FinCEN recently took another important step toward bringing virtual currency into the financial assets reporting scheme. Taxpayers that have $10,000 or more in a foreign bank account have long been required to file a foreign bank account report (or “FBAR”) on FinCEN Form 114. The penalties for failing to report foreign bank accounts are significant: $10,000 for a non-willful failure and the greater of $100,000 and up to 50 percent of the unreported account balance for willful failures. While the...

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On January 1, 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 (the “CTA”) became law.  The CTA is part of the newly enacted Anti-Money Laundering Act (“AMLA”), and is intended to fight money laundering and terrorism through the anonymous use of shell companies.  Under the CTA, many US and foreign companies registered in the US will need to disclose their beneficial ownership to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the US Treasury (“FinCEN”).  Unlike in some foreign countries, including in Europe,...

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The UBP IAS Board of Directors appointed Ms. Eva Kathrin Genovese-Delwing as the CEO of UBP IAS, replacing Mr. Deepak Soni who left to pursue other opportunities. Kathrin Genovese joined the UBP Group in February 2020 and took up her new position with UBP IAS on 18 January 2021. She has three decades of experience in the financial industry, including senior roles at a large Swiss bank and a family office, having held various leadership positions such as CFO and...

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A&L Goodbody's EU, Competition & Procurement team has published its report on merger control by Ireland's Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in 2020. It gives an insight into who bought whom, how long it took to get approval, when issues arose, which sectors were in play and so on. Despite the events of 2020, the number of deals notified to the CCPC was not down materially – 13% from 47 to 41. ICT, healthcare, financial services and retail were the sectors most in...

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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the global economy, and employers are increasingly considering which are the most and least employer-friendly places  new offices, distribution centers, and operational locations, both during the pandemic and after emerging from it. The Arizona State University Center for the Study of Economic Liberty recently released Doing Business North America 2020 (DBNA), a report analyzing and comparing data indicative of the regulatory context for business activity in a number of metropolitan areas. The report ranked 130 cities across...

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Capital markets (dys)functioning and regulation  are again at the center of public attention and even congressional investigations. The need to recenter them on their core mission  and purpose has hardly been grater, not only for the marketplace, but for market participants. Even the court of public opinion is starting to believe that their valuation function is questionable. From my experience as a former Group EVP of the New York Stock Exchange, I decided to join forces with former exchange...

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Study makes recommendations for more ambitious 5G investment in Europe European ventures developing 5G-related applications and business models are facing significant public and private sector financing shortfalls Investment in 5G is higher in the United States and Asia than in Europe The accelerating rollout of 5G infrastructure has become a key battleground in a broader struggle for control over the industries of the future. At the same time, the race to build 5G networks and reap the significant benefits...

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On 22 February 2021, the European Union list of “non-cooperative jurisdictions” (the EU List) has been updated by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). This update is important in Luxembourg following the recent adoption of a law (law of 10 February 2021), which disallows the deduction for income tax purposes of interest and royalties due to related companies established in a country included in the EU List. This denial of the deduction is a new measure and applies...

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