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 award-winning 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.
Qatargate sent shock waves around the EU and served as a pertinent reminder of the heightened corruption risks posed by politically exposed persons (PEPs). The status of a PEP figure like Eva Kaili, former European Parliament member, is associated with privileged decision-making powers, accompanied by...
Russia is currently the world’s most-sanctioned country in history. The number of currently active sanctions against Russia exceeds 18,800, which is four times more than the sanctions against Iran and almost nine times more than those against North Korea.1 Nevertheless, in 2023, the growth rate...
In the summer of 2023, a peculiar political issue made headlines in Austria: The conservative government, responding to cross-party concerns about a digital euro initiative, began exploring ways to establish a right to cash payments in the constitution. A few other countries have had similar...
Four elephant tusks and thousands in cash were discovered by police inside a BMW during a traffic stop on a motorway in France in 2015. Some passengers tried to reassure the police that they were antique dealers, but a police investigation uncovered that they were...
This article analyzes the financial aspects of pig butchering scams by focusing on the money laundering techniques and cryptocurrencies used by organized crime groups (OCGs). This unprecedented form of fraud combines elements of cybercrime, crypto-assets, money laundering and human trafficking. In addition to describing the...
Germany is storming ahead in its efforts to improve its standing at the international level and install best-practice standards following the outcome of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Mutual Evaluation published in August 2023 and also in preparation for the arrival of the European...
The enactment of Section 1 (1) no. 2 of the German Anti-Money Laundering Act (GwG, for its acronym in German), as amended by Germany’s Future Financing Act (ZuFinG),1 paves the way for the system-compliant treatment of collective trust accounts for payment service providers (PSPs) and...
Growing cannabis in the Netherlands is illegal, yet over 500 coffee shops can legally sell the drug throughout the country. This bizarre duality, also known as gedoogbeleid, or tolerance policy, criminalizes the growing and sourcing of cannabis while authorities turn a blind eye to its...
Red Flag Indicators for Victims of Pig Butchering Scams The scammer contacts a target online via social media, a dating or text messaging application by sending a “wrong number” text message. Editor’s note: The following red flag indicators can help victims and anti-financial crime professionals...
In 2021 the European Commission launched a legislative process to address weaknesses in the EU’s fight against financial crime and terrorist financing. These shortcomings consist mainly of divergent national rules, fragmented approaches to anti-money laundering (AML), combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT) and a lack...
Our award-winning 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
