Editor, producer and journalist with over 20 years of extensive experience covering major global events from international summits to conflict zones.
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Buy a passport and arguably you’re well on the way to washing out any previous reputational stains. The European Commission is pushing to end the practice, with action against Cyprus and Malta that could end up in court, but Caribbean jurisdictions remain keen on the revenue stream. Michael Kosmides, Brenda Dionisi, Gemma Handy and Keith Nuthall report.
Virtual currencies pose a serious money laundering risk as long as they can be exchanged anonymously. Carol Van Cleef, CEO of cryptocurrency and blockchain consultancy, the Luminous Group, and a practising lawyer, spoke to Michael Kosmides about developments in the sector and how well regulation is keeping up.
The global art trade's exposure to abuse by money launderers is to come under scrutiny as European Union (EU) countries start adopting the Fifth EU Money Laundering Directive (EU 2018/843 - 5MLD), which brings dealing in cultural artefacts under AML regulation.
Are biohacking and implanted technologies the new frontier in cyber fraud? That was the question addressed at an event organised by the Fraud Advisory Panel, an independent cross-border organisation that fights fraud, on 18 October, at Chartered Accountants’ Hall in London’s Moorgate. The event put some of the opportunities and risks linked with these developing technologies under the spotlight and provided a glimpse of what the future might hold.
Regulations based on the environmental impact of certain sunscreen chemicals are starting to emerge in beach hot spots.
The United Kingdom's scheduled departure from the European Union on 29 March 2019 is fast approaching. Committed to implement EU law during a transition period, which would include the Fifth ML Directive, how is the erstwhile member state likely to shape AML/CFT as it strikes out on a new path? John Binns of BCL Solicitors LLP in London considers possible future scenarios with Michael Kosmides.
25 Apr 2018. The economic crisis, anti-smoking legislation, increased product taxation and new tax regimes for producers are taking their toll on the Greek manufactured tobacco and leaf sectors. The industry is rallying against this series of setbacks, reports Michael Kosmides from Athens.
Turning aircraft around quickly on the ground is a key priority for airlines, as time spent on the ground carries a financial cost. Yet the complicated turnaround process demands close attention to detail and holistic management processes. Improving turnarounds was the focus of a European Union
Greece-based savoury snacks specialist company Chipita has refused to confirm or deny reports it plans to build a new plant for its products in Slovakia. The company told just-food "it is interested in many markets [including Slovakia] and is constantly looking for opportunities" but added: "However, it is not in a position to make any specific announcement at this moment."
The Greek cosmetics market is still smaller than before the start of the country’s economic crisis, but international interest in Greek beauty has thrown a lifeline to local brands. Michael Kosmides writes
Fintech is in a bind - promising new ways to move money and allocate capital, injecting fresh thinking and impetus into a market-place long dominated by large institutions, the innovators struggle to open and keep bank accounts. Is it ML/CF and fraud risk or regulation not fit for purpose or misread that is frustrating an industry revolution?
This article was first published in the November/December 2015 China edition of Accounting and Business magazine. The latest twist in the ongoing political and economic crisis in Greece has seen the country impose capital controls before eventually agreeing to a new set of reforms and austerity measures in return for a new controversial multibillion euro loan.
The European Court of Justice has ruled that individual member states' green energy subsidies are legal - even if they skew cross-border electricity sales. Michael Kosmides reports. Green energy support schemes across the European Union have survived a tough and potentially damaging legal challenge at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which has ruled such subsidies legal, even if they skew cross-border electricity sales.
Financial Action Task Force patience was running on empty when Ankara finally passed terrorist financing legislation. One crisis averted, perhaps, but Paul Cochrane, in Beirut, and Michael Kosmides, in Athens, find that other deficiencies persist.
The leader of Greece's business community has told just-style that the collapse of the Sprider Stores chain highlights why the Greek government needs "to restart growth". Georgios Karanikas, general secretary of the National Confederation of Hellenic Commerce (NCHC), told just-style that the "bankruptcy and eventual closure of Sprider is another sign of the dire circumstances [of] the commercial enterprises of the country..."
What would be the effects of a Greek exit from the eurozone for accountants and Greece’s trading partners?
The acquittal of Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis over privacy/data protection charges after publishing a list of 2,059 Greeks suspected of tax evasion with Swiss bank accounts brought into the forefront numerous questions about corruption and transparency in Greece.
With the European Commission calling for a rewrite of Greece's Code of Books and Records, accountants and auditors are set to stay at the centre of the country's debt crisis
Industry is more likely to improve its energy efficiency if government conservation schemes are consensual rather than mandatory. That is the conclusion of a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Institute for Industrial Productivity (IPP).
Looking at what went wrong with the legacy from the 2004 games in Athens
Greek journalist Michael Kosmides said the Greek people would not put up with another five or ten years of austerity cuts after pro-bailout party New Democracy won the election. Mr Kosmides told Mark Austin the government needed to renegotiate the bailout terms.
Της Κατερίνας Τζαβάρα Οι Αμερικανοί χρηματιστές Ντάρεν Γουίλιαμς και Ντένις Σεν προέβλεπαν από τον Οκτώβριο ότι θα γίνουν πρόωρες εκλογές στην Ελλάδα και μιλούσαν για υψηλό βαθμό ανησυχίας στις αγορές. (Interview to Greek news website)
Column at Eleftherotypia daily (in Greek, on the rise of the neo-Nazis)
Experts participating in the European Geosciences Union’s annual meeting in Vienna last week have urged policy makers to address the problem of EU rare earth shortages by exploiting rare earths reserves in Nordic countries and Greece to improve Europe’s domestic supplies.
The United States government has told GlobalMeatNews that there should be no reason why countries should ban its beef imports following the discovery of its first BSE case in six years, in California.
The Caribbean rum industry will receive a multi-million Euro boost after the European Commission signed three financial agreements with the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, identifying the sector as a priority for assistance.
Intermediary dealers of scrap metal have been dealt a blow by a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on March 29, which declared intermediaries arranging scrap shipments have to disclose the names of waste sources to buyers even if suppliers want to remain anonymous.
These are dark times for Greece's textiles and clothing industry, which has been particularly hard hit by the country's economic woes.
The Hellenic Competition Commission fined PepsiCo-owned Tasty Foods, a company producing and distributing snacks in Greece under the Lay's brand, for operating "without giving a thought to competition".
Greece has appealed at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against a European Commission order that it return almost EUR425m of EU subsidies.
Interview with John Humphrys for the Today programme on the effects of a possible reshuffle on the Greek government.
Soft drinks consumers in Greece are abandoning multinational brands for local manufacturers during the country's economic crisis, a local firm has claimed.
PREVIOUS WORK
Training before covering a war zone. Article for a "Reporters and reporting" special.
Greek Press review on the controversial decision of Cyprus not to deploy the S300 anti-aircraft missile system.