The Morning Risk Report

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• The launch: Alphabet’s cloud business on Wednesday announced the launch of a new AI-driven anti-money-laundering product, reports Risk & Compliance Journal’s Dylan Tokar. Like many other tools already on the market, the company’s technology uses machine learning to help clients in the financial sector comply with regulations that require them to screen for and report potentially suspicious activity.
  
   
• The differentiator: Where Google Cloud aims to set itself apart is by doing away with the rules-based programming that is typically an integral part of setting up and maintaining an anti-money-laundering surveillance program—a design choice that goes against the prevailing approach to such tools and could be subject to skepticism from some quarters of the industry.
  
   
• The context: Its launch comes as leading U.S. tech companies are flexing their artificial intelligence capabilities following the success of generative AI app ChatGPT and a race by many in the corporate world to integrate such technology into a range of businesses and industries.

Swedbank to pay $3.4 million to settle U.S. sanctions violations.

Swedbank has agreed to pay more than $3.4 million to settle allegations its subsidiary in Latvia processed transactions that violated U.S. sanctions on Crimea.

The settlement agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which became public Tuesday, is one of the first resolutions Stockholm-based Swedbank has reached with U.S. regulators related to its anti-money-laundering shortcomings in the Baltic region, where the bank has a significant presence.

Work from home is still a feature at most organizations, R&C professionals say.

Most organizations allow staff to work from home at least sometimes, and most risk and compliance professionals think that’s a good thing, according to a survey released by risk and compliance software company Navex.

The survey, of 1,315 mostly U.S.-based professionals knowledgeable about risk and compliance, showed that 93% said their organizations have implemented a hybrid work model, and 73% said flexible working arrangements have had a positive impact on workplace culture. Only 14% of those surveyed said the shift to hybrid work has been negative.

The survey was conducted between Jan. 30 and March 10 and covered mainly businesses, with 6% of respondents from nonprofits or governments.

• News publisher Gannett said it has sued Google and its parent company, Alphabet, alleging anticompetitive monopolization of advertising-technology markets and deceptive commercial practices.
  
   
• French authorities carried out searches at the headquarters of the organizing committee for the Paris 2024 Olympics on Tuesday as part of an investigation into suspected embezzlement, the national financial prosecutor’s office said.
  
   
• A private investigator and another man were found guilty on Tuesday of acting as illegal agents of the Chinese government in a harassment campaign of a former Chinese official and his family living in New Jersey.
  
   
• The federal judge overseeing the prosecution of former President Donald Trump on charges that he illegally retained and shared national-defense information has signaled she is seeking a fast pace for court proceedings, ordering a trial to begin as soon as Aug. 14.

Europe aims to cut China risks, not China ties.

The European Union’s executive body released an economic-security strategy Tuesday that included a call for member states to consider new controls for European investment in other countries that might pose security risks. Although the document didn’t name specific countries, officials have said it is aimed largely at reducing the risks in its economic relationships with China and Russia.

Evolving view on China. Europe has long taken an open and liberal approach to free trade and investment. But China’s growing economic power is raising concern across the continent that it might be exposing itself to risks from a geopolitical rival. Now the bloc is looking for ways to curb those risks without abandoning a trade relationship worth roughly $2.6 billion a day.

Aon quantifies potential increase in U.S. hurricane losses.

U.S. hurricane-linked losses in certain scenarios could go up by at least 10% over the next 20 years, professional services firm Aon said. The figure doesn’t factor in increases in exposure that would result from new development or inflation, said Aon, which has worked with Columbia University on climate risk scenario research.

Aon said the findings are based on evolving climate research and could change.

• NATO is conducting the largest air force exercise in its history in the skies above Europe in wargames that allied commanders say are producing valuable lessons for deterring potential Russian and Chinese aggression.
  
   
• Russia launched 35 Iranian-made suicide drones at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities early Tuesday as Ukrainian forces engaged in heavy battles in the south of the country as part of their attempt to advance.
  
   
• The Panama Canal is going through its driest spell in more than a century, and an extended lack of rainfall could saddle global supply chains with delays and higher fees to move cargo.
  
   
• Global investors are flooding into Japan. But the abrupt inflow is raising questions about how long foreign fund managers will stick around.

Reddit hackers threaten to leak stolen data if company doesn’t pay $4.5 million, abandon fees.

A hacker group is threatening to leak confidential information it stole from Reddit if the social-media company doesn’t pay a $4.5 million ransom and abandon plans to start charging fees to some third-party developers.

The demands. The group, known as BlackCat, stole the data in February and initially demanded just the ransom fee. Lacking a response from Reddit, the group on Friday added it also wants the company to abide by the demands of the scores of Reddit communities that protested the developer fees last week.

• Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, has reached an agreement to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges, likely heading off prison time and what would have been a politically explosive prosecution while his father campaigns for re-election.
  
   
• Alibaba Group named Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai to be its chairman, putting the close ally of fellow co-founder Jack Ma atop the Chinese e-commerce giant as it seeks a revival from sluggish growth amid fierce competition.
  
   
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said ties between New Delhi and Washington are stronger and deeper than ever as India moves to secure what he sees as its rightful place on the world stage at a moment of geopolitical turmoil.
  
   
• A prominent scientist who worked on coronavirus projects funded by the U.S. government is one of three Chinese researchers who became sick with an unspecified illness during the initial outbreak of Covid-19, according to current and former U.S. officials.
  
   
• The U.S. Coast Guard said Canadian aircraft had detected underwater noises in the search for a missing submersible, as the clock ticked down in the race to find the crew before their air supply runs out.
  
   
• TikTok has become an unavoidable consideration for anyone running a consumer-facing business today.