ICC FraudNet has published its second Global Annual Report which examines the evolving nature of fraud and financial crime, its responses and solutions, amid the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since the 2021 Report, ICC FraudNet has seen increasing fallout from the 2020 FinCEN files publication. While such dataleaks are becoming commonplace and seemingly supported by legislators committed to corporate transparency, the revelations contained in such publications are oftentimes relatively unsurprising to those in this field. However, their influence on policy and the ongoing debate is inescapable.
In addition, the report notes that the issue of beneficial ownership is not an issue confined to the offshore world, but rather there is increasing momentum in this area across the world, with the Financial Action Task Force engaging in an international consultation on a renewed standard.
Some of the contributions in the report outline the use of ‘controlled transparency’ in terms of global investigations of cases that involve some corporate presence offshore, as well as the benefits of litigating offshore or seeking injunctive relief therein to be enforced elsewhere.
Virtual currency is another key theme that is considered in the report. It is increasingly controversial given the disparity by which both governments and regulators view certain virtual assets, and the challenges in a legal sense as to whether or not such “property” can be considered fair game in asset-recovery. This is set against a backdrop of concerns about how fraud can be perpetrated in the context of virtual assets.
Launching the new Report, Co- Executive Directors Michele Caratsch and Babajide Ogundipe said:
We are pleased to commend this, second, FraudNet Global Report. We hope it will be as well received as the first. Our thanks go to the contributors and to our Editor Dr Dominic Thomas-James and to the other members of the Editorial Board for committing their valuable time to this
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