Corporate Crime & Compliance UK

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Meet The Lawyers Tapped To Defend In Glencore Bribery Case

Six former Glencore employees, including the commodity giant's billionaire former head of oil, who have been charged with bribery by the Serious Fraud Office, have tapped an all-star list of the U.K.'s most experienced trial solicitors and barristers with a track record of prevailing against the white-collar agency.
October 04, 2024
SFO Seizes £295K From Convicted Tycoon In $700M Fraud

Britian's financial crime enforcer has seized £295,000 ($386,000) from a convicted fraudster imprisoned three times in connection with an international metal trading scam that defrauded lenders worldwide out of nearly $700 million more than two decades ago.
October 04, 2024
EU High Court Says Meta Must Limit Data Used To Target Ads

The European Court of Justice ruled Friday that the bloc's data protection rules prohibit Meta's Facebook and other social media platforms from using all the personal data they've ever collected to fuel their targeted advertising, handing Austrian activist Max Schrems a win in his latest fight against the tech giant.
October 05, 2024
Biz Owners Saved £1.3B On Inheritance Tax, Report Says

Business owners have saved their families an estimated £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) last year by claiming business property relief on inheritance tax, according to law firm TWM Solicitors.
October 04, 2024
GB News Can't Halt Ofcom Sanction Over Sunak Q&A

GB News can't prevent the U.K.'s broadcasting regulator from publishing a sanction for breaching impartiality rules in a Q&A program with former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a London court ruled Friday while also giving the channel a green light to challenge the watchdog's finding.
October 04, 2024
Northern Ireland Police Service Fined £750K Over Data Breach

The United Kingdom's data protection watchdog has issued a £750,000 ($988,000) fine to Northern Ireland's police service after it exposed the personal information of all its 9,483 officers and staff as part of a freedom of information request gone wrong.
October 04, 2024
WealthTek Distribution Plan Was Approved For Expediency

England's High Court had the power to approve a plan to distribute client assets held by collapsed wealth manager WealthTek LLP even though the plan does not conform with investors' "strict rights" to their investment, a judge said Friday in giving his full reasons for sanctioning the plan earlier this year.
October 04, 2024
ECJ Says Interest Deduction Limits Align With EU Law

Governments across the European Union can legislate to block businesses from getting corporate tax deductions on interest paid as part of noncommercial loans, the European Court of Justice ruled Friday.
October 04, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

This past week in London has seen GMB Union sued by the makers of Tetley Tea after a staff walkout in September, boxer Mike Tyson hit with legal action from a marketing company and the Met Police face a misuse of private data claim from a woman who had a relationship with an undercover police officer. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
October 04, 2024
Experian To Acquire Brazil's ClearSale For $350M

Credit ratings agency Experian PLC said Friday that it has agreed to acquire Brazil-based digital fraud prevention company ClearSale SA for 1.90 billion Brazilian real ($350 million) to complement its existing identity and fraud business in the South American country.
October 04, 2024
SFO Squares Off With ENRC Again In Media 'Leaks' Trial

ENRC's decade-long legal onslaught against the Serious Fraud Office resumes at trial in London on Monday over allegations its officials fed investigative journalists confidential information to boost its ill-fated corruption probe into the Kazakh miner.
October 04, 2024
Ex-Parliamentary Researcher Denies China Spy Charge

Former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash and his co-defendant Christopher Berry denied spying for the Chinese government to harm the U.K.'s security at a London criminal court Friday.
October 04, 2024
FCA's £29M Fine Of Starling Sends Wider Compliance Warning

The Financial Conduct Authority hit Starling Bank Ltd. with a £28.9 million ($38.4 million) fine on Wednesday for inadequate anti-money laundering and sanctions controls. This has sent a wider warning to companies that compliance levels must match growth.
October 04, 2024
Bahrain Loses State Immunity Bid In UK Spyware Claim

The Court of Appeal ruled Friday that two Bahraini dissidents can bring a damages claim in the U.K. against the Gulf state for alleged psychiatric injury stemming from the discovery that their laptops had been hacked with spyware.
October 03, 2024
Joyvio's British Salmon Fraud Claim Moved To Chile

A London court ruled Thursday that a dispute between Chinese food giant Joyvio Group and the former owner of one of its salmon-farming businesses in England over the alleged artificial inflation of the value of the company should be heard in Chile.
October 03, 2024
Putin Seized Planes In Political Act, Insurers Say At UK Trial

A group of aviation insurers are fighting to limit potential payouts for aircraft stranded in Russia, telling a London court on Thursday that orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin kept hundreds of Western-owned planes from being returned to their lessors in a political act after sanctions were imposed.
October 03, 2024
Former Senior Accountant Jailed For £1M Council Fraud

A former council accountant has been jailed for defrauding a local authority out of nearly £1 million ($1.3 million) over two decades, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
October 03, 2024
German Court Convicts Trio For Misleading EUIPO Invoices

A German court has convicted three individuals for sending fraudulent invoices to customers of the European Union Intellectual Property Office, a first-of-its-kind decision the agency said Thursday would make it easier to pursue similar claims in the future.
October 03, 2024
Cutrale Family Fails To Crush Orange Juice Cartel Claims

A London appeals court refused to strike over 1,300 claims from Brazilian orange farmers who allege the father and son at the helm of juice giant Cutrale participated in a price-fixing cartel, saying the family can defend the claims at trial by arguing they weren't brought in time.
October 03, 2024
EU Refers 4 Countries To Court Over Pillar 2 Delays

The European Commission said it was referring Cyprus, Poland, Portugal and Spain to the European Union's top court for missing the deadline to implement the global minimum corporate tax, known as Pillar Two.
October 03, 2024
FCA Charges 2 Brothers With Insider Dealing

The U.K.'s financial watchdog charged two men with insider dealing in London on Thursday over allegations they pocketed £110,000 ($144,230) by profiting off confidential information on oil and gas stocks over a four-year period.
October 03, 2024
New UK Anti-Fraud Law Could Fuel Prosecution Of Individuals

The new "failure to prevent fraud" offense that is likely to take effect in 2025 was written to target large companies that do not have internal controls to prevent such crime, but lawyers are warning clients that bosses will be expected to help pursue individual fraudsters
October 03, 2024
EU Finance Bodies Seek Clarity On Cybersecurity Compliance

Financial trade bodies across the European Union have urged regulators to clarify critical requirements under the Digital Operational Resilience Act, which is set to come into effect in January, saying they are not clear on how the cybersecurity legislation applies to them.
October 02, 2024
UK To Give Banks New Powers To Combat Fraudsters

The U.K. government said Thursday it is introducing new laws enabling banks to extend investigations of suspected fraudulent payments.
October 02, 2024
FCA Wins Appeal In $700M BlueCrest Investor Redress Case

The Financial Conduct Authority can resume its bid to impose a redress scheme of more than $700 million for investors of hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management, an appeals court said Wednesday, ruling that a tribunal wrongly held that the regulator did not have that power.
October 02, 2024
Lawyers Fail To Overturn EU Ban On Legal Services To Russia

The European General Court on Wednesday dismissed an attempt by French and Belgian lawyers to overturn prohibitions on providing legal advice to Russia, clarifying that the ban only applies when the advice has no link to judicial proceedings.

Editor's Picks

NCA Ducks Litigation Risk In 1st Seizure Of Sanctioned Assets

The decision by the National Crime Agency to secure the forfeiture of the assets of a sanctioned Russian oligarch is a pragmatic victory that avoids the risk of setting a damaging legal precedent, lawyers say.
How 3 Firms Cleared 2 Ex-Autonomy Execs In HP Fraud Case

A California federal jury's rejection last week of fraud charges against the founder and former finance vice president of British software company Autonomy validated an approach by the defendants' three law firms — Steptoe, Clifford Chance and Bird Marella — to form a "seamless" collaboration throughout the trial, from jury selection to closing arguments.
Starmer Could Crack Judicial Crisis, Former CPS Chiefs Say

Keir Starmer's lead in the polls as the general election in July approaches has sparked hopes among criminal justice advocates that the Labour leader — a former top prosecutor — will implement reforms as prime minister.

Expert Analysis

How UK Digital Regulation Under Labour May Differ From EU

Although details on the Labour government's data and cyber resilience reforms are currently limited, there are indications that proposed legislation and a lack of AI-specific legislation signal divergence from the European Union's approach, say lawyers at Deloitte.
Insights From FRC's Report On Good Corporate Governance

Although the Financial Reporting Council’s recent report on private companies opting to follow the Wates principles has identified improvements, it is important for organizations to provide transparent disclosures and avoid boilerplate, tickbox filings, says Tessa Hastie at BCLP.
What To Know About The UK Overseas Funds Regime

The U.K.’s overseas funds regime is now open for applications, providing a simplified way of offering a foreign fund to U.K. retail investors, and the Financial Conduct Authority's clear policy statement on implementation should ease the transition process from the existing scheme, say lawyers at Dechert.
5 Cyber Risk Tips For Lawyers Contracting Cloud Services

With the U.K. government's recent announcement of a forthcoming cybersecurity bill, and the European Union's imminent deadline to transpose the second Network and Information Systems Directive into national law, it is important for in-house lawyers to be alive to potential risks when contracting for cloud services, say lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard.
Takeaways From SRA Consumer Protection Review

While the Solicitors Regulation Authority prepares to announce its findings later this year following its consumer protection consultation, the topic of handling client funds is very much alive in the legal industry, with polarizing views on what should happen as a result of the review, says Claire Van Der Zant at Shieldpay.
Reflecting On 12 Months Of The EU Foreign Subsidy Regime

New European Commission guidance, addressing procedural questions and finally providing clarity on “distortion” in merger control and public procurement, offers an opportunity to reflect on the year since foreign subsidy notification obligations were introduced, say lawyers at Fried Frank.
The Road Ahead For Tokenized Investment Funds In The UK

With an HM Treasury working group expected to release the final phase of a road map for tokenized investment funds by the end of the year, Andrew Tsang and Tom Bacon at BCLP discuss the advantages for investors and fund administrators, the proposed model for implementation, and what the regulatory landscape may look like.
Review Of EU Cross-Border Merger Regs' Impact On Irish Cos.

Looking back on the year since the European Union Mobility Directive was transposed into Irish law, enabling Irish and European Economic Area limited liability companies to participate in cross-border deals, it is clear that restructuring options available to Irish companies with EU operations have significantly expanded, say lawyers at Matheson.
Integrating ESG Into Risk Management Programs

Amid increasing regulations and reporting requirements for corporate sustainability in the European Union and the U.S., companies might consider how to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into more formalized risk management, say directors at Alvarez & Marsal.
The EU AI Act's Influence Around The World

Although the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act's implementation will be staggered over the next six years, we are already witnessing its authority across the world, with legislators in other countries drawing inspiration from its sector-agnostic approach, say lawyers at Paul Weiss.
Lawyers' Role In Decarbonizing The Global Economy Is Vital

Businesses can future-proof themselves against climate risks by incorporating science-based language into legal documents, but lawyers must understand how their legal work intersects with advising on climate risks and decarbonization opportunities, says Humzah Khan at The Chancery Lane Project.
A Look At UK, EU And US Cartel Enforcement Trends

The European Union, U.K. and U.S. competition agencies' recently issued joint statement on competition risks in generative artificial intelligence demonstrates increased cross-border collaboration on cartel investigations, meaning companies facing investigations in one jurisdiction should anticipate related investigations in other jurisdictions, say lawyers at Latham & Watkins.
Testing The Limits Of English Courts' Pro-Arbitration Stance

Although the Court of Appeal recently upheld a $64 million arbitration award in Eternity Sky v. Zhang, the judgment offers rare insight into when the English courts’ general inclination to enforce arbitral awards may be outweighed by competing policy interests such as consumer rights, say Declan Gallivan and Peter Morton at K&L Gates.
What Green Claims Directive Proposal Means For Businesses

With the European Union’s recent adoption of a general approach to the proposed Green Claims Directive, which will regulate certain environmental claims and likely be finalized next year, companies keen to publicize their green credentials have even more reason to tread carefully, say Marcus Navin-Jones and Juge Gregg at Crowell & Moring.
EU Merger Control Concerns Remain After ECJ Illumina Ruling

The recent European Court of Justice judgment in Illumina-Grail is a welcome check on the commission's power to review low-threshold transactions, but with uncertainty persisting under existing laws and discretion left to national regulators, many pitfalls in European Union merger control remain, says Matthew Hall at McGuireWoods.