Welcome to This Week In Compliance: GAN’s weekly news roundup, where we curate the latest stories on compliance and anti-corruption to keep you informed. This week, energy giant Glencore has been fined 310M USD due to bribery charges. Read the full story and more news below:
Top Story
Glencore ordered to pay 310M USD for bribery charges
The British subsidiary of Glencore, a swiss mining conglomerate, has been ordered to pay 310M USD for seven bribery charges relating to its business dealings in Africa. According to Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) the mining company paid, or failed to prevent payment of, millions of dollars in bribes to officials in the African nations of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan. In his sentencing remarks, Judge Peter Fraser said that the admission of guilt and payment of fines indicates significant corporate reform for Glencore and that the company is “a very different corporation than it was at the time of these offenses.”
Government
SEC hands out more than 10M USD in awards to whistleblower
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) awarded one whistleblower more than 10M USD this week for a report that lead to a successful enforcement action. The SEC stated that the whistleblower awarded this week provided important documents that were critical to their investigation and ultimately used in the enforcement action. Each year, the SEC awards through money paid by the companies convicted of wrongdoing, in an effort to curb corporate malfeasance.
New EU gun laws seek to curb illicit firearms trade
The European Commission has proposed new gun laws that they say will help mitigate any increase in illegal firearms trade due to the war in Ukraine. The new measures would introduce tighter compliance standards around firearms licensing, better tracking of illegal firearms already in the EU, and introduce new certification procedures. The EC said that the Russian attack on Ukraine could lead to an increase in the number of black-market weapons transactions that occur and allow a flood of new, unregistered guns to hit the streets. As of now, however, there has been no marked increase of illegal weapons trading shown in the existing data.
US sanctions Russian political assets in Moldova
Nearly two dozen individuals and government officials in Moldova were sanctioned by the United State treasury this week, due to their implication in the Russian Federation's attempt to disrupt Moldova's economy and political institutions. The US Treasury said that the Russian Federation is seeking to destabilize the nation, which neighbors Ukraine, because of its strengthening ties with the West. Earlier this year, Moldova applied for membership to the European Union shortly after Russia began its attack on Ukraine. Among those sanctioned was former government official Vladimir Plahotniuc who who “engaged in state capture by exerting control over and manipulating key sectors of Moldova’s government,” in addition to various judicial and electoral sectors, the US Treasury said.
Business
Money laundering threat from online gambling at highest risk level, European Commission says
The threat of money laundering through online gambling is at its highest risk level ever, according to a new assessment and report released by the European Commission (EC). The EC regularly commissions new assessments to determine the risk of money laundering and financing of terrorism through laundering and other illegal means. The EC flagged online gambling in particular because of its use of cryptocurrencies, which are harder to track than fiat currency. More compliance training is needed for these companies, the EC said, and reiterated that authorities should work harder to provide clearer compliance standards.