Welcome to This Week In Compliance: GAN’s weekly news roundup, where we curate the latest stories on compliance and anti-corruption to keep you informed. This week, Intuit, makers of TurboTax, have been fined USD 141M in marketing deception allegations. Read the full story and more news below:
Top Story
Intuit to Pay USD 141M Fine Over ‘Deceptive’ Marketing Allegations
Intuit, the company that owns TurboTax financial software, was ordered to pay USD 141M over allegations that it tricked lower-income Americans into paying to file taxes using their software when they should have qualified for free filing. Intuit is accused of using deceptive advertising to direct Americans who should have qualified for free services to their paid service sites. As part of the settlement, millions of Americans will receive checks of up to $30 for each year they used paid services from 2016 to 2018.
Government
EU Prepares Full Ban on Russian Oil
The European Union, on the heels of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, has proposed a full ban on the purchase of Russian crude oil and other refined oil products by the end of this year. This proposal would be the sixth round of sanctions by the EU placed on Russia this year. Slovakia and Hungary would be allowed additional time to implement the sanctions based on their currently high dependence on Russian oil. A full decision by the 27-country bloc would come by the end of this week.
SEC Plans to Double Cryptocurrency and Cyber Investigations Teams
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement this week that it plans to double its staff dedicated to investigating cryptocurrency fraud and other cybercrimes. The announcement comes after President Biden urged government agencies to respond to the sector’s rapid growth and increased prevalence of fraud and crimes. The investigations team dedicated to cryptocurrency and cyber crimes is also heavily involved in mitigating the avoidance of financial sanctions against Russia by using cryptocurrency, by which transactions are largely untraceable.
Business
Supply Chain Issues Reignited by Shanghai Lockdown
Shanghai’s strict COVID prevention measures have reignited supply chain issues, partly due to the latest wave of upticks in positive COVID cases and hospitalizations. The latest wave began sometime in late March 2022 and led to factory shutdowns in Shanghai, including those producing products for Tesla and Proctor & Gamble. Shanghai accounts for 3.8% of China’s GDP and 7.2% of the entirety of the country’s exports.