Latest news with #financialregulations
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Barcelona 'could be hit with harsh UEFA sanctions' after breaking spending rules for a SECOND season - with two Premier League teams also at risk
Barcelona are allegedly facing harsher sanctions after breaching UEFA financial regulations for a second time, according to reports. The Catalan club initially breached the European governing body's rules last year, and were threatened with the possibility of a ban from their flagship competition, the Champions League, for the 2024-25 season. But Barcelona eventually only received a fine of £420,000 (€500,000), and were cleared to compete in the last European campaign. The Blaugrana however remain mired in financial woes, with the club struggling to balance the books and stay in line with the stringent regulations required by both the European and domestic leagues. Hansi Flick's side came close to losing two of their standouts from this season - Dani Olmo and Pau Victor - in January, only allowed to re-register the players after selling 475 VIP seats in their renovated Nou Camp, and a lengthy legal tussle with LaLiga. But the looming possibility of punitive measures abroad appears to be growing ahead of next season, with the Times reporting that the club could be facing a sterner response for repeat breaches. The outlet claims that Barcelona could face a reduced limit on the number of players they can register for Champions League matches. The LaLiga side could also be handed a points deduction in the competition, which could come with lasting financial consequences. Premier League sides Chelsea and Aston Villa are set to be sanctioned for their own breaches of the regulations, but as first-time offenders, both clubs are likely to receive less aggressive restrictions. The Blues ran foul of the European rules after UEFA rejected the club's deal to sell their women's team to sister company BlueCo for a sum estimated to be close to £200million. But while the business helped Chelsea remain within the league's Profit and Spending Regulations (PSR), UEFA was unimpressed by the loophole found by the west London club. Both of the English clubs are believed to be in talks with UEFA's Club Financial Control Board (CFCB) over potential financial penalties, with Mail Sport reporting in April that Chelsea could also be given a spending plan by the governing body over several years. A ruling on Aston Villa and Chelsea's punishment is expected to be made public later this month. Hints that Barcelona would be hit with a higher level of punishment were mentioned in the ruling from their abortive attempt to challenge their 2024 fine at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in October. 'The CFCB (...) highlights that a similar breach by the club in the 2023/24 monitoring process would constitute a case of recidivism and would be addressed by the imposition of a harsher disciplinary measure on FC Barcelona,' the ruling read. The Blaugrana's financial situation has been worsened by the delays to Nou Camp renovations Barcelona have been further hindered in their long-running pursuit for financial stability by the delayed completion of their £1.25billion stadium. The team have played at the Olympic Stadium for over two seasons since work began in June 2023, with their proposed return to the Nou Camp in November 2024 pushed back multiple times. The significantly smaller Olympic Stadium has seen the club miss out on vital matchday revenue. Barcelona hierarchy will hope that the increased 105,000 capacity at the Nou Camp makes a massive impact on the club coffers when the side returns in September 2025.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Premier League 'bids to close financial loophole that helped Chelsea comply with PSR regulations' by selling hotels and women's team to sister company
The Premier League will reportedly attempt to close a financial loophole that has previously helped Chelsea to comply with PSR regulations. The Blues have undergone a period of heavy spending since a Todd Boehly-led consortium took over the club in 2022, with an outlay of more than £1billion on transfers during that period. This has meant they have been under pressure to meet financial rules, but in recent years the Blues have sold their women's team and on-site club hotels to a sister company which helped them to satisfy regulations. Chelsea's women's team fetched £198.7m, while two hotels brought in £70.5m in profit. And, according to The Times, the Premier League is planning to try and close that loophole at the league's annual meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. All 20 clubs are expected to be asked to vote on an alterations to rules that would state similar transactions would not be allowed to be declared as income for PSR purposes. For a measure to pass, 14 out of 20 clubs would have to vote in favour. The report goes on to say that the wording of any such proposal would be crucial, with similar attempts last year failing to go through due to this reason. It was felt the description was too broad and could lead to other unintended consequences in regards to selling assets externally. There is also said to be a feeling that if Chelsea have been able to benefit from the loophole then other clubs should be allowed to as well. The Premier League is still finalising how the proposed rule changes will be worded. The women's team figure is yet to be approved by the Premier League, although the club will argue that the recent eight per cent investment by Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, values them at £245m. Meanwhile, the regulations in the Premier League are different to that of UEFA, with the European football governing body not accepting the sale of assets to sister companies as income. This means that the transfer of the Blues' women's team in the run-up to the 2023-24 finances deadline allowed Chelsea to post a £129.6m profit for the Premier League, whereas it was a £70.4m loss for UEFA. UEFA restrictions are also stricter in terms of limiting the losses a club can make and the amount that can be spent on wages, transfers and agents' fees in relation to club's revenue. Chelsea's finances did receive a major boost last month when they qualified for the Champions League, something that can be worth up to £100million in prize money. Their triumph in the Europa Conference League final also earned the club around £15m and gives the Blues wiggle room as they attempt to meet PSR restrictions this time around.
Free Malaysia Today
28-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
4 banks fined nearly RM5mil over regulatory breaches
Bank Negara Malaysia said the fines were issued for breaches of financial regulations committed by the four financial institutions. KUALA LUMPUR : Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has imposed administrative monetary penalties totalling RM4.95 million on Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd (BPMB), HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd, and Maybank Islamic Bhd for breaches of financial regulations. The central bank said it imposed an administrative monetary penalty of RM493,500 on BPMB for non-compliance with provisions under the Development Financial Institutions Act 2002 as well as the Anti-Money Laundering, Countering Financing of Terrorism and Targeted Financial Sanctions for Financial Institutions (AML/CFT & TFS) Policy Document. In a statement, BNM said it also imposed an administrative monetary penalty of RM3.26 million on HSBC Bank and HSBC Amanah for non-compliances. The penalties were issued for non-compliance with the Financial Services Act 2013, Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 and requirements pertaining to the AML/CFT & TFS policy document. BNM also said it imposed a penalty of RM1.2 million on Maybank Islamic on March 3 for non-compliance with Section 155(3)(b) of the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013. The penalty was also issued for non-compliance with the Central Credit Reference Information System Policy Document, said the central bank.
Malay Mail
28-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
BNM fines four banks for regulatory breaches, imposing millions in penalties
KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has imposed an administrative monetary penalty on four banks, namely Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd (BPMB), HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd and Maybank Islamic Bhd for various breaches of financial regulations. In a statement, the central bank said it has imposed an administrative monetary penalty amounting to RM493,500 on BPMB for non-compliance with provisions under the Development Financial Institutions Act 2002 as well as the Anti-Money Laundering, Countering Financing of Terrorism and Targeted Financial Sanctions for Financial Institutions (AML/CFT & TFS) Policy Document. It has also imposed an administrative monetary penalty of RM3.26 million on HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd for non-compliances related to customer due diligence and sanctions screening requirements, as well as on HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd for non-compliances. The penalty was issued for non-compliance with the Financial Services Act 2013, the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013, and requirements pertaining to the Anti-Money Laundering, Countering Financing of Terrorism, Countering Proliferation Financing, and Targeted Financial Sanctions for Financial Institutions. BNM also highlighted that it had, on March 3, 2025, imposed a penalty of RM1.2 million on Maybank Islamic Bhd for non-compliance with section 155(3)(b) of the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013. The penalty was issued for non-compliance with the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 and Central Credit Reference Information System Policy Document, said the central bank. — Bernama
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump Administration Live Updates: President Threatens E.U. and Apple With New Tariffs
President Trump gathered Thursday evening at his Virginia golf club with the highest-paying customers of his personal cryptocurrency, promising that he would promote the crypto industry from the White House as protesters outside condemned the event as a historic corruption of the presidency. The gala dinner held at the Trump National Golf Club in suburban Washington, where Mr. Trump flew from the White House on a military helicopter, turned into an extraordinary spectacle as hundreds of guests arrived, many having flown to the United States from overseas. At the club's entrance, the guests were greeted by dozens of protesters chanting 'shame, shame, shame.' Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 0:07 - 0:00 transcript Attendees drive past protesters. Keep on a-talkin', marching up to freedom land. Our window can see inside. From the side. Attendees drive past protesters. Credit Credit... Rudy Rong It was a spectacle that could only have happened in the era of Donald J. Trump. Several of the dinner guests, in interviews with The New York Times, said that they attended the event with the explicit intent of influencing Mr. Trump and U.S. financial regulations. 'The past administration made your lives miserable,' Mr. Trump told the dinner guests, referring to the Biden administration's enforcement actions against crypto companies. The gala attendees made whooping noises while Mr. Trump spoke, and applauded as the president declared: 'They were going after everybody. It was a disgrace frankly,' according to a video provided to The Times by a dinner guest. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 0:20 - 0:00 transcript President Trump speaks to the dinner guests. Look at it. They're all dressed up. Why didn't you tell me that I would have worn a tuxedo. I just want to tell you, it's an honor to be with you. We've been pushing the market of crypto and Bitcoin and all of it. Everything and I do it for a reason, not for me. I really do it because I think it's the right thing to do. President Trump speaks to the dinner guests. Mr. Trump promised to change that approach. 'There is a lot of sense in crypto. A lot of common sense in crypto,' he said. 'And we're honored to be working on helping everybody here.' Mr. Trump and his business partners organized the dinner to promote sales of his $TRUMP cryptocurrency, a memecoin launched just days before Mr. Trump's inauguration. A memecoin is a type of digital currency tied to an online joke or mascot; it typically has no function beyond speculation. But Mr. Trump's coins have become a vehicle for investors, including many foreigners, to funnel money to his family. The president's business partners called the dinner the world's 'most EXCLUSIVE INVITATION' and posted a leaderboard online that allowed crypto investors to calculate how many $TRUMP coins they would have to buy to earn one of the 220 seats. The start of Mr. Trump's second term has been punctuated with more than a dozen of these lucrative transactions for his family and partners: real estate deals from Qatar to Serbia that involve foreign governments, a new banklike crypto venture that has pulled in $2 billion from the government of the United Arab Emirates, a golf tournament at his Miami club sponsored by a Saudi-funded venture. Mr. Trump is estimated to have added billions to his personal fortune, at least on paper, since the start of his new term, much of it through crypto. But none of these profit-seeking pitches has been more explicit than the memecoin dinner. The event was unlike anything in recent American history — not a campaign fund-raiser but a gathering arranged by the president's business partners to directly enrich the first family. As guests were flowing into the club, protesters held signs with slogans like 'Stop Crypto Corruption,' 'Release the guest list' and 'No Kings.' Image The White House rejected the idea that Mr. Trump's hosting of the dinner was inappropriate. Credit... Elizabeth Frantz for The New York Times 'This is the crypto corruption club,' Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, yelled at the entrance to Mr. Trump's golf course, speaking so loudly that he had to stop after he lost his voice. 'This is like the Mount Everest of corruption,' Mr. Merkley said. At a news conference on Thursday, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, rejected any suggestion that Mr. Trump was acting inappropriately by hosting the dinner. 'It's absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency,' she said before Mr. Trump headed to the club. 'This president was incredibly successful before giving it all up to serve our country publicly.' Outside the club, men in tuxedos began gathering by a sign-in table at 5 p.m., collecting wristbands and raffle tickets as they made their way inside to escape the rain. Some of the guests flashed foreign passports as a means of identification. The dinner menu featured filet mignon and pan-seared halibut, as well as a 'Trump organic field green salad.' Mr. Trump spoke from a lectern adorned with the presidential seal and with American flags arrayed behind him. Perhaps the best known crypto investor at the dinner was Justin Sun, a Chinese billionaire who runs the crypto platform Tron. He spent more than $40 million on $TRUMP coins, earning himself the top spot on the leaderboard. Wearing a black bow tie and accompanied by an assistant who held an umbrella over his head, Mr. Sun was among the first guests to arrive. In a brief interview at the club, he told The Times that the dinner would be his first meeting with Mr. Trump. 'I'm very excited to meet him and discuss about crypto's future,' Mr. Sun said. Sangrok Oh, a Korean crypto executive, arrived at the dinner with a collection of red baseball caps emblazoned with the words 'Make Crypto Great Again' that he planned to hand out at the event. He said he had flown all the way from Seoul to attend the dinner. 'It's kind of a fund-raiser' for Mr. Trump, Mr. Oh said in an interview at his hotel in Virginia. 'And he'll always be good to his sponsors.' Others guests included Vincent Liu, the chief investment officer at Kronos Research, a crypto firm founded in Taiwan. Kronos profits by conducting high-frequency trading on crypto platforms across the world — except in the United States. But with a nod from Mr. Trump and his regulators, Mr. Liu wants to enter the U.S. market. His firm bought enough of the $TRUMP coins to ensure he had a seat at the dinner — with the hope he might get Mr. Trump's ear. 'I will definitely not hesitate to share my perspective,' Mr. Liu said. 'It's great to see the current direction that everything's going.' Image Many guests expressly said they looked forward to the opportunity to influence U.S. crypto policy. Credit... Elizabeth Frantz for The New York Times Mr. Trump launched the memecoin just days before his inauguration, setting off a flurry of trading. Initially, the coin's price skyrocketed, before it eventually crashed, costing investors billions of dollars. The dinner was designed to fuel more sales. The organizers framed it as a contest: The top 220 buyers would dine with Mr. Trump at his golf club, while the top 25 would attend a more intimate gathering with the president before dinner and go on a tour of the White House. (In a quirk, the winners were selected based on the average number of coins they held during the three weeks the contest was held, rather than their total at the end of bidding.) 'We want to be the leader in crypto, we want to be the leader in everything,' Mr. Trump told the top 25 guests on the $TRUMP coins leaderboard, according to a video shared with The Times. 'It's very important to me.' A business entity tied to the Trumps sits on a large stash of the $TRUMP cryptocurrency and collects fees every time the coins change hands. So far, the coin has generated at least $320 million in fees, which the Trumps share with their business partners, according to Chainalysis, a crypto analytics firm. Mr. Trump's oldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, largely stayed silent while the $TRUMP memecoin contest played out, even though the company that they help run directly benefits from the sales. Speaking at a government-sponsored business forum in Qatar, Donald Trump Jr. said this week that the Trump family has decided it should not hesitate to find new ways to profit, rejecting the business limits it voluntarily committed to during President Trump's first term. 'Even the deals that were totally legit, it didn't stop the insanity,' he said. 'So, this time around, we said, 'Hey, we're going to play by the rules, but we're not going to go so far as to stymie our business forever, lock ourselves in a proverbial padded room.' Because it almost doesn't matter. They're going to hit you no matter what. So we're just going to play the game.' Many of the guests have a direct stake in how cryptocurrencies are regulated in the United States. They viewed the dinner as an opportunity to hear directly from Mr. Trump and gain insight into how they might expand operations in the United States after Biden-era rules led many of them to avoid investments in the country. Other attendees were lower-profile entrepreneurs, influencers or Trump super fans, willing to pay for the chance to meet the president. 'If I were to get a selfie or a handshake or something or an autograph, that would be priceless in and of itself for me,' said Vincent Deriu, a 27-year-old consultant in New York who was ranked No. 165 on the $TRUMP leaderboard. Among the other guests a reporter for The Times saw at the check-in area were SuKyung Na, who is chief operating officer at Hyperithm, a digital asset management company based in Tokyo and Seoul, and Yan Liberman, a co-founder of Delphi Digital, a Miami Beach firm that offers market intelligence for crypto investors. The former N.B.A. star Lamar Odom — now promoting his own memecoin, $ODOM — posted on social media that he would be attending the event, and he appeared in other guests' photos from inside Mr. Trump's club. 'I'm just about to pass through security and officially walk into the Trump Gala,' Mr. Odom wrote on social media. 'Honestly… I'm fired up.' The dinner list also included Nicholas Pinto, a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Cranford, N.J., who first became rich by selling scooter wheels when he was 13 and has since branched out to build a sprawling moneymaking social media presence and invest in crypto. 'I am hoping I will be the youngest winner there,' Mr. Pinto said, after he drove down from New Jersey for the dinner. 'And I want to see what President Trump's plans are for crypto. I want the inside scoop.' As the event wrapped up, a raffle was held for two Trump-branded watches, and guests posed for a group photo with Trump hats on their heads, Mr. Pinto said. The contest was set up by a company called Fight, Fight, Fight, which was created in January and is named after Mr. Trump's response to the assassination attempt against him in July. Originally, the Fight, Fight, Fight website, run by Bill Zanker, a longtime business partner of the Trump family, promised 'a Special V.I.P. White House tour' for the top 25 coin holders. But references to the White House have been scrubbed from the site, which now promises a 'V.I.P. Tour' without specifying the location. Mr. Zanker did not respond to a request for comment. Asked about the change, a senior Trump administration official said the White House was not arranging a special tour for the crypto investors and had 'nothing' to do with the memecoin event. But the dinner organizers might still be taking guests on a tour of the White House's East Wing, which is open to the public, the official said. A spokesman for the Trump Organization also tried to distance the company from the event, saying it was not involved. But the Trump family itself, through a corporate entity called CIC Digital, takes a cut of the profits, and it also owns the golf club where the dinner was held. Reporting was contributed by Dylan Freedman , David A. Fahrenthold and Elena Shao . Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
