The Europe Express column features anti-financial crime-related content with a regional focus in Europe from subject-matter experts. If you would like to contribute to this column or have any topics you would like to suggest, please email editor@acams.org.
Our regular contributor is Stefano Siggia, CAMS, senior consultant at the Brussels-based regulatory and compliance consultancy firm Pideeco.
Siggia was born in Italy but grew up in Bangladesh, China, Germany and Belgium, where he currently resides. After earning his bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Vesalius College and a master’s degree in international relations from the Brussels School of International Studies
(University of Kent), he worked at Banca Monte Paschi Belgio.
There is not a more fitting metaphor than Pandoras Jar1 in describing the entry of artificial intelligence (AI) into our society. Pandora’s “box” is a historical mistranslation;2 an inaccuracy. It was described as Panadoras Jar. The application of AI and machine learning in financial crime...
When Lisa Paus, a financial expert in Germany’s Green Party, tried to identify the owners of the Kundamm-Karee ‘Fürst’ project, she hit a wall. The approximately 635,071-square-foot urban area that would house office spaces, retail stores and art galleries at Kurfürstendamm, one of Berlin’s most...
The Italian criminal underworld is infamous for its Sicilian mobsters and Calabrian drug traffickers, but little is known of the “Fourth Mafia,” or the Sacra Corona Unita (SCU).1 Sprung from the depths of Apulia’s prison system, it makes up one of the major mafia groups...
Qatargate refers to European Parliament officials, lobbyists and their families who were allegedly involved in corruption, money laundering and organised crime, influenced by the governments of Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania. In December 2022, there were several arrests and searches affecting former and current members of...
Sanctions can be effective if they are proportional to the strength of their enforcement and the unity of global efforts. EU sanctions against Russia, its oil and natural gas industry, are not an exception to this rule. Whilst many suggest that sanctions have worked as...
Editor’s note: This article is the first part of a two-part series on the emotional consequences of fraud and how financial institutions (FIs) can respond to address the issue. The second part “Responding to the emotional impact of fraud” can also be found in the...
Campania’s Camorra, one of the four major Mafia groups in Italy, along with Sicily’s Cosa Nostra, Calabria’s ‘Ndrangheta and Puglia’s Sacra Corona Unita, is one of the most insidious and dangerous criminal organisations in the world. With a history spanning over a century, Camorra has...
Imagine back-to-back loans between several companies registered in offshore jurisdictions. This could look like or be a set of transactions indented for tax planning within a legitimate business activity. However, the picture can change quickly. For example, if it is established that the ultimate beneficial...
C alabria, the southern region of Italy referred to as the “toe” of the “boot,” is home to one of the most dangerous crime syndicates in the world—the ‘Ndrangheta. Its ruthlessness has made it one of the major players in the international drug market, allowing...
For the past 100 years, the mafia’s brutal and lawless presence has influenced everything from pop culture to history, extending beyond Italy’s borders to impact crime around the world. The word mafia is used as an informal term for four major groups: Calabria’s ‘Ndrangheta, Campania’s...
Our regular contributor is Stefano Siggia, CAMS, senior consultant at the Brussels-based regulatory and compliance consultancy firm Pideeco.
