Daily Currentaffairs: 22 Sept 2020

Tables of contents

1.  FinCEN Files

2.Cyanobacteria

3.Special Report on Sustainable Recovery

4.International Convention of Road Traffic of 19th September 1949

5. IFSCA Committee on development of International Retail Business

1. FinCEN Files

Recently, Adani Gobal PTE, the Singapore-based global arm of the Adani Group, crops up in a clutch of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed to FinCEN.

About FinCEN Files

• It refers to a set of over 2,100 “Suspicious Activity Reports” (SARs) filed by banks with the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network.

  • The United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network serves as the leading global regulator in the battle against money laundering.

• The files identify at least $2 trillion in transactions between 1999 and 2017 flagged as possible evidence of money laundering or other criminal activity by compliance officers of banks and financial institutions.

What are Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)?

• SAR is a document filed by banks and financial institutions to report suspicious activity to US authorities.

• These are confidential document under which the banks are not allowed to confirm their existence.

• The account holder is unaware when an SAR is filed related to a transaction in that account.

• SARs are filed with FinCEN in a prescribed format, and are meant to red flag, within 30 days of the transaction’s occurrence i.e. criminal funds or any form of dirty money; insider trading; potential money laundering; terror financing; any transaction that raises suspicion.

• The banks, money exchanges, securities brokers and casinos can file SAR.

• The credit card systems are not required to file SARs and all filers are required to keep records of SARs for five years.

Significance of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)

• It is a way to alert regulators and law enforcement to possible irregular activity and crimes.

• FinCEN shares SARs with law-enforcement authorities including FBI, US Immigration and Customs.

• SARs are used to detect crime but cannot be used as direct evidence to prove legal cases.

FinCEN of India

 

The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) performs the same functions as FinCEN in the US.

 

It was set up in 2004 under the Ministry of Finance.

 

It serves as the nodal agency for receiving, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.

 

It is authorised to obtain cash transaction reports (CTRs) and suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and cross border wire transfer reports from private and public sector banks every month under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

 

It is mandatory for banks in India to furnish a monthly CTR to the FIU on all transactions over Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency or a series of integrally connected transactions that add up to more than Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency.

 

The STRs and CTRs are analysed by FIU and suspicious or doubtful transactions are shared with agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Income Tax for the purpose of launching probes.

 

Source: The Indian Express

2.Cyanobacteria

Recently, the toxins in water produced by cyanobacteria killed more than 300 elephants in Botswana in 2020.

About Cyanobacteria

• Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil.

• Cyanobacteria are aquatic and photosynthetic i.e. they live in the water and can manufacture their own food.

• They have the distinction of being the oldest known fossils i.e. more than 3.5 billion years old.

• They are also important providers of nitrogen fertilizer in the cultivation of rice and beans.

• The cyanobacteria have also been tremendously important in shaping the course of evolution and ecological change throughout earth's history.

• The chloroplast with which plants make food for themselves is actually a cyanobacterium living within the plant's cells.

• In the late Proterozoic, or in the early Cambrian, cyanobacteria began to take up residence within certain eukaryote cells, making food for the eukaryote host in return for a home.

  • The above event is known as endosymbiosis, and is also the origin of the eukaryotic mitochondrion.

• They are also referred to as “blue-green algae" because these water-dwelling bacteria photosynthesize.

• Cyanobacteria can be found in many different environments, including freshwater and marine ecosystems.

• Microcystin and Anatoxin are two of the more common toxins that are produced by Cyanobacteria and in high concentrations can be very harmful to other organisms living in the same aquatic environment.

• Cyanobacteria are toxic bacteria which can occur naturally in standing water and sometimes grow into large blooms known as blue-green algae.

Botswana

 

It is a landlocked country in Southern Africa.

 

It is bounded by Namibia to the west and north (the Caprivi Strip), Zambia and Zimbabwe to the northeast and South Africa to the southeast and south.

 

The tropic of Capricorn passes through Botswana.

Source: The Hindu

3.Special Report on Sustainable Recovery

Against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, International Energy Agency (IEA), in collaboration with NITI Aayog, presented a ‘Special Report on Sustainable Recovery’.

About Special Report on Sustainable Recovery

• It is a part of International Energy Agency’s flagship World Energy Outlook series.

• It proposes a number of actions that could be taken over the next three years to revitalize economies and boost employment while making energy systems cleaner and more resilient.

• The IEA’s report, prepared in cooperation with IMF, details energy-focused policies and investments that could help boost economic growth, create jobs and put emissions into structural decline.

International Energy Agency (IEA)

 

It was established in 1974 to ensure the security of oil supplies.

 

It was born with the 1973-1974 oil crisis, when industrialised countries found they were not adequately equipped to deal with the oil embargo imposed by major producers.

 

The IEA’s founding members were Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway (under a special Agreement), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.

 

India has joined the International Energy Agency as an associate member in 2017.

 

Only the OECD member states can become members of the IEA.

Source: PIB

4.International Convention of Road Traffic of 19th September 1949

Recently, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has advised the States and Union Territory administrations to stamp "International Convention of Road Traffic of 19th September 1949" on the first page of International Driving Permit (IDP) issued by them.

About International Convention of Road Traffic

• It is also known as Geneva Convention on Road Traffic which was prepared and opened for signature by the United Nations Conference on Road and Motor Transport held at Geneva.

• It seeks to promote road safety by establishing uniform rules across borders which includes provisions for an international driving permit as well as for cross border recognition of foreign drivers licenses.

• It is an international treaty promoting the development and safety of international road traffic by establishing certain uniform rules among the contracting parties.

• India signed the Convention in 1949 and ratified in 1962.

Vienna Convention on Road Safety

 

The 1968 Convention on Road Signs and Signals prescribes a harmonized system of signs and signals based on the use of shapes, colours, and the use of graphic symbols.

 

It is comprised of 66 Contracting Parties from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

 

The convention was agreed upon at the United Nations Economic and Social Council's Conference on Road Traffic which was convened in 1968 and came into force in 1977.

 

India is not a signatory of the Vienna Convention on Road Safety.

Source: PIB

5.IFSCA Committee on development of International Retail Business

Recently, the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Expert Committee has submitted its interim report on international retail business development.

Key Highlights of the IFSCA Committee Report

• The interim report covers a number of suggestions aimed at swift and efficient development of international retail businesses in the IFSC.

• It mainly focuses on the banking verticals such as insurance, asset management, and capital markets.

• The committee suggests that the IFSC can aim at:

  • Becoming a gateway to India growth story for international investors and business.

  • Providing Indian diaspora and individuals from Asia and Africa with a comprehensive range of financial services from the IFSC.

  • Serving domestic residents availing liberalized remittance scheme.

• The IFSC must aim to provide best in class jurisdictions and aim to build its competitiveness in terms of key factors like reputation, regulatory environment, taxation and ease of operations.

IFSCA Expert Committee

 

It has been constituted by the IFSCA with an aim to suggest how to develop international retail business in International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

 

The committee is chaired by Pradip Shah

 

The objectives of the IFSCA Expert are:

 

To suggest potential strategies for making IFSC attractive for international financial services;

 

To provide a roadmap for future growth of international retail business in IFSC; and

 

To examine and recommend any other issues which are important in the development of the IFSC.

 

Source: The Economic Times