STEP attended a virtual meeting held by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on 18 March to discuss potential amendments to FATF Standards Recommendation 24 and its implementation. FATF announced its intention to review this area, which may lead to a comprehensive overhaul of the system of beneficial ownership (BO), at a private sector consultative… Read More STEP attends FATF meeting to discuss beneficial ownership regime
On 11 February, STEP Europe held a webinar to examine how various jurisdictions have transposed the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD), and particularly how those Member States have chosen to define a business relationship. The panel included Stéphanie Auferil TEP from France; Dr Petra Camilleri from Malta; Aileen Keogan TEP from Ireland; Filippo Noseda TEP… Read More Trusts and AML-CFT registers of beneficial owners: I’m a trustee, do I need to register somewhere?
On 27 January 2021, Paolo Panico TEP, the Chair of STEP Europe, moderated a webinar hosted by Anti-Money Laundering Europe (AME) on the future of the European Union’s policy on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. The panel included Steve Ryan, deputy head of the financial crime unit in the Directorate-General (DG) Internal Market and… Read More The future of EU policy on preventing money laundering and terrorist financing
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) invited some of the UK’s financial industry experts, including STEP, to join an overview of the OECD’s current review of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The OECD will launch a consultation later this year, but has requested early input from industry experts on the improvements and changes that they would… Read More The OECD reviews the Common Reporting Standard
The disclosure of cross-border tax planning arrangements under Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 (DAC6) came into force on 1 July 2020 and requires reporting of any persons involved in cross-border arrangements, including loan agreements, payments from a resident of one country to a resident of another, or putting funds in an offshore trust, if one of the… Read More The UK replaces DAC6 with the OECD’s model Mandatory Disclosure Rules (MDR) post-Brexit
It’s no secret that 2020 has been an unprecedented year; and just about everyone writing a commentary on the last twelve months would probably say the same. But how has STEP fared during this turbulent time? I wrote in June of how lucky we were to be part of an organisation that strove to keep… Read More We’ve reached the end of an unprecedented year, but how has STEP fared?
On 24 November, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held its private sector consultative forum on beneficial ownership of legal persons, which focused on Recommendation 24 Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons of the FATF Recommendations. FATF stated that it is undergoing a major review of this area, which may lead to a comprehensive… Read More FATF holds consultative forum to inform review of beneficial ownership system
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) have jointly initiated a project to modernise the process of making and registering lasting powers of attorney (LPAs), which may include an element of digitisation. They will be collaborating on a series of scoping events, roundtables and surveys to obtain research that… Read More Modernising Lasting Powers of Attorneys in England and Wales
On 18 November STEP will hold its third webinar in the Thought Leadership webinar series, following webinars on the remote witnessing of wills and wealth taxes earlier in the autumn. Mental Health and the Financial Advice Relationship will be chaired by Mark Dunkley TEP, Shakespeare Martineau LLP (UK); and the panel will consist of Carol… Read More STEP webinar on Mental Health and the Financial Advice Relationship
Last week, STEP held the first of its Thought Leadership webinar series which examined the issue of remote witnessing of wills, and whether it would continue after COVID-19-related social distancing measures are lifted. Emily Deane TEP, Technical Counsel at STEP, was joined on the panel by Peter Glowacki, Partner at BLG; and Anatol Dutta, Professor… Read More STEP launches Thought Leadership webinar series with a look at remote witnessing of wills, and asks whether it’s here to stay
The STEP Blog 