Compliance & Ethics

The Bundeskartellamt, the country’s competition watchdog, has raised serious concerns over Vodafone and its subsidiary Vantage Towers for allegedly obstructing 1&1’s attempt to enter the market as a fourth mobile operator. The issue revolves around significant delays in providing antenna sites to 1&1—delays that, according to the Bundeskartellamt’s preliminary findings, are having a severe impact on 1&1’s ability to compete.

Jemena, a player in Australia’s energy sector, and its four subsidiaries have been ordered to pay a $5.5 million penalty following their breach of the National Gas Rules, as determined by an Australian Federal Court. The breaches, which occurred between March 1, 2019, and February 22, 2022, involved failing to properly calculate Auction Quantity Limits (AQLs) as part of the Day Ahead Auction (DAA) process, a critical mechanism for allocating pipeline capacity in Australia.

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has reached a $40 million settlement with Block, Inc., the parent company of Cash App, following an investigation into significant failures in its anti-money laundering (AML) program and virtual currency compliance. The settlement is a response to gaps in Block’s compliance measures, including inadequate customer identification procedures and poor transaction monitoring that exposed the company to greater money-laundering risks.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), and the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) have come together to announce a series of new measures to tackle the rising wave of fraud and money laundering in the region. The efforts are designed to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated criminals exploiting technology to conduct their illicit activities at a scale and speed never seen before.

DynCorp International, LLC has agreed to pay $21 million to settle accusations of submitting inflated charges on a State Department contract. The charges stem from the company’s role in the "CIVPOL" contract, which tasked DynCorp with training Iraqi police forces, a mission of both critical importance and considerable complexity.

Google (Alphabet Inc.) has recently pledged a series of commitments to Germany’s Bundeskartellamt, promising to lift several restrictions that have long limited competition around its Google Automotive Services and Google Maps Platform. The deal is expected to give businesses, manufacturers, and consumers much more flexibility, choice, and control over the digital tools they rely on daily.

Four digital health companies in Sweden have been caught up in a web of anti-competitive behavior, one that revolves around the way they advertise on Google Search. While it might sound like an odd battleground for competition, the case highlights just how digital advertising is as crucial as ever in shaping market dynamics. But here’s the catch: three of these companies will be paying hefty fines, while the fourth gets a free pass. Let’s dive into how this unfolded.