Recent Articles

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  15/05/2024

  Netherlands

  Dutch court rules losses to online gamblers must be repaid

  In two judgments in April 2024, the Dutch District Court Overijssel ruled in favour of two online gamblers who filed suit against two online gambling companies. The online poker players sought refunds of their losses on gambling sites because the sites were not licensed under Netherlands law and were operating illegally.BackgroundThe cases concern two players who had lost money on poker sites between 2006 and 2019. One case involved 15 years of online activity while the other case covered only two years. The money was paid by the players to two online gambling companies based and licensed in Malta...

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  15/05/2024

  Romania

  Romania unveils state aid scheme to boost private investments

  The Romanian government has introduced a EUR 450 m state aid scheme to incentivise investments across key sectors of the Romanian economy.The core objective of this initiative is to provide non-repayable funding to private enterprises undertaking investments with a substantial impact on the economy. These investments must surpass the threshold of RON 50 million (EUR 10 million) in eligible costs and focus on innovation and sustainability. The scheme is designed to stimulate economic growth by supporting ventures aligned with Romania's long-term development goals.To qualify for funding, companies...

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  15/05/2024

  Luxembourg

  The European Commission reports on the open and targeted consultations on the SFDR assessment

  BackgroundThe Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR[1]) applies since March 2021 with a view to providing transparency to investors about the sustainability risks associated with their investments and potential adverse impacts such investments have on the environment and society.On 14 September 2023, the European Commission (the EC) published two consultation papers on SFDR. On the one hand, an open consultation on the practical implementation of SFDR aimed at a broader range of stakeholders with a more general knowledge of SFDR (the Open Consultation). On the other hand, a target consultation...

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  14/05/2024

  Hungary

  EU introduces criminal offences and penalties for sanctions violations

  Criminal offencesUnder the Directive, the following conduct constitutes a criminal offence when committed intentionally and in violation of restrictive measures or a national provision implementing restrictive measures:making funds or economic resources available directly or indirectly to, or for the benefit of, a designated person, entity or body;failing to freeze funds or economic resources belonging to or owned, held or controlled by a designated person, entity or body;enabling designated natural persons to enter into, or transit through, the territory of a EU member state;entering into or continuing...

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  14/05/2024

  Ukraine

  Ukraine improves corporate governance in SOEs

  On 8 March 2024, the long-awaited law on improvement of corporate governance in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) (Law) came into force. The Law was developed as part of a general state sector reform with due consideration of international best practices, including the OECD Guidelines for Corporate Governance of SOEs. Its objective is to reduce political pressure on SOEs’ management, mitigate corruption risks and enhance the effectiveness of state companies’ management.The major changes introduced by the Law in relation to SOEs include the following:State ownership policy. A new concept...

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  14/05/2024

  England and Wales

  Update on Business rates

  Summary  This Law-Now1 summarises some recent developments in relation to business rates following the Spring Budget 2024 and the Government’s summary of responses to the Business Rates Avoidance and Evasion consultation.Business Rates: Avoidance and Evasion – change to reset periodEmpty Property Relief (“EPR”) operates by giving owners of empty non-domestic properties 100% relief for the first three months (or six months for industrial properties) after a property becomes empty. If the property remains empty once such relief period ends, the owner must pay the property’s...

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