Gaspard Sebag’s Post

#Monaco just landed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)'s grey-list today but also has a clear pathway to exit it. The global watchdog noted “significant progress” on several concerns flagged by European inspectors in late 2022 such as setting up a new financial intelligence unit that doubles up as an anti-money laundering supervisor (AMSF - Autorité Monégasque de Sécurité Financière). Still, it flagged remaining shortcomings linked to the Principality's approach to money that might stem from tax fraud committed abroad and its sluggishness in going after criminal assets in other countries. FATF also said Monaco should boost resources allocated to prosecuting money laundering, and ensure “effective, dissuasive and proportionate” sanctions. For #Venezuela, also added to the grey-list today, things will be trickier. Full story to follow.

Monaco's timing to schedule such a trial is quite unique. Just as Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is discussing whether to place the Principality on its grey-list, two bankers are accused of money laundering alongside Italian clients of theirs who made cash drops worth millions of euros some 10 years ago. Other bankers are accused of failing to make any suspicious transaction reports to local authorities. French businessmen were accused of doing the opposite: making huge cash withdrawals to suck up their Monaco company's profits. French prosecutors at the Parquet national financier are looking into that latter part. #Monaco #FATF #GAFI #AML #PNF

EXCLUSIVE: On Friday, Bloomberg News reported on one of the most high-profile expected outcomes of this plenary. Sources said that FATF is poised to place #Monaco on its gray list, despite advances in the Principality's #AML framework in recent months. The public announcement would come on Friday 28 June. https://lnkd.in/d_qKveEd Anthony CormierBen Bartenstein

LISTE GRISE GAFI: Monaco, qui abrite la plus forte concentration de millionnaires au monde, risque d'être ajouté à liste grise du Groupe d'action financière dès la semaine prochaine pour ne pas avoir fait suffisamment de progrès dans la lutte contre les flux d'argent illicites. L'annonce probable est attendue le 28 juin, dernier jour de sa session plénière à Singapour. Cela interviendrait un peu plus d'un an après la publication d'un rapport d'évaluation de Moneyval pointant des déficiences stratégiques, notamment en termes de poursuites pénales. https://lnkd.in/d_qKveEd L'article, écrit avec Ben Bartenstein et Anthony Cormier, est sur Bloomberg News#FATF #Monaco #Moneyval

C'est une enquête sur des suspicions de délits d'initiés concernant des gains de plus de €20 millions que Bloomberg suit depuis ses débuts. Au cœur de l'affaire, une question juridique centrale : les enquêteurs ont-ils utilisé des méthodes loyales pour "filer" les principaux suspects et, in fine, mettre sur écoute le téléphone secret d'un banquier partageant des informations confidentielles sur une fusion en préparation valant plusieurs milliards d'euros ? La Cour de Justice de l'Union Européenne semblait, il y a deux ans, avoir condamné les méthodes intrusives déployées par l'Autorité des marchés financiers pour découvrir via le bornage des lignes officielles des suspects qu'ils utilisaient aussi des téléphones occultes. L'affaire, auparavant, est passée à la moulinette de presque toutes les juridictions possibles : des prud'hommes à la Cour de cassation en passant par le Conseil Constitutionnel. Elle a été frappée d'inconventionnalité. La loi française de l'époque, qui avait permis aux enquêteurs d'accéder aux fadettes des suspects sans réel contrôle ou limite a été sévèrement critiquée. La semaine dernière, la chambre de l'instruction a décidé néanmoins de la maintenir en vie. https://lnkd.in/esthqkb6 #fadettes #privacy #PNF #AMF

Emmanuel Macron impacted the lives of two men going by the same name - Nicolas Forissier - in the last few days: - One of them is a member of the French parliament for Les Républicains and has announced he's running again after Macron called a snap election. "Do we want to empower the Rassemblement National and more globally the extreme right and let them run our country?" Nicolas Forissier told France Bleu. "Or, instead, can get the large bloc at the center to come together to meet the country's challenges, by going beyond political differences, egos and tactical considerations? Naturally, I will advocate for that." - The other, who was fired by UBS many years ago and accused of “blackmail” after he blew the whistle on suspicious behavior by bankers, received a medal from France's Order of Merit during a ceremony on Friday. "Thank you for everything and for the honor bestowed on me by the Republic," former UBS France auditor Nicolas Forissier wrote on LinkedIn. https://lnkd.in/eS2BY-3J

Angelina Rascouët and Tara Patel were on the ground at Vallée Village to gauge Kering. Here's what they wrote: On a recent Friday afternoon, shoppers at a Gucci boutique waded through heaps of heavily discounted, past-season merchandise: Yellow pumps, furry slippers, flamboyant jackets and bright green clutches. A sale of that sort at an outlet in a nondescript suburb of Paris, near Disneyland, would be unthinkable for rival purveyors of luxury like Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Hermès. But for Gucci, it’s the result of a muddled vision of its place in high fashion and a dysfunctional management strategy that have left its parent Kering SA struggling to stem a sharp decline in revenue. https://lnkd.in/eUiX2AdF