European Union: White Collar Crime, Anti-Corruption & Fraud

With a transposition deadline of 1 June 2028, companies should map exposure against the new offence categories, update anti-bribery policies and strengthen internal investigation capabilities...

Novagraaf presents a webinar exploring the intersection of alcoholic beverages and counterfeiting, examining the challenges brands face in protecting their products from fraudulent reproduction. The session will address key intellectual property concerns and enforcement strategies specific to the alcohol industry.

Cryptocurrency fraud victims in Cyprus are increasingly targeted by sophisticated "recovery" scams involving cold calls, remote access requests, and false promises to retrieve lost digital assets. Recent court cases demonstrate that while recovery is not guaranteed, victims who preserve evidence and act quickly may have realistic legal options through Cyprus courts, including freezing orders, disclosure relief, and asset preservation measures.

The Italian Data Protection Authority has ruled that digital forensics activities conducted during internal corporate investigations must comply with data protection regulations. Following an anonymous whistleblowing report, a company's forensic examination of a senior executive's email and storage was deemed unlawful due to failures in information provision, data processor appointment, and adherence to data minimisation principles.

Reuters is reporting that three individuals have today been convicted of Russian sanctions offences.

Polish prosecutors have registered nearly 2,500 sanctions cases as of mid-2026, with 85% targeting Belarus and at least 91 criminal proceedings specifically focused on wood-processing products.

Germany is poised to fundamentally transform its corporate liability regime by quadrupling maximum fines and, for the first time, codifying statutory sentencing criteria that expressly recognize internal investigations and compliance measures as mandatory mitigating factors. The reforms, embedded within an EU environmental directive implementation, will apply across all corporate offenses and establish clear legal requirements for how companies must respond to suspected misconduct.

The European Union has reached a compromise on the Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3) and Payment Services Regulation (PSR), introducing sweeping changes to harmonise payment rules across Member States. The package addresses fragmentation under PSD2 by migrating conduct-of-business rules into directly applicable regulations, while introducing new provisions on cash access, cryptocurrency payment services, fraud liability, and open banking.

A new EU Directive on anti-corruption will require significant changes to national laws across Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Poland and the Netherlands. This analysis examines the specific legislative amendments each jurisdiction must implement, from new criminal offenses and penalty regimes to corporate liability frameworks. Poland faces the most substantial overhaul, while other member states will need moderate adjustments to align with the Directive's requirements.