CySEC adopts EBA Guidelines regarding remuneration practices and the gender pay gap in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/2034 (EBA/GL/2022/07). In addition, the provision of relevant data regarding high earners, i.e. staff member(s) earning a remuneration of at least EUR 1 million in the reported financial year should be submitted to the Commission.

The Guidelines on benchmarking exercises on remuneration practices and the gender pay gap, and the Guidelines on data collection exercises regarding high earners apply to €150.000 and €750.000 CIFs.

CIFs regarding remuneration data, should by 15 June of each calendar year, submit to CySEC:

• information on the remuneration of all staff as set out in Annex I of the Guidelines on benchmarking exercises on remuneration practices and the gender pay gap,
• additional information on remuneration for identified staff as set out in Annex II and Annex III of the Guidelines on benchmarking exercises on remuneration practices and the gender pay gap, and
• information on derogations, as specified in Annex IV of the Guidelines on benchmarking exercises on remuneration, practices, and the gender pay gap.

The remuneration data, i.e. Annex I to IV, as mentioned above, of the Guidelines on benchmarking exercises on remuneration practices and the gender pay gap, for the financial year ending in 2022, should be submitted by CIFs to CySEC by 31 August 2023.

CIFs, regarding gender pay data, should by 15 June every three years, starting from 2024, submit to CySEC, with regard to the financial year 2023, the information set out in Annex V of the Guidelines on benchmarking exercises on remuneration practices and the gender pay gap.

The aforementioned Annexes can be found in the Directive (EU) 2019/2034 (EBA/GL/2022/07).

Regarding high earner’s data collection, CIFs should submit to CySEC, the Annexes of Directive (EU) 2019/2034 (EBA/GL/2022/08), each year for any given financial year by 15 June of the next calendar year. CySEC highlights that the high-earners data for the financial year ending in 2022 should be submitted by CIFs by 31 August 2023.

However, where a CIF does not have high earners to report, it is not necessary to submit this information, unless explicitly required by CySEC.

Finally, the benchmarking data, gender pay gap data, and high-earners data should be submitted to CySEC through CySEC’s Xbrl Portal only.

On May 17th, 2023, the European Commission made important updates to the list of high-risk third-country jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes.

The updated list from the European Commission takes into consideration the latest Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list. The list now includes Nigeria and South Africa, while Cambodia and Morocco have been removed.

Lastly, to ensure compliance, European financial institutions must exercise enhanced vigilance when dealing with transactions involving high-risk third-country jurisdictions. These transactions require the application of ‘enhanced customer due diligence requirements’.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) issued Circular C550, informing the regulated entities of the outcome of its onsite inspections conducted during 2021 and 2022.

Findings from these inspections evidenced some examples of good practices, although CySEC also observed some common weaknesses/deficiencies across the Regulated Entities.

Based on this Circular, CySEC outlines the good practices which have been identified and expects the Regulated Entities to perform the same. In addition, CySEC takes this opportunity to present to the Regulated Entities, the areas in which they should pay close attention to and to assist in formulating an environment of compliance with their AML/CFT obligations. Among others, CySEC warns Regulated Entities of their obligation to verify the identity and economic profile of their customers by requesting the appropriate documents and other information, as well as to monitor their transactions on a continuous basis.

The European Union (EU) has voted in favor of the MiCA crypto legislation, making it the first major jurisdiction to introduce a comprehensive crypto law.

The legislation aims to protect consumers, safeguard financial stability and market integrity, and provide regulatory clarity for the crypto-asset industry.

In addition, the Transfer of Funds regulation was also approved, requiring crypto operators to identify their customers to prevent money laundering.

Finally, the EU’s actions will come into effect next year.

Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission (the ‘CySEC’) has issued Circular C563 regarding the Risk Based Supervision Framework (the ‘RBS-F’) – Electronic submission of information for the year 2022 (Form RBSF-CIF) related to the Cyprus Investment Firms.

In this respect, CySEC has developed Form RBSF-CIF (the ‘Form’), Version 7, which is due to be submitted on the 26th of May 2023.

It shall be noted that the RBSF Form must be completed and successfully submitted to CySEC, by all CIFs that were authorised by December 31, 2022.

The European Union’s (EU) proposed Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) is on the EU parliament agenda to be discussed on the 18th of April. If everything goes smoothly, MiCA regulation will be officially approved by the EU parliament on April 19th.

The MiCA regulatory package is pending for approval for some time now and faced multiple delays due to different opinions among the members of the EU parliament about the final legal text.

The legislation offers crypto companies such as wallets and exchanges a license for operating across the bloc in exchange for meeting governance and consumer-protection norms, and also introduces reserve requirements for stablecoins.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on 14th of March released new guidelines on certain aspects of the compliance function requirements. These guidelines aim to ensure common, uniform, and consistent application of legal requirements related to compliance matters according to article 17(2) of the Investments Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law (“the Law”) and Article 22 of the MiFID II Delegated Regulation 2017/565.

Check out the most recent details, provided in the official announcement of CySEC via the link below:
https://lnkd.in/eJQGnPbf

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a global anti-money laundering watchdog that monitors and assesses countries’ efforts in combating money laundering and terrorism financing. Recently, on 24 February 2023, FATF added, among others, South Africa and Nigeria to its “grey list” of countries that do not meet the standards set by the organization. This development is significant, as South Africa and Nigeria are Africa’s two largest economies, and their inclusion in the grey list could have far-reaching implications for their financial systems.

Additionally, FATF removed Cambodia and Morocco from its grey list, citing significant progress in their efforts to improve their AML/CFT regimes. This demonstrates that countries can take concrete steps to address the issues identified by FATF. It also highlights the importance of collaboration between governments, financial institutions, and other stakeholders in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.

In conclusion, the inclusion of South Africa and Nigeria in FATF’s grey list highlights the need for these countries to strengthen their AML/CFT regimes to address the identified deficiencies. Lastly, find below the latest table with all the Jurisdictions that are on the “grey list” and the “black list”.

Please find below the relevant FATF link:

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/Increased-monitoring-february-2023.html

On February 14, 2023, the European Council added Russia, the BVIs (British Virgin Islands), Costa Rica, and the Marshall Islands to its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.

This move reflects concerns over these countries’ tax transparency and anti-money laundering practices, and it’s essential for businesses to review their portfolios and assess any exposure.

This development emphasizes the need to stay informed of regulatory changes and comply with anti-money laundering measures.