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Blue Bonds: Making a splash in the Capital Markets
In 2018, the Republic of Seychelles launched the first-ever “blue bond”, with the support of the World Bank Group and the Global Environment Facility.
Australia | Publication | September 2024
On 11 September, the Commonwealth Attorney-General tabled a bill in Parliament to amend the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Act). The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024 (Bill) will impact both existing and new reporting entities, and has three key objectives:
The Bill also extends the AML/CTF regime to additional services provided by virtual asset service providers.
The amendments aim to close regulatory gaps and bring Australian law in line with the international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). These reforms are anticipated to increase the reporting entity population – currently at approximately 17,000 entities – to approximately 90,000 entities.
There are complexities in assessing the full impact of the Bill – some of which cannot be fully identified until the draft AML/CTF Rules are released. This update sets out some of our initial observations.
The Explanatory Memorandum identifies the money laundering and terrorism financing risks in Tranche 2 and other high-risk sectors:
Most of the headline requirements in the current Act remain. However, the Bill substantially recasts some obligations for reporting entities.
At a high level, the new laws will require reporting entities to:
The changes for existing reporting entities are vast and will significantly impact business processes. If passed, some of the material changes include (we have paraphrased these for brevity):
We anticipate the Bill will now be reviewed by the Senate in Committee, where amendments could potentially occur.
As currently drafted, reporting entities will need to be compliant by 2026. This will permit existing reporting entities to modify, and new reporting entities to create, their AML/CTF compliance programs. Of particular importance will be the AML/CTF Rules, which will be substantively redrafted by AUSTRAC, given the proposed legislative changes.
To stay up to date with these changes, subscribe to our Tranche 2 and AML/CTF Reforms https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en-au/knowledge/publications/bae065f5/tranche-2
Publication
In 2018, the Republic of Seychelles launched the first-ever “blue bond”, with the support of the World Bank Group and the Global Environment Facility.
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We are delighted to be participating in Marine Money Week New York 2025. As one of the landmark events for the global shipping finance community, and with the global shipping and maritime industry at such a pivotal juncture, we look forward to catching up with clients and contacts to continue discussions around navigating the current challenges and opportunities.
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On 8 May 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the CJEU) delivered its ruling in case C-581/23 (the Ruling), providing guidance on one of the conditions for an exclusive distribution agreement to benefit from the block exemption under Article 4(b)(i) of the 2010 Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (the VBER)1, notably the so-called ‘parallel imposition requirement’.
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