Is Insider Trading Still a Crime after U.S. v Newman?

Citing U.S. v. Newman Overturning Insider Trading Conviction, judge throws out other insider trading guilty pleas ...

read about the case and the most recent pleases thrown out on International Financial Law Prof Blog

FINRA Changes Regulatory Priorities - Pushing "Best Interest of Client" in 2015 Over "Suitability Standard"

FINRA stated that a central failing FINRA has observed is firms not putting customers’ interests first. 

Read the analysis of FINRA's 2015 Regulatory Priorities on International Financial Law Prof Blog

Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program's "Non-Willful" Narratives - "I Didn't Know It Was Against the Law"

read about constructing the narrative on International Financial Law Prof Blog

Luxembourg's Amazon Deal is State Aid Because of Lack of Diligence, EU Commission Decision Released. How Much Must Amazon Pay Back in Tax Relief?

down load the decision and read the analysis at International Financial Law Prof Blog

OFAC Makes It Easier for Banks to Detect & Avoid Persons & Companies on the International Black List With Newly Released Global Format

This new sanctions list format was jointly developed by the United Nations (U.N.) and the Wolfsberg Group of International Banks in an effort to create a universal sanctions list format that can be efficiently used by governments worldwide and enhances sanctions compliance.  The new format incorporates a variety of features that ensure maximum flexibility for sanctions list creators, while also limiting the need for future changes to the underlying data specification due to the standard’s adaptability.

New capabilities associated with the advanced sanctions list format are discussed on International Financial Law Prof Blog

The Tax Extender Benefits for Your Clients

See International Financial Law Prof Blog

OECD Discloses Letters & Comments Received About BEPS Action Plans

download the comments and letters at International Financial Law Prof Blog

Comparison of the 8 FATCA GIIN Lists (June 2014 -> January 2015): BRIC, EU, NAFTA, and Caribbean

full analysis is available at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/intfinlaw/2015/01/more-analysis-of-fatca-giin-list-of-january-2015.html

continued from Saturday's post

The June 2, 2014 GIIN list contained 77,353 registrations from 205 countries and jurisdictions.  Of the June registrations, 74 percent were from Model 1 IGAs that had been either signed or recognized as agreed in substance by the IRS.  Approximately 20 percent of these total registrations were from Cayman Islands firms, and 37 percent of the total from the UK and its Crown dependencies and overseas territories.  Cayman Islands remains the FATCA registration leader.  .... 

BRIC Registrations

BRIC remains disappointing  For the initial June list, Brazil led the BRIC countries with 2,258 FFI registrations, followed by Russia (514), India (246) with China only having 211.  Based upon the most recent data, the BRIC countries have thus far shrugged off FATCA.  

During October, India and China competed for FATCA lethargy with only ten FFIs registering from China moving it from 599 to 609 (658 as of the December list, and now 927 for 2015's initial list), and merely two from India for a total of 393 as of the November 1 GIIN list (401 as of December, 442 for January 2015).  Brazil experienced the largest amount of registrations, jumping approximately 400 to 2,841 (3,179 as of December, 3,594 for 2015), whereas only 40 Russian entities registered (961 in November, 993 as of December, and 1,050 for 2015's start).  .... read the full story at the International Financial Law Professor 

3rd edition of Lexis' FATCA Compliance book is ready - Lexis Guide to FATCA Compliance and out soon with substantial more analysis – 1,200 pages over 54 chapters.  Over 50 FATCA compliance experts from tier 1 institutions, former government officials, and professional firms have contributed to create this detailed and robust guide, filled with numerous practical examples and several chapters written specifically for the non-legal, compliance operations officer.  No filler pages of publicly available documents and regurgitated regulations – it’s all beef.  See the Lexis website to order a copy of this 3rd edition.

Used Motor Vehicle Odometer Tampering Leads to Money Laundering Indictment

read the full post at International Financial Law Prof Blog

The indictments charge that the Galis used fictitious dealer names to purchase high-mileage, used motor vehicles from a national vehicle leasing company.  The defendants are charged with conspiring to alter the odometers in these vehicles, which they purchased in Florida, Maryland, Missouri and elsewhere, to reflect false lower mileages.  The EDPA indictment alleges that in some instances, the title indicated mileage more than 100,000 miles less than the true mileage of the vehicle and as a result, the defendants received inflated sales prices for the vehicles they sold.

Is Acquirer Responsible for FCPA Pre-Acquisition Conduct of Target Company?

see full post at the International Financial Law Prof Blog -

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/intfinlaw/2015/01/is-acquirer-responsible-for-fcpa-pre-acquisition-conduct-of-target-company.html

112 Intergovernmental Agreements and counting .... only 123 countries left out in the FATCA cold

from the headlines of International Financial Law Prof Blog



read the full post at -



http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/intfinlaw/2015/01/112-intergovernmental-agreements-and-counting-only-123-countries-left-out-in-the-fatca-cold.html

FATCA International Data Exchange Service Guide Now Available via IRS

International Financial Law Prof Blog:



The main function of IDES is to provide authorized users with secure exchange services for FATCA data transmissions, with the additional protection of a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). The primary features of IDES are: read the post at International Financial Law Prof Blog