Compliance & Ethics

The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition has imposed fines totaling approximately $89.7 million (CZK 1.942 billion) on four companies after finding that six cable manufacturers coordinated the calculation of a “metal surcharge” used in the pricing of telecommunications and power cables containing copper or aluminum. It is a record fine for the Office. The decision, announced Oct. 1, is not yet final, and the parties can appeal to the Chairman of the Office.

The EU's Anti-Money Laundering Authority said on October 1 that it has finalized three sets of regulatory technical standards covering customer due diligence, the treatment of business relationships and occasional transactions, and AML/CFT arrangements across corporate groups. The final drafts have been sent to the European Commission, putting them one step closer to becoming part of the rulebook that companies and professionals subject to the EU regime will have to follow.

Independence Blue Cross has agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle allegations that it kept Medicare money tied to diagnosis codes that its own medical-record reviews did not support. The Justice Department announced the settlement Wednesday, bringing a civil False Claims Act case against the Pennsylvania insurer to a close without a determination of liability. The allegations concern Independence Blue Cross, or IBX, and its Medicare Advantage business during payment years 2017 through 2021.

In recommendations submitted to the European Commission as part of its review of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, ESMA called for tougher rules on crypto marketing, greater transparency over costs and new requirements for staking, lending and borrowing. It also wants stronger powers to confront unauthorized firms, fraudulent websites and services tied to stablecoins that do not comply with MiCA.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, or UOKiK, has imposed more than $3.5 million (PLN 13.5 million) in fines after finding that contractors coordinated their behavior in 11 tenders organized by electricity distributor PGE Dystrybucja. The contracts covered the construction and modernization of electricity grid infrastructure, including switching and disconnection points.

FINRA has ordered American Portfolios Financial Services to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution and fined the firm $400,000 over supervisory failures that left hundreds of investors paying unnecessary costs and fees on unit investment trusts.

Swiss financial regulator FINMA has found serious risk management and anti-money laundering failures at Julius Bär, concluding an enforcement proceeding that exposed weaknesses in more than $1.26 billion (CHF 1 billion) of private debt lending and in the bank’s handling of clients linked to two Russian politically exposed persons.