GRC Report Staff

In an effort to tighten up Belgium’s defenses against money laundering and terrorism financing, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) recently conducted comprehensive inspections of eight currency exchange offices. The goal was to assess how well these businesses are adhering to the country’s robust anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) regulations. And what the FSMA found wasn’t just a few minor lapses—it uncovered systemic weaknesses that pose significant compliance risks.

In the ever-evolving chess game of cybersecurity, it seems PayPal just lost a knight—or maybe even its queen. The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has handed the global financial technology giant a $2 million fine for exposing sensitive customer data, including Social Security Numbers (SSNs), through what regulators describe as glaring cybersecurity lapses.

Transparency isn’t just a buzzword in the biotech world—it’s the lifeblood of investor trust. And when it’s absent, as French biotech firm Pharnext discovered, the consequences can be costly.

UnitedHealth has recently confirmed that the February 2024 ransomware attack on its subsidiary, Change Healthcare, compromised the sensitive personal and medical information of approximately 190 million individuals—nearly double the initial estimates. This breach now ranks as the largest medical data breach in U.S. history.

Change is in the air at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). With the arrival of a new administration, Acting Chair Caroline Pham has wasted no time in setting the tone for her tenure, announcing sweeping leadership updates across the agency.

In a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBS FSI) agreed to a $1.1 million fine and a censure following a six-year span of inaccurate trade data submissions that affected more than 4.4 million transactions.

In a move against one of Scandinavia’s banking giants, Norway's Finanstilsynet has fined Danske Bank approximately $4.4 million (NOK 50 million) for market manipulation tied to a high-stakes government bond issuance in early 2023. The penalty underscores the seriousness of tampering with market benchmarks, particularly when taxpayer dollars are on the line.