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Social responsibility, transparency, compliance and full disclosure   The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) concluded a very successful Presidents’ Meeting at the DMCC in Dubai last week, during which the organization adopted a resolution in support of social responsibility, transparency, compliance and full disclosure. This was also the first time that representatives of the Young Diamantaires were invited to join the Executive Committee meeting and Working Session.    The Opening Session on February 24 featured keynote speaker Angola Minister of Mineral Resources, Petroleum and Gas, HE Diamantino Pedro Azevedo. Other speakers included host DMCC Executive Chairman Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Alrosa Head of International Relations Peter Karakchiev, De Beers CFO Midstream Susanne Swaniker, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri and WDC President Edward Asscher. Yoram Dvash called on the diamond industry to adopt the principles of social responsibility and transparency for t...

FPS visits any time in June: be prepared! The Economic Inspectorate of the FPS Economy is conducting inspections at randomly selected registered diamond companies to assess their compliance with the obligations under the anti-money laundering legislation. These inspections can take place in the coming weeks at the registered office of your company, with or without prior notice. The AWDC has drafted a checklist on how to prepare for the visits, which is available via this link under the question: "Are controls performed on compliance with the AML legislation in the diamond sector?” There you will find the full list of the documents you should have at the ready. If you have any further questions, feel free to get in touch with our AML & Compliance Helpdesk. If it appears that the company is not actually located at the registered address, you run the risk that the company will be deleted. It is advised to keep your bookkeeping and client identification files up...

Now SWIFT, the new risks for banks! According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as background documentation for the periodic consultation with Belgium, Financial System Stability Assessment paper on Belgium was prepared by IMF to focus on Belgium Financial system stability assessment. Stress tests on banks and insurance companies confirm that they can absorb credit, sovereign, and market losses in the event of a severe deterioration in macro financial conditions. The risk of interbank contagion through direct exposures is low. Insurance companies are also generally resilient and the losses incurred by those that belong to banking groups do not threaten the soundness of those groups. The oversight arrangement for the Belgium-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) has proven effective, but is being challenged by new risks. Key among these are cyber security incidents in SWIFT’s global user network.  To strengthen the ...