Crystal Concise : June 2022

Here’s a snapshot from the Crystal team of some of the highlights and points of note for finance and corporate comms pros from around the jurisdictions this past month…

• Middle East: Warnings were issued last month around non-residents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia advertising on social media, with significant penalties including jail and big fines if the rules were broken.

• Luxembourg: It was announced last month that local elections in the Grand Duchy would be set for June 2023, with non-local residents able to vote.

• Jersey: islanders went to the polls last month to elect a new States Assembly – with a number of new faces making the cut

• Cayman Islands: plans were mooted to lay a new underwater fibre optic cable between the US and Cayman, to enhance the jurisdiction's high speed broadband connectivity

• Luxembourg: Luxembourg Prime Minister Bettel has updated rules around press engagement. A new circular clarifies who can speak to the media from government departments, and specifies that they must acknowledge press requests within 24 hours

• Panama: a Panamanian judge acquitted 39 people in a money laundering case last month, including key Panama Papers lawyers Jurgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca

• Interest rates: Against a backdrop of spiraling inflation, central banks continued to increase interest rates, with the UK rate rising to the highest level since January 2009

• Social Media: In an attempt try to better protect younger social media users from harmful content, Instagram rolled out some new age verification measures last month