11/12/2018
DOJ indicts Rappler, founder Maria Ressa for tax evasion
Ressa, meanwhile, is being held liable for the infractions as she was the president of the RHC at the time of transaction – following Section 253 of the Tax Code.
Legal, Regulation & Compliance
11/12/2018
Big relief for Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG as govt panel allows permission to operate in India
The government had formed a committee to look into the complaints made by an Indian firm where they argued that the foreign firms were apparently flouting norms and gaining an undue advantage.
11/12/2018
Australian Court Orders A$3.3mn Penalty for Westpac BBSW Misconduct
The penalty is far less than the combined A$125mn that NAB, ANZ and CBA paid to settle their own BBSW cases with ASIC out of court.
11/12/2018
Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal clarifies “innocent purpose” defence to insider dealing
Overturning the rulings by the MMT and the Court of Appeal on the applicability of the defence, the CFA held that Mr Yiu and Ms Wong could not rely on the defence as they sold their ATML shares taking advantage of their knowledge that the prices were sign
11/12/2018
Asia Region Funds Passport: What You Need to Know
The five countries currently participating in the scheme are Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Thailand.
11/11/2018
Hong Kong takes the first step in regulating managers and distributors of virtual asset funds
This client alert describes the new regime and the action that should be taken by managers and distributors of virtual asset funds in Hong Kong.
11/09/2018
Japan to consider easing M&A rules as regional banks struggle
The plight of regional banks has become a headache for the BOJ, which is drawing criticism for hurting financial institutions' profits by keeping interest rates virtually at zero for years.
11/09/2018
Troubled Suruga Bank set to post huge loss, sue former execs
But the bank inflated the assets of the would-be owners when processing their loan applications.
11/09/2018
Huarong's ex-chairman accused of taking bribes of RMB1.65b
Huarong officials didn't reply to an e-mail seeking comment, and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission also didn't immediately respond to a fax seeking comment.
11/09/2018
Japan’s Shinsei Bank, Nippon Wealth Form Business Alliance with Blockchain Startup ConsenSys
The alliance between the four entities will focus on exploring the use of ConsenSys’ decentralized applications (DApps) to develop new financial products and services, with Nippon Wealth spearheading a study of blockchain infrastructure and protocol
11/09/2018
China proposes new rules to expand the share repurchase regime for listed companies
The proposals also provide for the list of permitted circumstances for share repurchases to be expanded in the future where specified in new laws and regulations.
11/09/2018
Appleby Celebrates Success at Asia Women in Business Law Awards
The awards also support the Women’s Foundation with all proceeds raised going towards improving the lives of women and girls in Hong Kong.
11/09/2018
Nomura and ICBC Sign MOU to Consider Business Alliance
The impact on Nomura Holdings’ consolidated performance is expected to be minimal.
11/09/2018
APRA Proposes Higher Capital Requirements for Big Four Banks
The banking regulator is seeking feedback on a proposal to increase the Total Capital requirement for Australia’s D-SIBs by 4-5% of risk-weighted assets by 2023.
11/09/2018
FATF Publishes Third Enhanced Follow-up Report on Australia
Australia has been re-rated on 7 of the 40 FATF Recommendations, reflecting the country’s progress to strengthen AML/CFT measures since its 2015 mutual evaluation.
11/09/2018
ASIC lacks power to enforce penalties against some financial crimes
Without the ability to enforce the law ASIC sees the current law as a dead letter.
11/09/2018
Westpac Fined A$3.3 Million Over Australia Rate Rigging Case
In reasons for making the pecuniary penalty order, Justice Beach noted the legislative constraint he had in imposing the order,
11/09/2018
Australian regulator cancels license of AGM Markets
AGM has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.
11/08/2018
Former China Huarong chief arrested as risks build offshore
Lai Xiaomin’s downfall comes as Beijing cracks down on ‘bad banks’
11/08/2018
Revealed: bank royal commission rap sheets made public
The extraordinary list of misdeeds in the banking industry was produced to guide the scope of inquiry's investigations and was provided to the commission earlier this year.