The Public Registry of the Province of Buenos Aires (Dirección Provincial de Personas Jurídicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires or DPPJ), by means of Disposition 43/2024, issued new requirements applicable to stock corporations registered with the DPPJ in relation to the filing of financial statements, the content of the annual report, the treatment of the results for the fiscal year, the order of priority in the absorption of accumulated losses, and technical revaluations, among others.
Having not secured a deferred prosecution agreement in respect of U.K. Bribery Act offences since 2021 and having been rocked by a series of shortcomings regarding its investigation and prosecution of cases, the SFO has arguably been at its lowest ebb.
On 6 May 2024, the Federal Government published Federal Law No. 14.852/2024, which established the Legal Framework for the Electronic Games Industry in Brazil. The new law sets out the basic principles and rules for the development and sale of electronic games in Brazil. It establishes guidelines on the manufacture, import, marketing, development and commercial use of electronic games, in addition to providing that the State must establish the indicative age classification. Therefore, it provides a specific framework for this sector in Brazil and ensures the protection of its consumers and users.
For the third week, we continued our Annual Compliance Conference with key customs developments impacting on businesses today. Specifically, we discussed the reform of the Union Customs Code in the EU, key trending customs developments in EMEA, and different methods of driving significant financial savings in global supply chains.
Our 16 February 2024 Client Alert reported on the recommendations of the Federal Government’s Independent Review of the Franchising Code of Conduct (“Code”).
We noted that the recommendations were largely sensible and light touch and that the Review considered that the Code was generally fit-for-purpose.
The Government has now released its formal response, adopting the Review recommendations in full.
The Takeover Panel has published a revised version of Practice Statement 31 dealing with the application of various rules in the context of a private sale process (PSP) run by a target company or major shareholder (as well as in the context of a formal sale process or strategic review, as were previously covered). The Panel has recognized that there are circumstances where a target company is reluctant to pursue a formal sale process and that where it instead pursues a PSP, some of the dispensations applicable to a formal sales process should apply in a similar way. The amended practice statement is available on the Panel’s website and has immediate effect.
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered wholesale licensee Lanterne Fund Services Pty Ltd (“Lanterne”) to pay a AUD 1.25 million penalty for failing to meet its obligations as an AFS licensee. This case is one of the first to litigate AFS obligations in the context of “license for hire” businesses. It provides some useful guidance to AFS licensees to work out what is a sustainable scale for authorizing Representatives for the business.
For the second week of our Annual Compliance Conference, we discussed key trade compliance issues impacting our clients globally. Specifically, we discussed the trade policy response of the US, EU and U.K. to ever increasing geopolitical disruption, global strategies for handling sanctions regulators and enforcement, and key global sanctions and export controls developments.
During the first months of this year, both national authorities and the Public Registry of the City of Buenos Aires enacted regulations providing for relevant changes applicable to local companies, as well as to foreign companies registered or applying for registration in the jurisdiction of the City of Buenos Aires.
The latest edition of our Field Guide to Going Global helps you examine foreign law issues for taking business models, products and technology international. Our guidance should be helpful whether you are working for a start-up company or a large multinational enterprise that is broaching new frontiers.