What is the Rwanda deportation scheme and when will flights take off?

Published

1 year ago

April 23, 2024

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After months of delay, parliamentary bickering and legal challenges, Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill is set to become law.

Legislation for the prime minister’s controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to the landlocked African country cleared parliament last night after a lengthy battle.

The policy has been plagued by setbacks since it was first announced two years ago, with thousands of people arriving on Kent beaches aboard small boats all the while.

So what is the Rwanda bill and why is it so controversial? Here are some of the key questions, answered.

What is the Rwanda asylum plan?

Rishi Sunak’s promise to “stop the boats” is one of five pledges he has staked his premiership on.

Key to this is the Rwanda scheme, which would involve some asylum seekers being sent to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed there.

If successful, they can be allowed to stay in Rwanda or seek asylum in another country. But they would not be able to apply to return to the UK.

Ministers say the policy will act as a deterrent to people thinking of travelling to the UK “illegally” (though whether or not crossing the English Channel in a small boat is actually illegal is complicated).

Why haven’t any planes taken off already?

The first plane carrying asylum seekers could take off in 10 to 12 weeks, the prime minister said ahead of the law passing, in what is another delay, having initially promised this would happen in the spring.

This would be more than two years since the first flight attempted under the deal was grounded amid last-minute legal challenges.

No asylum seekers have yet been sent to Rwanda.

While he refused to go into “sensitive” operations details on Monday, Mr Sunak did outline a number of measures the government was taking to prepare for the first flights to take off.

He said there were now 2,200 detention spaces and that 200 dedicated caseworkers had been trained to process claims quickly.

Around 25 courtrooms have been made available and 150 judges will provide 5,000 sitting days, he added.

Mr Sunak also said there were 500 “highly trained individuals ready to escort illegal migrants all the way to Rwanda, with 300 more trained in the coming week”.

In November, the Rwanda plan was ruled unlawful by the UK’s Supreme Court, which said those being sent to the country would be at “real risk” of being returned home, whether their grounds to claim asylum were justified or not – breaching international law.

Is Rwanda a safe country?

Much of the debate around the policy – putting aside differing views on whether it is effective or ethical – centres around the question of whether Rwanda is considered a “safe country”.

The government insists it is, although it’s worth pointing out that the UK granted asylum applications to 15 people from Rwanda last year.

According to Human Rights Watch, critics of the ruling political party in Rwanda have been “arrested, threatened, and put on trial”. Some said they were tortured in detention, the organisation added.

Who will be affected by the Rwanda scheme?

The Home Office plans to use the agreement with Rwanda to remove people who make dangerous journeys to the UK and are considered “inadmissible” to the UK’s asylum system – and will include people who have arrived irregularly since 20 July last year.

People whom the Home Office wishes to transfer to Rwanda will be identified and referred to the Rwandan authorities on a case-by-case basis, after an initial screening process following arrival in the UK, the government has said.

Although the agreement focuses on asylum seekers, under the treaty people who have made unauthorised journeys to the UK but not claimed asylum can be relocated to Rwanda as well.

What happened in parliament on Monday night?

On Monday, the Rwanda bill finally passed through the Commons and Lords and is now set to become law.

The legislation was introduced by the government in the wake of November’s Supreme Court ruling which had declared that Rwanda was not safe for refugees.

Since then, the government has signed a new treaty with Rwanda which it says contains additional safeguards for people relocated.

With the new bill, parliament was asked to declare that Rwanda must be treated as safe in order to render the relocation plan lawful in UK domestic law.

What happens now?

The bill is now headed for royal assent after passing through parliament, but it’s likely to still face various challenges.

Campaigners opposing the plans, and individual asylum seekers who are told they are to be sent to Rwanda, could look to take the government to court again in an attempt to stop flights.

Whether any legal challenges could be successful in light of the new law remains to be seen.

How much has this all cost?

A lot.

An investigation by Whitehall’s spending watchdog said the cost of the Rwanda scheme could rise to half a billion pounds, plus hundreds of thousands more for each person deported.

The government has refused to say how much more money, on top of the £290m already confirmed, that the UK had agreed to pay Rwanda under the deal. However, a National Audit Office report revealed millions more in spending including £11,000 for each asylum seeker’s plane ticket.

What are people opposed to the Rwanda asylum plan saying now the bill was passed?

The passing of the bill has sparked fresh condemnation from charities and other organisations.

Amnesty International said it will “leave a stain on this country’s moral reputation”.

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, added: “The bill is built on a deeply authoritarian notion attacking one of the most basic roles played by the courts – the ability to look at evidence, decide on the facts of a case and apply the law accordingly.

“It’s absurd that the courts are forced to treat Rwanda as a ‘safe country’ and forbidden from considering all evidence to the contrary.”

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Australian court ruling could lead to $640M in Bitcoin tax refunds

Published

6 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Australian court ruling could lead to 0M in Bitcoin tax refunds

A court decision in Australia could open the door to as much as $640 million in capital gains tax (CGT) refunds on Bitcoin transactions after a judge ruled that crypto should be treated as money rather than a taxable asset.

On May 19, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported that the decision arose within a criminal case involving federal police officer William Wheatley, who allegedly stole 81.6 Bitcoin (BTC) in 2019. At the time, the assets were worth roughly $492,000. At current market prices, the tokens are valued at more than $13 million.

In the case, Judge Michael O’Connell of Victoria ruled that Bitcoin qualifies as a form of money rather than property, likening the digital asset to Australian dollars rather than to shares, gold or foreign currency.

The interpretation could set a legal precedent, potentially placing Bitcoin transactions outside the scope of Australia’s current CGT regime.

New court ruling challenges Australian crypto tax laws

In an AFR interview, tax lawyer Adrian Cartland said the verdict “totally upends” the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) current position.

Since 2014, the ATO has classified crypto assets as CGT assets. This means that users must pay tax when selling or trading them. Under the ATO’s guidance, any disposal of Bitcoin, including selling it for fiat, exchanging it for another crypto or using it to purchase goods or services, constitutes a CGT event.

This framework has been the basis for taxing cryptocurrency transactions in Australia for over a decade. However, the recent ruling challenges the approach by suggesting that Bitcoin functions more like money than property. This potentially exempts it from CGT.

Tax refunds could reach $640 million

Cartland said it was held that Bitcoin is Australian money. “That is, it is not a CGT asset. Therefore, acquisitions and disposals of Bitcoin have no tax consequences,” the tax lawyer added.

If the ruling is upheld on the appeal, Cartland estimates that there could be potential tax refunds totalling 1 billion Australian dollars ($640 million).

However, while Cartland thinks there could be up to a billion in refunds, the ATO said there were no official figures that confirm the amount to be potentially refunded if the case changes how Bitcoin is taxed in Australia.

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Revolut eyes French license and $1.1B expansion amid EU growth

Published

7 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Revolut eyes French license and .1B expansion amid EU growth

Revolut, a European neobank with crypto support, plans to invest more than 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) in France and apply for a local banking license.

According to a May 19 Fortune report, Revolut representatives announced the initiative during the Choose France business summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The London-based neobank also plans to set up its new European Union-serving headquarters in Paris, promising to invest 1 billion euro and hire at least 200 people within three years.

Revolut spokespeople also said that the firm is in the process of submitting an application to the French banking regulator Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority. According to an anonymous source cited by Fortune, the regulator has been pushing the neobank to get a license to improve supervision due to its popularity in France.

Revolut currently employs about 300 people and serves five million customers in France. This makes the nation the neobank’s top European Union market.

Aiming for the stars

Revolut hopes to onboard 10 million users by the end of next year and then double that number by 2030. The firm already offers loans, trading and cryptocurrency support in its mobile-first banking platform.

The neobank has seen rapid growth ever since its founding in 2015. The company recently received a $45 billion valuation and reportedly served over 55 million customers as of late May.

Revolut’s 2024 annual report release shows that the firm’s 2024 revenue was 3.1 billion British pounds ($4 billion). A recent Financial News article also puts the company’s headcount at 10,133 employees as of Dec. 31, 2024.

An increasingly regulated institution

Revolut obtained its UK banking license in late July 2024, where 11 million of its customers are located. Now, the neobank is aggressively looking to obtain similar permits across other jurisdictions, with 10 applications underway.

Revolut received the Prepaid Payment Instruments license from India’s central bank earlier this month. This license allows the bank to offer multi-currency forex cards and cross-border remittance services in India.

EU-based Revolut customers now leverage its Lithuania operations. The firm received a banking license in Lithuania at the end of 2018, enabling it to serve customers across the European Economic Area better.

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Dubai regulator sets compliance deadline for updated crypto rules

Published

8 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Dubai regulator sets compliance deadline for updated crypto rules

Dubai’s crypto regulator has given licensed digital asset companies until June 19 to comply with its updated activity-based Rulebooks to enhance market integrity and risk oversight.

On May 19, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) announced that it had released Version 2.0 of the Rulebooks.

The regulator said it had strengthened controls around margin trading and token distribution services, harmonised compliance requirements across all licensed activities and given clearer definitions for collateral wallet arrangements.

VARA’s team will engage with licensed entities and expects the companies to comply with the updated rules after a 30-day transition period.

“In line with global regulatory best practices, a 30-day transition period has been granted to all impacted virtual asset service providers [VASPs], with full compliance required by 19 June 2025,” VARA wrote.

VARA enhances supervisory mechanisms

VARA highlighted that it had enhanced supervisory mechanisms across several regulated activities. This includes advisory, broker-dealer, custody, exchange, lending and borrowing, virtual asset (VA) management and investment, and VA transfer and settlement services.

A VARA spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the updates will bring consistency across all activity-based rules defining core operational terms. The spokesperson gave examples of terms like “client assets,” “qualified custodians,” and “collateral requirements” as some of the terms more consistently defined in the update.

The update also aligned risk management and disclosure obligations, where activities overlap, in areas like brokerage, custody and exchange.

“The aim was to reduce ambiguity and help VASPs navigate cross-functional compliance more easily,” VARA told Cointelegraph.

Dubai regulator tightens leverage thresholds for margin trading

As for margin trading, the VARA spokesperson said they tightened leverage thresholds, mandated clearer collateralisation standards, and enhanced the monitoring obligations for VASPs offering this feature.

Margin trading allows traders to control large positions with smaller amounts of capital. It amplifies both gains and losses. Tightening the leverage traders use helps limit the risks of widespread liquidations in a market downturn.

The crypto regulator introduced a new section on token distribution that sets out licensing prerequisites, investor protections and marketing restrictions. The spokesperson emphasized the marketing restrictions, especially for “retail-facing offers.”

“It’s about aligning with global conduct expectations and closing observed regulatory gaps,” the VARA spokesperson said.