerships are in scope of the FTPF Offence, and it applies both to UK-based organizations and organizations based abroad with a UK nexus. The Government also announced that the FTPF Offence will come into force on 1 September 2025.
While many are aware that the Indian government is aiming to attract at least USD 100 billion a year in gross Foreign Direct Investment in 2024, they may be less aware that the government has also recently set out a progressive ESG regulatory framework. Investors will therefore need to align with this Indian ESG wave and also ensure that their own ESG programs are robust enough to mitigate risks as well as realize opportunities.
In keeping with tradition, we are pleased to invite you to our annual Global Year-End Review of Import/Export & Trade Compliance Developments Conference. The conference will provide valuable insights on the latest developments, challenges and opportunities in the ever-changing landscape of international trade.
We are holding this conference in a split-hybrid format, with an in-person event in Santa Clara, CA, on 12 November and virtual panels on 19-21 November.
On 23 September 2024, the US Department of Justice Criminal Division issued an updated version of its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs document. DOJ uses the Evaluation Guidance to assess the adequacy of compliance programs in place at companies subject to its criminal enforcement activities. DOJ has updated the Evaluation Guidance periodically since its release in 2017 to align with evolving DOJ policies, priorities, and compliance best practices. This latest iteration reflects current DOJ investigation and enforcement priorities and the increasing relevance of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to companies, their compliance programs, and DOJ’s enforcement efforts. DOJ also updated the Evaluation Guidance to encourage companies to: 1) incorporate a lessons-learned approach; 2) focus on compliance due diligence and integration in acquisitions; and 3) properly incentivize internal reporting of wrongdoing.
The Ministry of Health commenced an investigation into a clinic offering telemedicine services for its allegedly clinically and ethically inappropriate practices. The Ministry of Health has stated that this is a likely breach of the Healthcare Services Act 2020. The medical practitioners engaged by the clinic are also being investigated for breach of the Singapore Medical Council’s Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines.
Baker McKenzie’s Global Financial Services Regulatory Guide has been fully revised for 2024 and covers 35+ jurisdictions worldwide, making it our most expansive edition to date. The Guide acts as a quick reference tool when distributing financial products and offering services into new markets, providing a comprehensive summary of regulations applicable to banks and other financial services companies around the world. This expanded edition includes the rapidly growing area of cryptoassets, AML and CFT supervisors, and the extension of regulation to critical third-party outsourcers. Given the pace of regulatory change in this domain, staying informed is critical for market participants. Baker McKenzie is exceptionally well-positioned to simplify the complexity and provide expert guidance.
On 27 July 2024, Supreme Decree No. 014-2024-EM was published. It establishes a new exceptional and non-extendable deadline for submitting the Detailed Environmental Plan. Owners of mining activities that have an environmental management instrument (IGA) in force and have built components or made modifications to the project can adapt their activities without previously having the IGA modified. Likewise, the procedure for evaluating mine closure plans has been optimized.
On 30 July 2024, the National Consumer Secretariat published Technical Note No. 2/2024/Gab-DPDC/DPDC/SENACON/MJ, providing for the Ads Quality Criteria and Data Quality Criteria, as transparency parameters to be adopted and complied with by digital platforms in Brazil. The recent Technical Note established transparency criteria applicable to platforms, mentioning the need to comply with dignity, health, safety, protection and harmony within consumer relations.
This article delves into the various tax implications and tax compliance challenges faced by large global corporations in undertaking their restructuring activities within the GCC region, specifically with a focus on more active economies including the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
INDECOPI has updated the four rankings related to the important work of eliminating bureaucratic barriers in 2023.
Some of the bureaucratic barriers identified in these rankings have been promoted by our study, such as the one that determined the illegality of suspending administrative procedures.
We highlight INDECOPI’s important work, through an easy-to-understand tool to know the efforts in administrative simplification and promotion of market development for both companies and entrepreneurs.