SnapShots: Multi-billion tax fraud in Europe, Hema's new ambition, Bridging the gap in fintech and payments

Welcome back to the SnapShots!

Weekly insights from RedSnap's perspective about what happened in the past week. We share our three key takeaways and update you on the progress at RedSnap. Hope you enjoy our selection this week. Happy reading!

'Organised crime in pinstriped suits' robbed billions from European tax authorities

Thanks to the CumEX-Files, an international journalistic collaboration project, including our own Dutch ‘Follow the Money’ uncovered a European tax fraud. They state that groups of bankers, traders and pension funds wrongly received at least 55.2 billion euros from European state funds.

Once again banks and bankers are the bad guys. Moreover, we found some pretty strong headlines on how bankers are all money grabbing individuals and will never change. However, can all bankers be seen in the same light? We meet a lot of people working at different banks that are just like you and us. They have the best intentions, they work hard, and try to do things right.

That makes us wonder ‘where and how do things go wrong’?  Where lies the point at which the ‘everyday banker' becomes the ‘money grabbing fraudster’? Does it have to do with individuals? Can the origin of this problem be found with the prevailing culture of the banks? Or should look even broader and include society as a whole?

Read the full coverage by Follow the Money (FTM) here (In Dutch)

What does Marcel Boekhoorn see and we don't?

Counter-intuitive investment. That is the feeling we have at RedSnap regarding the recent news about Hema this week. Hema, one of the Netherlands’ largest retailers will be bought for an undisclosed sum by Ramphastos Investment, owned by Dutch billionaire Marcel Boekhoorn. From being Dutch back to being Dutch. Mr Boekhoorn’s ambition is to grow the business and turning Hema into a global brand.

Hema is taking over the world step by step. After the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, UK, Spain, Luxembourg, Austria, and United Arab Emirates, they will expand its physical stores in eastern Europe and Asia. It is interesting. After Sears, the US retail giant declared bankrupt recently and closing many of their physical stores, and the majority of retailers going digital, Hema is investing in physical stores. What does Marcel Boekhoorn he knows that we don’t?

Bridging the gap in fintech and payments industry

This week, European Women Payments Network (EWPN) held their second annual event in Amsterdam. EWPN is the European chapter for Global Women Payments Network (GWPN), is the 1st and only Pan-European network (community) dedicated to bringing together women from all EU/EEA member states, working in cards, fintech and payments. Their main objective is to create a professional and safe community that brings together women working in fintech and payments through mentorship, leadership programmes, membership, networking events and workshops. Through this community, EWPN provides women with the opportunity to learn, network, share and celebrate women's achievements from across the payments ecosystem. By doing so, EWPN is directly advocating for a more diverse and inclusive industry.

The event that took place this week brought together many inspiring women from all over Europe to discuss what is going on in the industry, but also provided interactive sessions and discussions on issues affecting women in the industry. Events like this and the EWPN are a great platform to minimise the gender gap, to push more diversity and to inspire future generations of girls into the fintech and payments sector. 

Take a look below, the impressions of the event.