Themis Newsletter - June

Welcome to the latest newsletter where we show you a few highlights from Themis, and focus in on the big global financial crime news stories.

Tune into our latest podcast that shines a spotlight on Themis’ ongoing research on environmental crime. Listen as Aine McParland, Financial and Environmental Crime Researcher at Themis, speaks with John Dodsworth, Drivers Initiative Lead at WWF-UK and Olivia Dakeyne, Associate Director of Themis' Insight Team, as they discuss key findings from the recently published report by Themis and WWF-UK titled 'Financial Crimes and Land Conversion: Uncovering the Risk for Financial Institutions.'

Tune into the podcast here.

Download the full report here.

Themis is proud to announce that we have recently received LIBF accreditation for three of our training courses, both current and forthcoming. This achievement underscores our commitment to providing top-notch, industry-recognised training. The newly accredited modules include our digital UAE real estate training, our classroom-based UAE wealth management training, as well as our digital UAE legal sector training, set to launch later this year.

Access our training courses here.

Hong Kong features unique financial crime risks due to its role as a global financial and business hub, as well as its complex relationship with mainland China. This report explores these distinct risks and looks at how these risks will shift over the next few years. Taking a forward-looking view, the report explores the impact of geopolitical events and emerging technologies on Hong Kong’s financial crime landscape. Our report is an essential tool for professionals and organisations looking to protect against financial crime risk exposure in one of the world’s most complex financial environments. Readers will also gain a strong understanding of the various illicit groups and activities to watch out for while doing business in the region.?

Access the report here.

This month, Themis participated in the esteemed Emergence 2024 Investment Conference in London. The conference, renowned for its expansive reach and impactful insights, was a valuable opportunity for Themis to engage with the broader investment ecosystem. Our CEO, Dickon Johnstone shared his insights on the importance of preventing financial crime and fostering a safer business environment.

Top Financial Crime News Stories

Singapore published an updated Money Laundering National Risk Assessment earlier this month. This update comes as part of Singapore’s ongoing commitment to maintain an effective anti-money laundering regime in the face of evolving financial crime risks. The report notably highlights that the banking sector, including wealth management, poses the highest money laundering risks in the country. Among the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions sectors, corporate service providers pose higher ML risks. Singapore continues to demonstrate its commitment to addressing these identified risks and enhancing its anti-money laundering measures.

Source: Monetary Authority of Singapore

Four members of the Hinduja family, the richest in the UK with an estimated worth of ￡37bn ($47bn), have been sentenced for exploiting staff at their Geneva mansion. The case included accusations of the family confiscating staff passports, paying them as little as ￡7 for 18-hour days, and restricting their freedom to leave the house. The case has put Geneva, a hub for international organisations as well as the world’s wealthy, in the spotlight once more for the alleged mistreatment of domestic help.

Source: The Guardian

Despite the heavy sanctions levied on Russia in the aftermath of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian economy has shown surprising resilience. This is largely attributed to a network of trade routes via intermediary countries (including China, Turkey, the UAE, and various former Soviet Republics) serving as a “sanctions hole" for the trade of goods such as semiconductors, airplane parts, and iPhones, between Europe and Russia. Attention is likely to turn to banks in these countries, particularly in terms of their contribution to the maintenance and support of the Russian economy through these indirect imports.

Source: The Guardian

If you would like to discuss any of our research findings in more depth please do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].