The Dutch Public Prosecution Service has imposed a hefty fine of €101 million on Morgan Stanley for unlawfully evading dividend tax in the Netherlands. The American bank exploited a specific arrangement to claim a refund on dividend tax that prosecutors argue it was not eligible for.
Morgan Stanley accepted the fine after the prosecution service issued a criminal order, allowing penalties to be enforced outside a court setting and enabling the bank to sidestep a trial.
Earlier this year, the prosecution service announced intentions to bring Morgan Stanley to court, claiming the bank had dodged €124 million in dividend tax. The previous year, Morgan Stanley settled with the Dutch tax authorities regarding this issue, repaying the disputed tax amount, along with accrued interest.
South Korea's financial regulatory body has issued an initial notification to five banks regarding improper sales of equity-linked securities, which could lead to penalties totaling approximately $1.4 billion, according to local media reports.
The notice has been sent to Standard Chartered Korea, KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, KEB Hana Bank, and NH Nonghyup Bank, as the Financial Supervisory Service told Bloomberg News.
The total fine for these five banks is projected to reach around 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion), according to Yonhap News Agency, with the precise amount to be determined by the financial authority in the future. If this figure is confirmed, it would mark the largest penalty of its kind in the nation's history and represent a significant step in regulators' ongoing efforts to enhance financial consumer protection.
Kazakhstan's Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) is set to establish a national register of cryptocurrency wallets linked to criminal activity, as announced by Rashid Orazbek, head of the agency's operational analysis department, during a Senate session.
Orazbek revealed that the FMA is being empowered to maintain a centralized database of crypto wallets linked to illicit transactions and money laundering schemes. This system will allow authorities to leverage advanced blockchain analytics, expedite transaction risk assessments, and enhance oversight of cryptocurrency-related activities. He emphasized the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) recommendation that Kazakhstan implement licensing for cryptocurrency service providers and clarified that new anti-money laundering (AML) regulations are under development, along with expanded supervisory powers to ensure compliance.
A crucial component of the proposed framework is compliance with the "travel rule," which requires crypto service providers to identify both parties to a transaction and retain the necessary counterparty information. This information must be securely stored and made accessible to authorities upon request. Transactions that do not include this data will be halted, and any failure to comply with disclosure deadlines may lead to cancellation. The FMA anticipates that these initiatives will significantly reduce the criminal exploitation of digital assets.