Compliance & Ethics

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has issued a £1,785,000 fine against Barents Reinsurance S.A., London Branch, marking the first time it has sanctioned a reinsurer-only firm for significant internal control, governance, and regulatory reporting failures. The fine underscores the PRA’s heightened expectations for firms operating under the post-Brexit regulatory framework, particularly those falling under the UK’s Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR).

Cadence Design Systems, a California-based multinational semiconductor software firm, has agreed to plead guilty and pay more than $140 million in combined criminal and civil penalties after unlawfully exporting sensitive U.S. design tools to a Chinese military university, U.S. officials announced Monday.

Anglian Water has been hit with a proposed £62.8 million ($81 million USD) enforcement package after Ofwat found the company had breached legal obligations in managing its wastewater treatment works and sewerage network.

Innovation may be reshaping the financial sector but not always for the better. That’s the message coming through loud and clear in the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) latest biennial Opinion on money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks.

Online travel agency Webjet has been ordered to pay $6.1 million (AU$9 million) in penalties by the Federal Court after admitting to misleading consumers about flight prices and booking confirmations, following an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

As trade enforcement intensifies across the U.S., patio furniture company Grosfillex Inc. has agreed to pay $4.9 million to settle allegations it evaded antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on aluminum components imported from China. The Justice Department announced the False Claims Act settlement Thursday, marking the second significant trade-related case in as many days.

The UK’s audit and accounting watchdog is not only staying busy, it’s getting faster, leaner, and more strategic. That’s the story behind the Financial Reporting Council’s newly published 2024–2025 Annual Enforcement Review, which offers a candid look at the regulator’s performance over the past year and hints at big changes on the horizon.